Quentin Tarantino offered up his first slice of cinematic pop art in the 1992 quote-fest Reservoir Dogs. Here he manipulated traditional storyboard templates, cutting and pasting his unique brand of narrative into a mix that truly sought to test those so used to their doses of formula. Production Companies in Gold Coast take care of every single element while casting roles.
Tarantino Reworks Modern Cinema
Tarantino, in the same vein as Woody Allen has etched such a definitive niche for himself that it is perhaps the styles saviour that this director is not at all prolific. His films are spaced by years rather than the customary months and this, for the most part, allows the style to remain ‘cool’. But it is a fine line that is tread with some of Tarantino’s work all but tripping into parody – it is perhaps testament to the exacting nature of his casting that such unnatural dialogue can be delivered with such believability.
Tarantino Assembles His Ensemble
Ensemble casting fills out yet another check box whenever discussion of this famous ex-video rental employees work is discussed. Reservoir Dogs set the pace for things to come with an eclectic mix of past and present acting talent. In this film, mostly dressed in identical black suits and named by color, they bustled and fizzed with an on screen chemistry rarely seen before. The simplicity and perfect execution of the plot and the absence of expected set pieces has made this a classic storytelling hook upon which many future films have been hung.
Screen Violence as Entertainment
Dogs is no doubt dripping in violence and laced with ever present profanity but ‘This is this’, to paraphrase De Niro’s Deer Hunter. It harks back to the pulp cinema from which it is so openly inspired and stretches forward over the films that Tarantino subsequently made. This is not everybody’s glass of Cristal but it is refreshing to have the senses sometimes shaken rather than pandered to.
Where are the Dogs Today?
- Mr White – Harvey Keitel
Harvey Keitel began his acting career in 1967 but truly found recognition in Martin Scorsese’s 1973 classic, Mean Streets. He has steadily worked plying his trade often as the ‘Hardman’ but also straying into alternative roles – most notably in Jane Campion’s, The Piano.
- Mr. Orange – Tim Roth
An English actor who has also worked steadily since his work on Reservoir Dogs. More often than not his choices have veered away from the blockbuster and into more independent territory. He would memorably work again with Tarantino in 1994’s Pulp Fiction as an unlucky would be armed robber who instead ends up in a one way chat with Samuel L. Jackson.
- Mr Pink – Steve Buscemi
Yet another prolific actor but one who seems to seamlessly slide from obscure independent productions to smack-you-in-the-face blockbuster. No genre is left untouched by this ‘everyman’ actor, writer and director who has appeared as everything from the hapless Mr. Pink to psychopath Garland Green in the guilty pleasure, Conair.
- Mr. Blonde – Michael Madsen
To say that Michael Madsen is prolific is to make a major understatement – he has been churning out up six film and television projects a year since the early eighties. Quantity rarely equates to quality but he, along with his trademark red-raw voice, never fails to punch his authority into the role. Now a regular Tarantino stalwart his role as ice-cold psychopath Mr. Blonde and his graphic torture scene will forever be set aside as definitive of the directors work.
- Mr. Brown – Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino belongs to that select group of film makers who stamp their work by appearing before the camera. His characterization of Mr. Brown comes to an abrupt and violent end but the career of this actor, writer, producer and director is continually buoyant with ongoing collaborations and television work.
- Mr. Blue – Eddie Bunker
The little known Mr. Blue is a minor character who is killed during the films unseen heist scene. Eddie Bunker, became an accomplished writer and part time actor but was, until 1975, a career criminal. Drug dealing, bank robbery, extortion and forgery all seep into his work both on screen and off with themes of crime and prison life always close at hand. He died in 2005 at the age of 71.
- Joe Cabot – Lawrence Tierney
Lawrence Tierney’s screen presence screams intimidation, perfectly cast here in a role that many could have portrayed as worn. He had been here before, for years playing the formidable notably in his 1945 role as gangster John Dillinger. His career perhaps had more ebb than flow but it was never down for the count. His off screen behavior, fueled with alcohol and sporadic clashes with authorities, are now Hollywood legend – his ‘hard as nails’ persona leaving even his cast and crew at a loss with how he should be handled. He died in 2002 at the age of 82.
- ‘Nice Guy’ Eddie Cabot – Chris Penn
Chris Penn worked hard. His work both before and following Reservoir Dogs often tinged with a alienation, an edginess. From his early work on Rumblefish, for Francis Ford Coppola through his work with Tarantino and onto his award winning turn as the fire tempered ‘Chez’ in Able Ferraras, The Funeral – he gave us all a glimpse of the dark. His extensive portfolio includes both the obligitory Hollywood quick fixs as well as deeper work of which continues to stand times test. He died in 2006 at the age of 40 – the details, as with any passing, mean nothing but to his family.
The slow walking henchmen of Reservoir Dogs continue to inspire. Their dialogue, style and disregard for convention ushered in a new breed of filmmaking – Cinema Tarantinoir.