Reservoir Dogs is Quentin Tarantino's 1992 debut as a director and a screenwriter. The film largely takes place in the aftermath of a jewelry heist gone wrong. After the robbery is interrupted by the police, the surviving criminals — all of whom are using color-based pseudonyms, and none of whom knew the others before this job — escape to an abandoned warehouse and try to work out what went wrong, eventually deciding that there must be an undercover cop in their midst. Frequent flashbacks give the back story of several of the characters and fill in the details of the crime, telling the story in a non-linear fashion (which would become Tarantino's Signature Style); in fact, the movie contains a lot of elements Tarantino would use in later films, such as brutal violence and Seinfeldian Conversation (though not at the same time).A video game was produced that followed the plot of the movie and allowed the player to actually commit the heist that was only alluded to in the film.
Eddie Bunker appears as Mr. Blue. Bunker was a former criminal who wrote a semi-autobiographical crime book titled Little Boy Blue. After the film, he wrote a follow-up titled Mr. Blue: Memoirs of a Renegade.
Joe, played by veteran actor Lawrence Tierney, says at one point that Mr. Blue is "as dead as Dillinger". Tierney's first major film role was playing John Dillinger in the titular 1945 film.
All Issues Are Political Issues: Mr. Pink does this at the beginning, as he explains the political philosophy behind tipping.
Ax Crazy: Mr. Blonde's trigger happy behavior leads to Mr. Pink's realization that they were set up, when the cops show up early. He's the only member of the team that Pink declares that he absolutely trusts not to be a rat — "he's too damn homicidal to be working with the cops!"
Mr. Blonde: He doesn't like alarms. Don't insinuate that he has a "boss". In spite of his violent reactions, we never actually see him lose his temper.
Mr. White: Don't call him an asshole. Don't threaten people he has gotten to like.
Beware the Nice Ones: The aptly-named "Nice Guy" Eddie (who is really only comparatively nice) is chubby, goofy, and really doesn't look too threatening, especially when surrounded by cool criminals in suits and ties. By the time he got really serious, his manner of speaking changed to something deep, diabolically raspy, and utterly psychotic.
The Big Board: Behind Joe in the codename assigning scene.
Blond Guys Are Evil: Played with, as the only outright evil heist member is "Mr. Blonde", although he isn't actually blond-haired.
Inverted with undercover cop Mr Orange, whose hair is dirty blond / light brown.
Brutal Honesty: Blonde gives the cop an honest lecture on the type of man he is, and what the cop should expect.
Book Ends: The first one-on-one conversation between White and Orange - in the car after the opening credits - involves White asking "Are you a doctor? ARE YOU?" Their last conversation before the credits ends with Orange telling White what he really is.
Bolivian Army Ending: It's not clear whether Mr. Pink is arrested or killed by the cops at the end, or if he managed to get away.
Word Of God says that the briefcase from Pulp Fiction contained the diamonds from this movie, which means that somebody sold the diamonds to Marcellus Wallace through Brett and his gang, which has led many to believe that Mr. Pink did escape and eventually sold the diamonds to Marcellus since Joe Cabot got killed.
A better example would be Eddie Bunker (Mr. Blue), who has fewer lines and less screen time. He is even occasionally omitted from promo materials. Even the tagline at the top mentions 5 when there are 6 men.
The Caper: The movie does an interesting version by completely skipping the caper itself, making it a subversion.
The video game of the film, on the other hand, is all about the heist.
Captain Obvious: When Mr. Blonde is asked about Mr. Blue's fate.
Mr. Blonde: Either he's alive or he's dead, or the cops got him, or they don't.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the point I thought Blonde was making was that Blue's fate didn't really matter anyway.
Cast the Expert: Eddie Bunker lived as a criminal and thief many years before becoming a writer. He plays Mr Blue.
Color-Coded Characters: Played with; although each of the robbers has a colour-based codename (Mr. White, Mr. Orange, Mr. Pink, Mr. Brown, Mr. Blue, and Mr. Blonde), they all wear identical black suits, shades, and have their (mostly dark) hair slicked back in order to make identification more difficult for witnesses.
Death by Disfigurement: The cop is killed after he receives facial scars and loses an ear, even pointing out that he's "deformed" before he's killed.
