Quentin Tarantino’s groundbreaking first film, Reservoir Dogs, is streaming on Netflix and Amazon Prime. Written and directed by the then-29-year-old debut filmmaker, the movie became instantly iconic from its first scene.
The bloody heist film opens to a group of gangsters gathered in a diner discussing the meaning of Madonna’s ‘Like a Virgin’ and arguing about tipping. What follows is Tarantino’s cult classic, with a mere 99 minute runtime, that is not for the faint of heart. The crime drama can be revisited or experienced for the first time on both streaming giants now.
Released in 1992, Tarantino’s tale of a diamond heist gone wrong established trademarks that would be seen in his later films, including outlandish violence, pop culture references and non-linear storytelling.
The group of six career criminals are strangers to one another and go by aliases: Mr White (Harvey Keitel), Mr Orange (Tim Roth), Mr Blonde (Michael Madsen), Mr Pink (Steve Buscemi), Mr Blue (Edward Bunker) and Mr Brown (Tarantino himself).
Reservoir Dogs is certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with a 90% score, with viewers rating it even higher at 94%.
The site’s critics consensus reads: “Thrumming with intelligence and energy, Reservoir Dogs opens Quentin Tarantino’s filmmaking career with hard-hitting style.”
“Without an ounce of fat, at a trim ninety-nine minutes, the movie pierces like a bullet, leaving a clean hole,” reflected The New Yorker on the 25th anniversary of the film.
Tarantino’s debut film set the score, as per Variety: “In a single blistering stroke, Tarantino makes a revolutionary declaration: He would be the next-generation Scorsese. And every scene of his gripping first feature makes good on that promise.”
The entertainment publication placed Reservoir Dogs in second place behind Pulp Fiction in their ranking of the best Tarantino films.
Speaking of his debut, Empire said: “With Reservoir Dogs, Quentin Tarantino started as he meant to go on. And what he meant to go on to be is evident from the opening shots of the movie: an auteur, no less.”
The violence in the film created controversy upon its release, the publication noted: “Debuts are not meant to capture all the plaudits at Sundance before storming to cult status around the world and igniting a forest fire of newsprint in an endless debate about the morality of screen violence.”
Pulp Fiction is often ranked as Tarantino’s best movie, but some fans have said they prefer Reservoir Dogs.
An IMDB user called it a ‘timeless classic’, writing: “The way the film is edited is genius. Its almost like you forget the whole movie after you watch it, and the next time you watch it, there’s a whole scene that you forgot was there.
“The storyline is unpredictable and thrilling. This is better [than] Pulp Fiction and in my opinion definitely [Tarantino’s] best movie.”
One fan on Rotten Tomatoes compared it to The Godfather: “The greatest crime drama since the Godfather it was something Hollywood can’t do anymore write direct and act.”