Reservoir Dogs, the feature length debut of writer and director Quentin Tarantino, premiered at Sundance Film Festival and was later screened during the Cannes Film Festival.
Influential in the film making community and compared to the Lumière brothers’ L'arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat, the first motion picture in history, it was a smash hit at the box office and shaped the development of film in the 1990s.
Incredibly stylish (a black suit in the background of Mr. Blonde's yellow Cadillac is one of the images most often copied in cinema), avant-garde in its approach to storytelling, and saturated with pop culture references, it was a breakthrough for the young Tarantino. It is filled with the director's signature black humor, lower genre infatuations and boasts an amazing ensemble cast. This is everything Tarantino loves and praises about cinema.
Many film critics were skeptical about the status of Reservoir Dogs in movie history. They rightfully argue that the film, which enjoyed incredible success with art-house audiences and is a regular title on 'best film in history' lists, was created using the rules of legendary films from 1940s and 1950s. According to some, it killed the genre, others believe Reservoir Dogs creatively interpreted it, developing it to a post-cult phase.
Reservoir Dogs
Dir. Quentin Tarantino. 100 minutes, USA, 1992