Distracted From Death: Subverted. When Mr. White and Mr. Pink come back from talking in a separate room, they briefly think that Mr. Orange died while they were away, but they realize that he has presumably just passed out.
Downer Ending: All of the sympathetic characters have died by the end, including everyone else, except possibly Mr. Pink.
Dramatic Irony: Everything. Everything. Especially when you watch it again.
Ear Ache: You won't be able to listen to "Stuck in the Middle With You" the same way again.
Establishing Character Moment: We learn everything we need to know about the main four gangsters in the opening diner scene. Mr. Pink refuses to tip the waitress, showing that he's self-centered and has little sympathy for others. Mr. White gets angry at him and passionately explains why waitresses need tips, showing that he's good-natured and sympathetic. Mr. Blonde jokingly offers to shoot him for not tipping, showing that he's a violent psychopath. And Mr. Orange rats him out to Joe for not tipping — foreshadowing the revelation that he's the rat.
Even Evil Has Standards: The other characters are pretty disgusted by Mr. Blonde's actions. And disgusted at Mr. Pink's refusal to tip the waitress (in fact, Mr. Blonde actually proceeds to speak for the waitresses, though not to the extent Mr. White does so).
Extremely Short Timespan: The majority of the movie is set during a scant few hours immediately following the heist.
Face Death with Dignity: Averted. Mr. Orange, Mr. White, and the cop break down into hysterics when shot or tortured. Not that anyone could blame them.
Flash Back: Several, for most of the main characters. Denied by Tarantino, who claims to hate these scenes being referred to as flashbacks, and prefers to think of it as a particular order that the audience will receive information in. Lending credence to this is the fact that none of the flashback scenes are preceded by a character reminiscing to past events.
Fluffy the Terrible: Nice Guy Eddie. All of the really murderous robbers have names like "Mr. Pink" and "Mr. Blonde".
Foil: Everybody acts as a foil to Mr. White. Whereas Mr. White is a relatively moral guy, Mr. Blonde is a cheerfully amoral psychopath. Whereas Mr. White is governed more by his emotions (as evidenced by his attachment to Orange), Mr. Pink is a logical and professional guy. Whereas White is very experienced and knowledgeable, Mr. Orange is very inexperienced.
Foreshadowing: Loads. The opening sequence foreshadows about half the movie. Orange's flashback foreshadows the ending. There's even foreshadowing combined with Visual Gag. Pay close attention to any object whose color matches one of the main characters' names. The warehouse, where the majority of the film takes place, is practically empty except for a random selection of coffins.
For the Evulz: Mr. Blonde states bluntly that he's going to torture the cop purely because he enjoys it, not to gain information.
Choleric: Mr. Pink — The domineering, obsessive perfectionist who takes charge when the heist goes awry.
Melancholic: Mr. Blonde — The stone-cold, introverted Badass who hides his psychopathic streak from the others.
Leukine: Mr. Orange — The naive rookie who looks up to the others and remains trusting when he gets in over his head.
Sanguine: Mr. White — The good-natured, charismatic veteran who sticks up for the rookie and remains optimistic when everything goes to hell.
Gay Bravado: Between Mr. Blonde and Nice Guy Eddie in the former's introductory chapter.
Geek: Mr. Orange. In a flashback, model painting kits and Silver Surfer posters can be seen in his apartment; he is also knowledgeable about pop culture (mentioning the Fantastic Four in one scene), but not to the extent of being able to distinguish one Madonna song from another.
Good Is Not Nice: The LAPD, especially Marvin Nash, Holdaway and Mr. Orange.
Proposed, but shot down by Nice Guy Eddie: "If you fucking beat this prick long enough, he'll tell you he started the goddamn Chicago fire, now that don't necessarily make it fucking so!"
Referenced, but never practiced, by Mr. White:
Now if it's a manager, that's a different story. Managers know better than to fuck around, so if you get one that's giving you static, he probably thinks he's a real cowboy, so you gotta break that son of a bitch in two. If you wanna know something and he won't tell you, cut off one of his fingers. The little one. Then tell him his thumb's next. After that he'll tell you if he wears ladies underwear. I'm hungry. Let's get a taco.
