Search DVDBeaver

 S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

 

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.

 

Excerpt from James Berardinelli's review located HERE

 

Posters

 

Theatrical Release: September 2, 1992 (France)

Reviews                                                                     More Reviews                                                               DVD Reviews

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

 

 

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 vs. Lionsgate (15th Anniversary) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Big thanks to Mathias Nielsen, Vincent BOUCHÉ  and Guillaume Mareri for the DVD 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)

DVD Box Covers

 

Distribution

Momentum

Region 2 - PAL

 Seven7
Region 2 - PAL		 Momentum
Region 2 - PAL

(Artisan (Special Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Universal (Edition Collector Limitée) - Region 2 - PAL - MIDDLE vs. Lionsgate - Region 'A' - Blu-ray RIGHT)

DVD Box Covers

 

 

Distribution

Artisan

Region 1 - NTSC

 Universal
Region 2 - PAL		 Lionsgate
Region 'A' - Blu-ray

(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)

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate:

 

Momentum

 

Bitrate:

Seven7 (3 dvd Collector Ed.)

Bitrate:

 

Momentum (Special Edition)

Bitrate:

 

Artisan (Special Edition) 

Bitrate:

 

Universal (Edition Collector Limitée)

Bitrate:

 

Blu-ray

1) Momentum - Region 2 - PAL - LEFT

2) Seven7 (3 DVD Collector Ed.) - Region 2 - PAL - SECOND

3) Momentum (Special Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - THIRD

4) Artisan (Special Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - FOURTH

5) Universal (Edition Collector Limitée) - Region 2 - PAL - FIFTH

6) Lionsgate - (15th Anniversary) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray RIGHT

 
Dist.  

Momentum R2

 

 Seven7 - R2 Momentum (SE) - R2 Artisan (SE) - R1 Universal (France) - R2 Lionsgate - Region 'A'-locked Blu-ray
Runtime 1:35:00 (4% PAL speedup) 1:35:12 (4% PAL speedup) 1:34:57 (4% PAL speedup) 1:38:59 1:35:15 (4% PAL speedup) 1:39:07.942
Video

2.35:1 Original Aspect Ratio

16X9 enhanced
Average Bitrate: 5.49 mb/s
PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s

2.35:1 Original Aspect Ratio

16X9 enhanced
Average Bitrate: 7.41 mb/s
PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s

2.35:1 Original Aspect Ratio

16X9 enhanced
Average Bitrate: 5.60 mb/s
PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s

1.33:1 (disc 2) and 2.35:1 (disc 1) Original Aspect Ratio

16X9 enhanced
Average Bitrate: 6.13 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

 

2.35:1 Original Aspect Ratio

16X9 enhanced
Average Bitrate: 8.63 mb/s
PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s

 

1080P Single-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 23,365,718,616 bytes

Feature: 18,814,728,192 bytes

Video Bitrate: 20.03 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-2 Video
Audio English Dolby Digital Stereo 2.0

English DTS & DD 5.1, French DTS & DD5.1

English Dolby Digital 5.1

 English DD2.0 Surround (both discs), DD5.1 (both discs) and DTS5.1 (disc 1 only) English and French DD2.0 Stereo DTS-HD Audio English 3039 kbps 6.1 / 48 kHz / 3039 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 6.1-ES / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Dolby Digital EX Audio English 640 kbps 5.1-EX / 48 kHz / 640 kbps
Subtitles English, Dutch French (removable) English for the hearing impaired Spanish, None French, None English, Spanish, None
Features Release Information:
Studio: Momentum

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen anamorphic - 2.35:1

Edition Details:
• Original Trailer
• An Introduction by Quentin Tarantino
• (Easter egg) Interview with Quentin Tarantino

DVD Release Date: November 20, 2000
Keep Case

Chapters 20
 

 Release Information:
Studio: Seven7

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen anamorphic - 2.35:1

Edition Details:
• Disc 1 : Movie in 2.35:1 ratio
• Disc 2 : Movie in 1.33:1 ratio
• Commentary with Quentin Tarantino, producer Lawrence Bender and selected cast and crew
• Commentary with Movie critics
• Deleted Scenes (12 mn)
• Disc 3
• Autour du film : figurines creation
• La genèse du film : 1 year before (12 mn)
• Interviews : Q.Tarantino, L.Bender, C.Penn, T.Roth, M.Madsen, etc...
• Le cru 92 : Sundance Festival 1992 (29 mn)
• K-Billy - La radio des Seventies : Gerry Afferty commentary
• Séries Noires : An introduction to Film noir (10 mn)
• A l'ombre du polar : Movies & Books selection
• Tribute to Lawrence Tierney & Eddie Bunker
• Reservoir Dolls : 2 short films (4 mn)
 

