By MEGAN HAMM
a&l writer
In today’s society it seems that more people are excited about new movie releases. However, some of the best movies that are worth seeing were released years ago.
In 1992, Quentin Tarantino made his directorial and writing debut with the movie “Reservoir Dogs.”
The film follows a group of six men as they attempt to rob a jewelry store in Los Angeles, but their plan goes awry when one of the thieves decides to murder several people after an employee sounds the emergency alarms.
Most of the action in the movie happens in a warehouse where the men were told to meet after the heist.
After the plan falls apart, the members gather to try and find out who snitched to the cops.
The actual names of the men are unknown to the audience for most of the movie because the characters were given the names Mr. Blonde, Mr. Blue, Mr. Brown, Mr. Orange, Mr. White and Mr. Pink.
These aliases were meant to keep their identities secret from the cops and the other members of the team.
As stated before, the movie’s action takes place in the warehouse post-robbery, but Tarantino created flashback scenes to show the origins of the crooks.
These scenes are first introduced with the member’s name as if they were chapter headings of a book.
I enjoyed experiencing this quality in the film because it helped me distinguish whose back story I was about to witness.
However, other distinct features made it apparent that this was a debut film.
Many of the filming elements used in the movie seemed experimental because there were dramatic backward zooms and scenes that were entirely done in one take.
Even though it was obvious these were experimental camera shots, it didn’t take away from the quality of the film. In some ways Tarantino’s directing choices created a style of filming I had never seen before.
The scenes that were filmed in one take enabled the audience to see all the action happen at once.
It also allowed the actors to perform their dialogue continuously with each other throughout the entire scene.
Filming in this style made the movie feel like a live play because it didn’t follow the typical filming norms of cutting from one actor to another as the scene played out.
By challenging the actors more, Tarantino was able to capture the many emotional stages performers can invoke if they have an opportunity to remain in character.
Even though these elements enhanced the overall quality of the movie, it should not be watched by the faint of heart.
Tarantino is known for his excessive use of foul language, violence and gore. It can be highly disturbing at times and cause the audience to feel uneasy.
With the emotional performances from the actors to the experimental camera shots, “Reservoir Dogs,” should be the next movie you watch.
As long as you can get past the excessive amount of violence, this Tarantino film is highly enjoyable.
MEGAN HAMM