Jerkass: Every named character in this movie, especially Mr. Pink and Nice Guy Eddie. Mr. Blonde is more than that, however.
Left Hanging: Mr. Pink's fate. You have to listen close, but you hear him get caught by the police.
Let Me Get This Straight: Nice Guy Eddie does this when he refuses to believe Mr. Orange's explanation for why he had to shoot Mr. Blonde:
Nice Guy Eddie: Okay, let me just say this out loud, cause I wanna get this straight in my head. You're saying that Mr. Blonde was gonna kill you, and then when we got back he was gonna kill us, take the satchel of diamonds and scram, I'm right about that right, that's correct, that's your story?
Kill 'em All: The only survivor is Mr. Pink. You need to listen closely for Mr. Pink's fate: you hear him get caught by the police. The Waitress makes it, though.
Meaningful Background Event: Mr. Pink's aforementioned arrest. It takes place off screen the exact moment that Mr. orange confesses to Mr. White that he was an undercover cop.
Minimalism: Reservoir Dogs doesn't actually show the jewel heist, nor does it show much of anything. With the vast majority of the film set in an empty warehouse that is serving as the gangsters' hideout, we don't get to see the elaborate planning or the shootouts that ensued; instead, what we get to see is the crooks sitting around discussing the aftermath. The film also has no orchestral score, relying instead on select songs to carry the audience through quiet passages.
Monochrome Casting: The only non-white speaking role is a black cop that is not directly involved in the heist or its aftermath. The white robbers talk about characters of a variety of races, however.
Moral Myopia: Mr. White is sickened by the fact that Mr. Blonde killed random innocent civilians, yet kills cops without remorse.
My God, What Have I Done?: In the final scene of the movie, Mr. White realizes too late that he killed his boss so he could protect a police informant.
Nice Guy: Subverted with White. He's the most likable of the thieves, sticks his neck out for Mr. Orange, and expresses moral disgust at Mr. Blonde's behavior, but he's also a cold-blooded murderer who slaughters several cops and has no qualms with brutalizing people up for their money. "Nice Guy" Eddie is a more obvious subversion, being a cocky crime prince.
Noble Demon: Mr. White may be the most likeable and moral of the criminals, but he's still a ruthless criminal willing to commit murder if necessary.
Noodle Incident: We see the planning and we see the aftermath, and we get plenty of hints about what went down, but the actual heist itself goes unseen.
No Name Given: Mr. Pink, Mr. Brown and Mr. Blue. While Mr. White's real name is never mentioned in the completed cut, it's revealed to be Larry Dimmick in a few unused scenes.
Not So Different: Mr. Orange finds himself not having many differences from the thieves, despite being a cop himself.
Only Sane Man: Mr. Pink spends a lot of time playing this role ("Am I the only fucking professional here!?") as things get more heated between the other thieves.
Oblivious Guilt Slinging: Kinda taken to the next level. White takes a bullet trying to convince Joe that Orange is not the rat. Orange feels indebted. Problem is, he actually is the rat.
The Power Of Trust: Subverted and played horribly straight in the same action. Orange tells White that he's a cop, obviously upset due to White having taken a bullet for him now. White, horrified at the revelation, shoots him... maybe.
Power Walk: The gang does this just before the credits. This is probably one of the most famous images from the movie.
Pragmatic Villainy: Mr. White and Mr. Pink disapprove of Mr. Blonde's killing spree...not because they have any qualms whatsoever about killing someone (they don't) but because they need a reason, even if that reason is "I'm fleeing the cops and you're standing in my way." Mr. Blonde appears to kill and torture For the Evulz.
Reality Subtext: Note in the opening scene when the gang are discussing Madonna, Nice Guy Eddie keeps out of the discussion. His actor, Chris Penn, deferred from saying anything on screen about his former sister-in-law.
Seamless Spontaneous Lie: Mr Orange practices hard so that he'll be able to improvise answers when telling his fake anecdote. He answers the questions flawlessly.
Seinfeldian Conversation: About the meaning of "Like a Virgin" and why Mr. Pink doesn't tip waitresses, among other things. Those first two conversations are loaded with double meanings and Foreshadowing, however.
In the film, Joe Cabot mentions that Mr. Blue is "dead as Dillinger", and in the video game it is revealed that he was gunned down in a movie theater (a reference to how John Dillinger was gunned down near a movie theater).