DVD Release Date: May 12, 2004
Digipak

Chapters 24

Release Information:
Studio: Momentum

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen anamorphic - 2.35:1

Edition Details:
• Commentary with Quentin Tarantino, producer Lawrence Bender and selected cast and crew
• Trailer
• Deleted Scenes
• Original Interviews with Tarantino and cast
• Class of '92: Sundance Interviews
• Tarantino's Sundance Institute Film-makers Lab
• Dedications: Tarantino on his influences
• Tribute to Lawrence Tierney
• An Introduction to Film Noir: Writers and Film-makers feature
• Securing the Shot: Location Scouting with Billy Fox feature
• 10 page booklet with liner notes written by Kim Newman of Empire Magazine
 

DVD Release Date: June 7, 2004
Digipak Slipcase

Chapters 18

Release Information:
Studio: Artisan

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen anamorphic - 1.33:1 (disc 2) and 2.35:1 (disc 1)

Edition Details:
• Audio commentary by director/writer/actor Quentin Tarantino, Producer Lawrence Bender...
• Original interviews : Chris Penn, Kirk Baltz, Michael Madsen, Lawrence Bender, Tim Roth, and Quentin
• 3 deleted scenes, and 2 alternate takes (Cutting off the ear)
• Theatrical Trailer
• The Critics audio commentaries (for selected scenes only)
• K-Billy radio - feature (allows you to listen to selections from the soundtrack)
• Class of ´92 - featurette (from the 1992 Sundance Festival)
• Tributes and dedications - featurette (interviews)
• The film noir web - featurette (interviews, with The Noir Files)
• Small Dogs - featurette (RD action figures)
• Securing the shot : Location scouting with Billy Fox - featurette
• Reservoir Dogs style guide - featurette
• Poster gallery
• Booklet with quotes

DVD Release Date: August 27, 2002
Amaray with carboard slipcover

Chapters 22

Release Information:
Studio: Universal

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen anamorphic - 2.35:1

Edition Details:
• Theatrical Trailer
• Reservoir Dogs presentation by Quentin Tarantino
• Filmographies
• Audio CD featuring four songs from Reservoir Dogs and Two from Pulp Fiction
 

DVD Release Date: September 23, 2002
Amaray with carboard slipcover

Chapters 14

 

 Release Information:
Studio: Lionsgate

 

1080P Single-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 23,365,718,616 bytes

Feature: 18,814,728,192 bytes

Video Bitrate: 20.03 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-2 Video

 

Edition Details:
• Pulp Factoids Viewer
Playing Fast and Loose (15:44)
Profiling the Reservoir Dogs (7:05)
 

Blu-ray Release Date: February 7th, 2006
Standard Blu-ray Case

Chapters 14

 

 

 

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

Addition: Lionsgate Blu-ray - August 09': I think this still remains a visually problematic film for digital transfer - for whatever reason. I think Luiz notes the best description in his review of the Blu-ray HERE: "The codec used here is MPEG-2 (The same one for SD DVDs) but it has a higher bitrate, something around 23Mbps. So since this is not AVC (MPEG-4 Part 10 / H.264), the standard codec used for High Def DVDs, limitations should be expected. To begin the image has an unnatural digital look with a certain blurriness/lack of detail and a more harsh transition between color tones. Moderate noise is also present, and a reddish shade is predominant in some dark areas. I didn't have a DVD available too compare, but looking at the grabs available HERE this reddish cast also seems to be present in all DVDs (some more than others) but more lightly here, maybe because the colors in this Blu-ray are more evident these shades get more detached. You can see this shade I am talking about in the grabs bellow, mostly in the faces. They are not that ugly, and as soon as you become used to them, it is fine.


There are some MPEG-2 Blu-ray release which the transfer look smooth and you can hardly distinguish from other AVC releases, but they all have higher bitrates. "Ghost In The Shell 2: Innocence" is a good example, it is a Dual-Layered MPEG-2 Blu-Ray with a bitrate around 38Mbps, presenting an excellent image quality. But this one is single-layered with a limited bitrate and similar in quality to another single-layered release, REDS.


