Jordan Valdez Post #1 Reservoir Dogs

Post #1, Jordan Valdez, Reservoir Dogs, 1992, Directed by Quentin Tarantino

Not only was Reservoir Dogs one of the greatest movies of 1992, it gave an unparalleled gift to the world of filmmaking—writer and director, Quentin Tarantino.  Shown at the Sundance Film Festival in January of 1992, Dogs was Tarantino’s first major film that opened the industry’s eyes to his talents.  One of the most interesting qualities of Tarantino’s work is the level of characteristics that he holds to in each of his films.  For example, he is a huge fan of the close up shot, seen multiple times throughout Dogs, such as when Mr. White is speaking privately with Joe in his office.  In two-shot scenes such as this, there is also a great use of over the shoulder shots, with frame changes flowing smoothly.  Tarantino is also known for using aliases in practically all of his films, and clearly used in Dogs.  His films center around violence, and in many cases extreme violence, that is usually shown off screen.  Dogs also exhibited Tarantino’s success in breaking boundaries and showing things in films that are unexpected and real, proving that he is not afraid to take chances with films. 

My first thought as I finished Reservoir Dogs was that it was not what I expected.  I was prepared for a gangster film in the thriller and crime genre.  However, I got so much more than that.  The film was rough, dirty, and gripping.  The simplicity of the plot line allowed for the intimate detail of every scene.  At some parts, it was almost too hard to watch because of the crude language, the character’s brutality, or the elaborate violence and gore.  Yet I couldn’t keep my eyes off of it at the same time.  I enjoyed the cinematography comprising of dark lighting, simple sets, and extreme close ups and reaction shots.  I found the theme of crime to be very intriguing as well.  It pushed a sense of danger throughout the film and made the audience part of all of the illegal action.  As I looked through other movies from 1992 to watch, I found that crime was a major theme throughout many of the most popular films.  It is not my favorite genre but for that fact alone I am going to try to find as many films with some aspect of crime or thriller in them to challenge myself to step out of my comfort zone.  So far after watching Dogs, I know that there must be more out there from the year I was born that will take me by surprise.