directed by Quentin Tarantino
USA 1992

Reservoir Dogs grabs you by the throat and digs its claws in deep. From the moment that the unwitting viewer tumbles into the realm of Lawrence Tierney's gang of eight, they are hopelessly trapped there until the final credits roll. As the first outing for actor/director/ writer Quentin Tarantino, this is a triumph, displaying all the marks of a longtime virtuoso of the genre.

A jewelry store robbery has gone wrong - badly wrong - for the thieves. One member of the gang is dead, and several are missing. The survivors, including Mr. White (Harvey Keitel), Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi), and a critically-injured Mr. Orange (Tim Roth), are holed up in a warehouse, trying to figure out how to salvage the situation. Dissention and suspicion run high, as White and Pink discuss the possibility of a traitor in their midst, and the tension escalates when Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen) shows up with a little surprise in the trunk of his car.

The cast, which includes Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, and Michael Madsen, is first-rate, and the parts the actors have to play are fully fleshed out. Tarantino invests each member of his group with a unique and multi-faceted personality. Not content with stereotypes, the writer/director digs deeper, bringing out the humanity in even someone as viciously sadistic and reprehensible as Mr. Blonde. To go along with the characters is a surprising plot, filled with wonderful little twists and turns, and pervaded throughout by the sense of not knowing what's around the corner. The non-chronological manner in which the story is told is confusing at first, but everything eventually sorts itself out.

Tarantino's directing influences, from John Woo to Martin Scorsese, are all in evidence, and their synthesis creates a high-voltage style that's entirely his own. The writing is crisp and clean, providing line after line of snappy dialogue designed to leave the viewer alternately pondering and laughing aloud. The gallows humor and dark comedy are among many of Reservoir Dogs' defining elements. This is one of those rare motion pictures that's both intelligent and visceral at the same time.

Excerpt from James Berardinelli's review located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: September 2, 1992 (France)

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Recommended "Tarantino" Reading  (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)

Quentin Tarantino: The Man and His Movies by Jami Bernard	Quentin Tarantino: Interviews (Conversations With Filmmakers Series) by Quentin Tarantino, Gerald Peary	Quentin Tarantino: The Cinema of Cool by Jeff Dawson	Quentin Tarantino (The Pocket Essentials Series) by D. K. Holm	Quentin Tarantino: Shooting from the Hip: The Biography by Wensley Clarkson	Tarantino A to Zed: The Films of Quentin Tarantino by Alan Barnes, Marcus Hearn	King Pulp: The Wild World of Quentin Tarantino by Paul A. Woods	Reservoir Dogs by Quentin Tarantino

DVD Comparison:

Momentum - Region 2 - PAL vs. Seven7 (3 DVD Collector Ed.) - Region 2 - PAL vs. Momentum (Special Edition) - Region 2 - PAL vs. Artisan (Special Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Universal (Edition Collector Limitée) - Region 2 - PAL

Big thanks to Mathias Nielsen, Vincent BOUCHÉ  and Guillaume Mareri for the Screen Caps!

(Momentum - Region 2 - PAL - LEFT vs. Seven7 (3 dvd Collector Ed.) - Region 2 - PAL - MIDDLE vs. Momentum (Special Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - RIGHT)

(Artisan (Special Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Universal (Edition Collector Limitée) - Region 2 - PAL - RIGHT)

(Momentum - Region 2 - PAL - TOP vs. Seven7 (3 dvd Collector Ed.) - Region 2 - PAL - 2nd vs. Momentum (Special Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - 3rd -vs. Artisan (Special Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - 4th vs. Universal (Edition Collector Limitée) - Region 2 - PAL - BOTTOM)

(Momentum - Region 2 - PAL - LEFT vs. Seven7 (3 dvd Collector Ed.) - Region 2 - PAL - 2nd vs. Momentum (Special Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - 3rd -vs. Artisan (Special Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - 4th vs. Universal (Edition Collector Limitée) - Region 2 - PAL - RIGHT)

The Region 1 Artisan has the sharpest image quality - it has no contrast boosting, is tight and has a softer pallet of colors. If it has a large flaw though, it is caked in a greenish haze. The Region 2 Momentum looks to be the most even-handed, although it to is flawed with a smidgeon of edge enhancement, cropped on both edges and is not as sharp as the Artisan. The other editions have some obvious manipulation in the forms of brightness boosting, overly red skin tones and often the colors look enhanced and saturated.  Each edition offers different extra features, some including audio CDs, so we'll leave that to your personal taste. The Artisan offers the superior audio options with 5.1 and DTS tracks. Menus are a more subjective choice and I, again, like the Region 1 Artisan.

-Gary Tooze

DVD Menus

(Momentum - Region 2 - PAL - LEFT vs. Seven7 (3 dvd Collector Ed.) - Region 2 - PAL - MIDDLE vs. Momentum (Special Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - RIGHT)

 

 

 

(Artisan (Special Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Universal (Edition Collector Limitée) - Region 2 - PAL - RIGHT)

 

 

 

 

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Screen Captures

(Momentum - Region 2 - PAL - TOP vs. Seven7 (3 dvd Collector Ed.) - Region 2 - PAL - 2nd vs. Momentum (Special Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - 3rd -vs. Artisan (Special Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - 4th vs. Universal (Edition Collector Limitée) - Region 2 - PAL - BOTTOM)
Wild Side Edition's subtitles are not available with PowerDVD