Also an Actor Allusion, as Lawrence Tierney (Joe) had played Dillinger in a film by the same name in 1945.
Also "Coconut" playing over the final credits. Going from "PUT THE GUN DOWN ON THE GROUND!"BAMBAMBAM to Put da lime in da coconut is very strange indeed. May count as a joke, as Mr. Orange had a bellyache throughout most of the movie.
The song Lime in the Coconut is actually a metaphor for the events of the movie going from calm and collected to chaotic and hectic. As the song goes from a quiet pitch to a louder pitch as the song progresses.
Stock Scream: The infamous Wilhelm scream can be heard as Mr. Pink flees the scene of the crime.
Deconstructed with Mr. Blonde. He's an unflappable, perma-cool stoic... because he's also a complete Ax Crazy sociopath.
Mr. Blue fits this considering he barely has any lines.
Story Within a Story: Even as Mr. Orange is relating his story about walking past three cops in the bathroom with a briefcase full of drugs, one of the cops in the story is talking about how he nearly blew away someone reaching for his license and registration.
Both of which are in a story that Mr. Orange is telling... which is in the Mr. Orange story... which is part of the Reservoir Dogs story.
Joe: No no no. Tried it [letting people pick their own names] before, doesn't work. You end up with four guys all fighting over who gets to be "Mr. Black". Nobody knows anybody else so nobody wants to back down. No way. I pick. You're Mr. Pink. Be thankful you're not Mr. Yellow.
Tranquil Fury: In spite of being a psychopath, Mr. Blonde never raises his voice and has a perpetually casual, amused air about him. He's so relaxed that he stopped for a post-shootout snack with a cop in his trunk.
Trunk Shot: The first movie Tarantino used it in, in fact.
The Verse: Word of God is that this movie takes place in the same universe as Pulp Fiction, and that Vic Vega/Mr. Blonde is Vincent Vega's brother. Common fanon is that the mysterious case in Pulp Fiction held the diamonds from this movie's heist. Tarantino himself confirmed that this was supposed to be the case, but changed it to an Unreveal because he liked the idea of the audience coming up with their own interpretation.
Two Words: Mr. Pink has them: "Learn to fucking type."
In the finale of the movie, Nice Guy Eddie when he finds out from Mr. Orange about Mr. Blonde wanting to rip them off. His first action is to shoot Marvin Nash, who is a policeman tied up to a chair. And when Eddie gets involved in the Mexican Standoff between himself, his dad and Mr. White, he screams out to Mr. White not to point the gun at his dad before getting killed.
Mr. White when he finds out that his newfound friend is actually a police informant all along.
Villain Protagonist: Pretty much everybody, as the main characters display Black and Gray Morality at best. Although White is a Noble Demon and Orange is arguably good. Well, except for shooting the civilian woman during the carjacking in retaliation to being shot himself, though he did show remorse for the deed.
Visual Gag: The warehouse, where the majority of the film takes place, is practically empty except for a random selection of coffins
Wham Line: "Listen to me, Marvin Nash. I'm a cop."
What Happened to the Mouse?: Mr. Pink makes off with the suitcase and we never learn what happened to him, although noises suggest he is arrested. The mysterious suitcase in Pulp Fiction was originally intended to be this suitcase.
Orange is shot by Joe. Joe is shot by White. White is shot by Eddie. Eddie is shot by....???? White was originally intended to shoot him but there was a mixup with the effects and Tarrantino decided to leave it a mystery what happened to him.
What Measure Is a Mook?: Mr. Pink asks Mr. White if he had to kill anyone. White admits to killing a few cops, to which Pink replies, "Any real people?" The response: "No, just cops."
Word Salad Title: "Reservoir Dogs" comes from Tarantino's video store boss referring to Au revoir les enfants as "that reservoir dogs movie." Tarantino simply liked the phrase, and it has no official meaning in regards to the film. Unless you count it as a pun on "dam(n) sons of bitches".
World's Smallest Violin: Mr. Pink plays the world's smallest violin for underpaid waitresses during a debate about tipping.
Mr. Pink: Do you know what this is? This is the world's smallest violin playing just for the waitresses.
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