Reservoir Dogs – 15th Anniversary (Blu-ray)
Picture:
B+ Sound: B Extras: B- Film: B-
At a time
when the effect of bad 1980s mall movies had ruined so much filmmaking, it
should be no surprise that a film like Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs (1992) was a big independent hit. It has its following and continues to be
popular, but for those like this critic who had seen it all before, it was just
too derivative to totally work. The new 15 Anniversary edition has already
arrived on DVD-Video, as the following review shows:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/4840/Reservoir+Dogs+(15th+Anniversary+Edition/DVD-Video)
Not as
much a fan of the film as that critic, I can still see the appeal of the film
and the return of the repressed aspect makes total sense. Seeing it again all these years later, you
can see Tarantino still finding his way as director, trying to speak for
himself while running through the languages of every gritty director he ever
loved. This eventually synthesized into
himself becoming an auteur, but he was not quite there yet.
The cast
is much celebrated, though the myths of masculinity are represented by those
whose careers did not go as far after this film was made as you’d think and a
few who are sadly no longer with us.
Furthermore, most audiences miss the gay couple undercover in this sea
of pseudonyms and double-crosses, which is something you would hardly see in
most of its predecessors. It did shake
up the indie world and its Merchant/Ivory tendencies, but filmmaking has still
been in a steady decline in other ways despite the lessons Tarantino learned
for the gangster cycle in 1990 that made this film possible.
The 1080p
digital High Definition image was not bad on DVD-Video and is even better here,
but the print still has some minor limits that show it could benefit from some
clean up. Otherwise, Andrzej Sekula’s
cinematography has some memorable shots and is the best you are going to see it
here unless you get a good 35mm print.
Originally
a Dolby A-type analog theatrical sound release, the upgrade to DTS ES from the
DVD is now of the higher 96/24 HD type and the best way to hear the film. Sure, the recording shows its age, but the
upgrade is ambitious and sounds really good.
The Dolby Digital 5.1 EX from the DVD is repeated here too, but is the
same and no match for either DTS mix.
Besides the use of Rock & Pop music, some sound design in the action
scenes has punch it likely did not in the 1992 release. Combined with the HD picture, this is an
impressive upgrade more films need.
Extras
are missing the five deleted scenes of the DVD and Class of '92 featurette, but you do get the Pulp Factoids Viewer and two other featurettes in HD: Playing It Fast & Loose and Profiling The Reservoir Dogs. If you
like the film, you will not be disappointed.
- Nicholas Sheffo
