Six colorful strangers are brought together to pull an anonymous diamond heist. When things go horribly wrong, the surviving criminals meet in an abandoned warehouse to decide what to do next, what went wrong and, more importantly, who’s responsible.

Dude, it’s RESERVOIR DOGS. Do I really need to write more than that? If you haven’t seen Quentin Tarantino’s debut film, and assuming you’re not turned off by excessive violence and foul language, then stop reading and go rent or buy this movie immediately.

Need more convincing? Fine. Not only did it help jump start the low-budget indie craze that’s still going strong today, but RESERVOIR DOGS has pretty much influenced every crime film since. Tarantino himself was never concerned with being 100% original, but instead focused more on fusing together his favorite cinematic genres and styles to create something never before seen (a technique which recently came to a glorious head with KILL BILL). Here, the most obvious inspirations are the 12 ANGRY MEN-like story thrown in with the style of early John Woo, the violence of Sam Peckinpah and the color-coded characters of Walter Mathau’s THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE TWO THREE. There’s still a ton of smaller references and allusions to classic cinema, enough to make even the geekiest film nerd’s head explode in fanboy glee.

Even though the majority of the movie takes place in one location, it’s still as gripping and fast paced as any thriller that has car chases and explosions. The key is Tarantino’s natural but intense dialogue and the sharp characterizations, which builds the story and tension constantly, even with the use of flashbacks. And the casting doesn’t hurt either. Star studded by today’s standards (with Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Steve Buscemi, Michael Madsen and the uber cool Laurence Tierney), the majority of the actors were still fairly unknown back in 1992 but they definitely left their screaming mark in RESERVOIR DOGS.

Oh, and outside of Martin Scorsese or Cameron Crowe, I don’t think anyone uses music as well as Tarantino and the soundtrack to this movie is no different. You won’t be able to listen to the Stealer Wheel’s “Stuck In The Middle With You” the same way ever again.

Video: 2.35:1 and 16 x 9widescreen. The remastered image quality here is noticeably better than in the previous DVD’s transfer. I just hope you enjoy the sight of blood.

Audio: 6.1 DTS ES and 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround EX. The upgraded DTS track is fantastic. I just got a 6.1 set up and this is the first DVD that actually took advantage of that, so props to Lion’s Gate for going the extra mile.

Wow, has it really been five years since I ponied up cash for the “Ten Years” edition? Well, we’re still a few months away from the actual 15th anniversary of the film’s Sundance debut, so technically no. But semantics aside, as a double dip this is quite disappointing. There is a long list of bonus material present, but only a few truly worthwhile extras (and most of them are taken directly from the previous DVD).

* Designates a new feature

Disc 1:
Commentary by various people: The number of participants is quite impressive, including Tarantino, Lawrence Bender and other producers, the Director of Photography, the editor and actors Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn and Kirk Balz. What’s not impressive is the fact that none of these people are ever in the same room at any point in the commentary, so you get two minutes of Roth, followed by five minutes of Bender, etc. They should’ve at least had a Tarantino solo track (you know the man has no problem talking 70 miles an hour about this movie).

Critics Commentary by Peter Travers, Amy Taubin and Emanuel Levy: Each critic gets close to half an hour to talk about the movie. Enough has been said about this movie that these didn’t particularly “wow” me or impart me with any benevolent wisdom.

*Pulp Factoids Viewer: The occasional pop-up will give you a bit of trivia. Interesting, but if you’ve already read the IMDB Trivia section, you’ve seen most of it.


Disc 2:
*Playing It Fast and Loose (15:44): If you want to see Harry Knowles and some people I’ve never heard of kiss QT’s ass for 20 minutes, you’re in luck. Knowles also refers to the movie as “Res Dogs” which for some reason annoyed me more than it should have.

*Profiling the RESERVOIR DOGS (7:06): A brief history and made-up facts about Misters White, Brown, Blonde and Pink. None of it has any real consequence to the movie.

*Tipping Guide: A chart that tells you the amount of gratuity each character would leave at a restaurant. With such cutesy answers as “$6 and a gasoline gift card” for Mr. Blonde, not only is this pointless but it actually made me angry.

Deleted Scenes: Three short cut scenes, most concerning Mr. Orange’s back story (one actually has a female with a speaking role!), as well as two alternate takes of the torture scene. I’m glad Tarantino went with the take that he did. As much as I love gore, the scene works a lot better when they don’t actually show it.

*Reservoir Dolls (2:17): The ear scene re-enacted with toys. Why? I would like to know also.

K-Billy Interactive Radio: It’s only “interactive” in the sense that you select from one of three stations and either a song plays or somebody says something. It’d be worth it if all the songs from the movie were on here.

RESERVOIR DOGS Style Guide (0:22): A very quick montage of random shots with captions such as “Bleeding in STYLE!” I want to know who was in charge of this special feature so I can kick them in the groin for wasting everyone’s time.

Securing the Shot (4:22): A quick feature on scouting all the locations with Location Manager Bill Fox. The warehouse they used was actually a former mortuary, which explains why Mr. Blonde sits on a hearse.

The Class of ’92 (28:40): 1992 is no doubt the year independent cinema exploded in to the mainstream for the first time and this doc looks at Tarantino and some of his colleagues (most of whom have disappeared in to obscurity now) and their influence on modern independent cinema. If you love indie movies, you’ll definitely enjoy this insight in to the industry and it’s a joy hearing Tarantino tell about his Sundance experiences. (Noticeably absent from all this, however, is Robert Rodriguez and EL MARIACHI.)

Tributes and Dedications: A nice collection of thank yous and farewells, close to an hour in total. Some focus on those who are no longer with us (Lawrence Tierney and Eddie Bunker) as well as some of Tarantino’s personal heroes who influenced the making of RESERVOIR DOGS, including Pam Grier and Roger Corman. Interestingly missing is any tribute to Chris Penn, who died last year. Couldn’t be bothered to update this from the previous DVD?

*RESERVOIR DOGS: The Game (3:25): This has to be one of the worst, most shameless tie-ins ever. One of the best parts of the movie is that you never get to see what actually happened during the robbery. And according to this trailer for the game, it consisted mainly of Mr. Blonde running around cutting random people’s ears off.

The original Theatrical Trailer and Previews for SAW III, HARD CANDY, THE DESCENT and other Lion’s Gate movies.

In case you haven’t seen this edition, the packaging is pretty awesome. The discs themselves come in an oversized matchbook from Uncle Bob’s Pancake House (Home of the Big Kahuna Burger), which is housed in a tin gas can. A very cool and unique design.

The last notable aspect of this edition is that it features the complete and unaltered cut of the film. Apparently with the 10th Anniversary DVD there were some issues with a couple lines of dialogue being recut or missing all together. But I'm happy to report that everything is well intact in the 15th Anniversary edition, so all you purists can rest easy.

Part of me wants to recommend this DVD for the creative packaging alone, which would no doubt look great on any shelf. But really, that’s the only major upside to this new edition, aside from the improved audio/video and the 100% "restored" cut. If you have the 10th Anniversary, I’d keep it unless you’re a huge RESERVOIR DOGS fan and think this is worth another dip. Just like the new SCARFACE Platinum Edition, this seems like nothing more than a tie-in for a video game.

Extra Tidbit: When Joe asks Mr. White about Alabama, he’s referring to Patricia Arquette’s character in the Tarantino-penned TRUE ROMANCE. Supposedly, in the same imagined universe as the Vega Brothers, Alabama Worley runs off with Mr. White and lives a life of crime.