Oh, to imagine the reaction back in 1992 when his directing debut Reservoir Dogs was released. Now we're pretty much used to the gore and profanity in his work, but Lord knows what everyone thought of his vision when he first showed up. (Hell, people probably didn't feel this way since Peckinpah.)
Naturally the response was a mix between amazement and shock. Amazement because not many filmmakers prior to Tarantino could effortlessly blend sporadic manner of speaking with violence, shock because of, well, basically the same things. What? The guy's a pioneer.
Sure, Tarantino "borrowed" some of the main ideas from the likes of The Taking of Pelham One Two Three and The Killing, but you've got to admire those allusions. Some would call them ripoffs; I call them homages, better yet tributes.
Reservoir Dogs might grow on me more if I watch it a few more times, but it did stick on the first viewing. (That ear slicing scene is the stuff of nightmares, man.) Hey, just watching this makes it clear how he made it big. Seriously.
My Rating: *****
Tarantino more than "borrowed" ideas from City On Fire when he made Reservoir Dogs, funny that he never mentioned it as an influence until similarities were pointed out a couple of years after 'Dogs release.
ReplyDeleteWas it plagiarism or was it homage? I beg to differ with your opinion.
Well said. I think Tarantino is one of the most interesting filmmakers today.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't crazy about this film -- maybe it was because I saw Pulp Fiction first, which set my expectations too high. I agreed with Ebert when he said "Tarantino has shown us he can make a movie as good as Reservoir Dogs; now he needs to go and make a better one." Still it did have its share of laugh-out-loud and viscerally disturbing moments.
ReplyDeleteGore? I wouldn't consider there to be all that much gore in this movie. There's a little bit of blood, but you don't see too much gore.
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