The audience left the cinemas, and the critics went crazy with delight. Tarantino was filming Reservoir Dogs at cost

Local businessman and mobster Joe (Lawrence Tierney) and his son Eddie (Chris Penn) recruit several men to rob a jewelry store – most of them have a criminal background, which is to guarantee the success of the action. In order to protect themselves against possible consequences, the entire group remains anonymous to each other and uses the pseudonyms: Mr. White (Harvey Keitel), Mr. Orange (Tim Roth), Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen), Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi), Mr. Brown (Quentin Tarantino himself) and Mr. Blue (Edward Bunker).

Reservoir Dogs have even outgrown Wes Craven

When it comes to a jump, the situation gets out of control, and the title “rabid dogs” is surprised by the police. The thieves rush into a bloody escape, as a result of which Mr. Orange is badly injured. The eyes of the viewers are now focused on the old warehouse where the fugitives are hiding, trying to determine if the ambush has already been waiting for them and which of them is the traitor.

You could say that the plot of the film is relatively simple, but Tarantino plays with the form at every turn. Today we know that the director is known for his “about nothing” dialogues, but nobody writes like him! There is almost no music in the film, and after the screening, the songs used in it – “Little Green Bag” or “Hooked on a Feeling” – remain in the memory for a long time. Tarantino used virtually all of the soundtrack budget to win the rights to the song “Stuck in the Middle with You” by Stealers Wheel, in which Mr. Blonde tortures a kidnapped hostage.

The director’s stubbornness is also evidenced by the final course of this scene – the production wanted to cut it out due to exceptional brutality, but as you know, Tarantino is not in the habit of giving up. Our compatriot Andrzej Sekuła, who also collaborated with the director on “Pulp Fiction” or an episode from “Four Rooms”, was responsible for the cinematography for the film. In the early 1990s, some of the treatments used by the debuting filmmaker were adopted quite differently than he expected – viewers left the cinema, and due to the censorship of brutal torture scenes, the British could only see the film three years after its official premiere. One of them was a screenwriter, incl. “Nightmare from Elm Street” by Wes Craven. “The fucking guy who did The Last House on the Left came out? My movies are too heavy for the guy who did The Last House on the Left …” – recalled Tarantino, indignantly.

“For Quentin. It’s not a song about a prick, it’s about a love. Madonna.”

The decisive reactions of the viewers were also associated with the vulgarity of the dialogues, which from the very first minutes caused consternation and indignation. The film opens with a breakfast conversation in which Tarantino himself presents a rather bold interpretation of Madonna’s song “Like a Virgin”. After watching the film, the artist, who liked “Reservoir Dogs” very much, contradicted the guesswork presented in the script. Not only that – she gave the director a copy of her album “Erotica” with the comment: “For Quentin. It’s not a song about a dick, but about love. Madonna.”

Another interesting fact about the “colorful” heroes: Mr. Although Blue is visible only in the opening scene and does not say a word, he may be forgotten – meanwhile, he is actually the most interesting character. Edward Bunker, who plays him, was once a criminal himself; he had robbery of several banks on his account. 15 years before the premiere of “Reservoir Dogs”, as a 42-year-old, he returned to the path of justice and began writing crime fiction, of which Tarantino was a fan. He also fulfilled himself in creating film scripts and willingly appeared in front of the camera.

There is a chance that the filmmakers had a bank robbery in their mind at some stage of production. They were faced with such a low budget that (summing up the simplifications and compromises they had to make) it was strange how they produced such a good film. Some actors, incl. Chris Penn and Steve Buscemi wore their own clothes on the set. In turn, the characteristic black suits were given to the filmmakers by a designer who is a fan of crime films. The car in which Mr. Blonde is taking a hostage – a Cadillac Coupe DeVille – was owned by Michael Madsen because the production could not afford the car.

The aforementioned warehouse, where half of the film takes place, is in fact an abandoned dissecting room, and the room above it was used to create the room in which Mr. Orange. The scene where Mr. Pink steals a car in the middle of the road, it was recorded without the assistance of the police and using real traffic because, again, in a safer way, there was no money.

What does “Reservoir Dogs” actually mean?

If you’ve been wondering about the meaning of the original title, “Reservoir Dogs”, it would be advisable to stop trying. There are many speculations about it, and the director himself has never revealed the true source of his inspiration. One of the most popular theories is about a client of the rental shop where Tarantino worked – in one version a man misspelled the title of the film “Au revoir les enfants”, in another, Tarantino replied that he did not want to watch any “reservoir dogs”. about the conglomerate of words created by combining the titles “Au revoir les enfants” and “Straw Dogs.” All theories are just as probable.

Reservoir Dogs almost got a sequel. Portrayed by Michael Madsen Vic Vega, hiding under the pseudonym Mr. Blonde, was supposed to be Vincent Vega’s brother. Sounds familiar? This is, of course, the hero of John Travolta from “Pulp Fiction”. Unfortunately, when the director found the space to implement this idea, the actors got too old to return to their roles.