Now, the image here is not that bad, it is just not scaling the heights of High Def... but it definitely looks better than any of the current SD DVDs available. This review is limited by a lack of a direct good quality source of comparison (theatrical). I actually can't tell for sure what it is supposed to look like, something that could be easily determined by watching a theatrical presentation. The great improvement here compared to SD DVDs is the obvious one; resolution. Colors and contrast are superior as well, but in the end I believe there is room for improvement.

Audio:
The DTS-HD option is outstanding for a standard DVD, but just acceptable for a Blu-Ray. Background details are modest and you don't get the feeling of the close, small, and echo-prone environment where most of the talk happen. The Dolby Digital mix is worse, the DTS-HD is a bit more open and crispy. Probably this is the best sound mix available, but it stays behind the good uncompressed mix that are a standard for Blu-Rays.

Extras:
The great thing about the extras is the 16:9 high-def presentation but in content they are rather basic. I don't know if the documentary is a new and exclusive content, but I would say it is the only valuable supplement, bringing some comments about improvisation process and the movie concept. No subtitles available for any of the supplements.

BOTTOM LINE: If you don't have or didn't watch this is a nice buy, if you are a fan of Tarantino this is recommended. This is the only high definition release and the overall best available and I don't see another US one coming out in the next couple of years, possibly the differences in quality don't worth the wait anyway, life is short. Since this is also one of the few Blu-ray options generally not considered a mainstream movie, it is refreshing and worth even more for its alternative style.

Ed. It's less than $10 at the writing of this comparison!

Luiz R.

****

ON THE DVDs: 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)

 

 

 

 

Blu-ray Menus / Extras

 

 

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

Screen Captures

 

1) Momentum - Region 2 - PAL - TOP

2) Seven7 (3 DVD Collector Ed.) - Region 2 - PAL - SECOND

3) Momentum (Special Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - THIRD

4) Artisan (Special Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - FOURTH

5) Universal (Edition Collector Limitée) - Region 2 - PAL - FIFTH

6) Lionsgate - (15th Anniversary) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

1) Momentum - Region 2 - PAL - TOP

2) Seven7 (3 DVD Collector Ed.) - Region 2 - PAL - SECOND

3) Momentum (Special Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - THIRD

4) Artisan (Special Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - FOURTH

5) Universal (Edition Collector Limitée) - Region 2 - PAL - FIFTH

6) Lionsgate - (15th Anniversary) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

(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)

 

1) Momentum - Region 2 - PAL - TOP

2) Seven7 (3 DVD Collector Ed.) - Region 2 - PAL - SECOND

3) Momentum (Special Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - THIRD

4) Artisan (Special Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - FOURTH

5) Universal (Edition Collector Limitée) - Region 2 - PAL - FIFTH

6) Lionsgate - (15th Anniversary) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

1) Momentum - Region 2 - PAL - TOP

2) Seven7 (3 DVD Collector Ed.) - Region 2 - PAL - SECOND

3) Momentum (Special Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - THIRD

4) Artisan (Special Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - FOURTH

5) Universal (Edition Collector Limitée) - Region 2 - PAL - FIFTH

6) Lionsgate - (15th Anniversary) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

1) Momentum - Region 2 - PAL - TOP

2) Seven7 (3 DVD Collector Ed.) - Region 2 - PAL - SECOND

3) Momentum (Special Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - THIRD

4) Artisan (Special Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - FOURTH

5) Universal (Edition Collector Limitée) - Region 2 - PAL - FIFTH

6) Lionsgate - (15th Anniversary) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

1) Momentum - Region 2 - PAL - TOP

2) Seven7 (3 DVD Collector Ed.) - Region 2 - PAL - SECOND

3) Momentum (Special Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - THIRD

4) Artisan (Special Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - FOURTH

5) Universal (Edition Collector Limitée) - Region 2 - PAL - FIFTH

6) Lionsgate - (15th Anniversary) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

 

More Blu-ray Captures

 

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

DVD Box Covers

 

Distribution

Momentum

Region 2 - PAL

 Seven7
Region 2 - PAL		 Momentum
Region 2 - PAL

(Artisan (Special Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Universal (Edition Collector Limitée) - Region 2 - PAL - MIDDLE vs. Lionsgate - Region 'A' - Blu-ray RIGHT)

Box Covers

 

 

Distribution

Artisan

Region 1 - NTSC

 Universal
Region 2 - PAL		 Lionsgate
Region 'A' - Blu-ray

 

Hit Counter

Report Card:

 

Image:

Blu-ray

Sound:

Blu-ray
Extras:

 


 


 

Search DVDBeaver

 S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DONATIONS Keep DVDBeaver alive:

 CLICK PayPal logo to donate!

Gary Tooze

Many Thanks...