more on Reservoir Dogs

Reservoir Dogs was unique in its blend of chill music and smooth style with bloody shoot-outs and vicious torture. The infamous "ear" scene is perhaps one of cinema's most terrifying moments, while the discussion of Madonna is perhaps one of cinema's most hysterical. The juxtaposition of comedy and violence was quite original, but some of Tarantino's ideas were not. I view Tarantino as the Milton of our age. Just as Milton pulled out references from everywhere he could find in his tale, Paradise Lost, Tarantino pulls out references in Reservoir Dogs. The hacking off of the ear is actually a reference to the cult classic of 1966 Django, in which the villian's ear is cut off before he is killed. The use of colors as codenames (Ex: Mr. White, Mr. Pink, etc) comes from the classic film The Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three. The film ends with three charcters point guns at each other in what is known as a "Mexican Standoff". These standoffs were a staple in the spaghetti westerns of grindhouse theaters, and Tarantino's infusion of the mexican standoff is yet another tribute to the great films of the past. The choice of Lawrence Tierney as Joe may have been another reference to the gangster films of the fourties. Although Tarantino is an American Original, he certainly knows how to pay homage to the greats.