Synopsis

After a diamond heist collapses into a bloodbath, a group of color-coded criminals gathers at an abandoned warehouse. Suspicion spreads as the wounded Mr. Orange struggles to survive and the survivors try to determine who betrayed them. Told through fractured chronology, the film gradually reveals the robbery's disastrous aftermath and the personal loyalties driving the gang toward a violent reckoning.

Factoids & Trivia

• Reservoir Dogs was a 1992 independent crime film and marked Quentin Tarantino's feature-length filmmaking debut.

• The project began as a much smaller production. Producer Lawrence Bender helped expand its possibilities after reading the screenplay, and Harvey Keitel's involvement greatly improved the film's financing and visibility.

• The movie premiered at the 1992 Sundance Film Festival after Tarantino participated in the Sundance Directors Lab.

• Its limited budget shaped the production. Several performers supplied their own clothing, while the distinctive black suits were obtained at no cost from the costume designer.

• The traffic-control budget was so tight that the carjacking sequence had to be staged around the existing traffic lights.

• Tarantino used a collection of licensed songs instead of commissioning a traditional orchestral score. Stealers Wheel's "Stuck in the Middle with You" became permanently associated with the film's most notorious sequence.

• The opening discussion of "Like a Virgin" inspired a famous response from Madonna, who disagreed with the film's deliberately provocative interpretation of her song.

• The film's title is intentionally unexplained. Tarantino has said he liked the sound of the phrase, which contributes to the movie's elusive, pulp-fiction atmosphere.