Hang tight while we fetch the video data and transcripts. This only takes a moment.
Connecting to YouTube player…
Fetching transcript data…
We’ll display the transcript, summary, and all view options as soon as everything loads.
Next steps
Loading transcript tools…
Reservoir Dogs - A Lesson In Storytelling | Jack's Movie Reviews | YouTubeToText
YouTube Transcript: Reservoir Dogs - A Lesson In Storytelling
Skip watching entire videos - get the full transcript, search for keywords, and copy with one click.
Share:
Video Transcript
I don't think that it would be
controversial to say that Reservoir Dogs
is a simple story it focuses on a half
dozen criminals holed up in a warehouse
after a jewelry heist goes terribly
wrong and they're cutting between the
aftermath but also be set up in the
heist itself this choice to enter cut
rather than have the narrative play
linearly serves a few purposes first and
perhaps most importantly it allows for
big reveals and this is a movie full of
reveals if for example we went into the
heist knowing that mr. orange was an
undercover cop have a student gem take a
big fat guess of insanity
who had changed not only our perception
of him but also the other characters but
purely on a more technical level I think
the nonlinear structure serves two
purposes first to build and maintain
momentum and second to introduce and
develop characters today I would like to
examine how Reservoir Dogs uses these
two elements momentum and its characters
to enhance its story and forever leave
its mark on filmmaking first I want to
discuss how the film uses its nonlinear
structure to reveal information which
keeps the momentum rising I'd say that
there are three major adrenaline moments
mr. orange in the back of the car
bleeding out mr. orange shooting and
killing mr. blonde in the final Mexican
standoff these are high intense moments
in an otherwise tame movie okay tame
probably wasn't the best word but what I
really mean is that this is a movie that
holds back and now you probably think
I'm crazy because this is a movie or
I'm saying that this is a movie that
folds back but think about the ear
cutting scene itself we don't see the
act and we don't need to we know exactly
what is going on but just minutes later
where mr. orange kills mr. blonde the
impact feels so much more real because
we actually get to see the act and this
is the trend that we see throughout the
entire movie only showing enough to keep
our attention we hear more about the
actual heist than we see of it I turn
around and all these cops are outside
took a cop hostages to get the [ __ ] out
of there and this is the movie that
demands your complete attention every
scene is full of dialogue some
conversations are essential to following
the story while others are well
Tarantino being Tarantino but whenever
these story starts to slow down
Tarantino will often flashback to an
the three aforementioned moments served
to bookend the film's to acts because
risk for dogs is a two-act film act one
asks and answers the question who is the
cop I know
well Act two focuses on the
ramifications of this being revealed now
this is undeniably a very simple set up
but it's effective and the reason why it
works so well is that Reservoir Dogs
isn't about the narrative it's about its
characters and with that I want to break
down an examine before major characters
mr. orange proves to be the most
important character in the film
each of these three narrative beats
revolves around him he creates the
central conflict after he is shot and
introduces the moral question of should
we help him even though it may hurt us
in the second act he introduces yet
another moral quandary his storyline
asks the question is he better than the
people around him at first I answer it
seemed like a definitive yes the
undercover cop is certainly a stronger
moral figure than the criminals that he
surrounds himself with but the film
while mr. orange may convince himself
that everything he does is for the
greater good of society when he is put
into action he proves to be just as
heartless as those around him he shoots
and kills a woman trying to defend
herself in her car from being stolen he
becomes so engrossed in his role the
villain that he ultimately becomes one
he is brought out of his comfort zone
and behaves irrationally in a great
article dr. J Richard PhD diagnoses mr.
orange is someone with narcissistic
personality disorder essentially saying
that mr. orange pushes his world too far
and he loses part of himself
Richard writes that mr. orange is the
great impostor he master trickster the
bluffer a Machiavellian the film is set
in LA near Hollywood the capital of
illusion were thousands of people
dedicate themselves to great
performances every day
now I don't want to dive too deep into
the meaning of his assigned color is the
arm but given his role in my enforcement
might be easy to change mr. orange to
Agent Orange a weapon that was intended
to stop bad people but ended up doing
more harm to society I don't mean for
this to turn into a discussion of the
Vietnam War but I do feel like it's an
apt comparison mr. pink may be the best
criminal of the lodge we're supposed to
be [ __ ] professionals I think the
tipping conversation from the opening
scene helps reveal a lot about his character
character
he doesn't have sympathy for others he's
willing to chip when others do an
exceptional job all right I mean I'll
sip if somebody really deserves a tip if
they really put forth the effort I'll
give him something extra but I mean this
tipping automatically is for the birds
over the most part his concern is with
himself he's one to panic and he likes
to have his bases covered so when things
go wrong he is brought out of his
comfort zone
however even when he is uncomfortable he
still behaves rationally and this
happens in a few ways first he hasn't
trust the other members this still puts
him in a conundrum because he needs to
trust the other criminals to an extent
if he wants to survive and make it out
of the current situation for him it's
all about finding leverage wherever he
can he's also the only one who knows
where the diamonds are this further
complicates everything for the other
criminals because they know that they
need him in the end he's able to best
the other criminals at first he tries to
de-escalate the situation attempting to
talk down to criminals after that
grooves to be unsuccessful he does the
last thing that he can hides and cleans
up the mess that everyone else started
and he would have gotten away if not for
the one thing he didn't account for the
police mr. white can be described as the
professional criminal you're supposed to
have like a [ __ ] professional
psychopath a new profession he
understands right from wrong has a very
defined set of morals the thing is his
morals are very unconventional he's
someone who from a very young age has
been exposed to violence not his moral
compass change to reflect it he is loyal
to a fault to his fellow criminals and a
risk his own life to try and protect mr.
orange someone who he cares for and
trusts at the same time he is someone
who is more than willing to brutally
kill police officers who stand in his way
way [Music]
he also has no loyalty to mr. blonde
someone who he views the liability to
the mission mr. white has been raised
since a very young age to be the perfect
tool for a heist like this he's cool
calm and collected but more than willing
to do anything and everything when
needed psychologist Robert D hare uses
Reservoir Dogs as as example to compare
Psychopaths and sociopaths
according to hare mr. white is a
psychopath someone who is professional
and loyal but willing to do inhumane
things for the betterment of the group
and for the betterment of himself mr.
blonde on the other hand is a sociopath
someone who enjoys killing and enjoys
torture and enjoys living in chaos he
has no regard for anybody but himself I
think it would be safe to assume that
during his time in prison something
changed with him he snapped and became
unglued something which ultimately
becomes his downfall
his chaotic personality doesn't work in
a cohesive group the rest tried to be
synergetic and together he strives for
the exact opposite because he thrives
best and chaos all four of these
characters and all the rest of the
characters we see in the films of that
matter are incredibly different from one
another what are the biggest critiques I
read of Tarantino's films is that all of
his characters act and talk the same way
a little bit like camps and while it is
undeniably true to an extent the biggest
reason why I feel like ways where our
dogs work so well so we are presented
with a group of very different
characters in a confined space all
trying to out think and out survive the other
other
and that's all that this movie is a
simple setup that allows for a complex
outcome everything serves this one
purpose driving conflict and creating an
unforgettable cinematic experience hey
everyone I hope you enjoyed Reservoir
Dogs is one of those movies that I'll
often come back to and just have on in
the background alone doing something
else but when you sit down and really
focus on it it becomes clear how all
these pieces fit with one another and
work together so well if it's been a
while since you last watched it I
certainly encourage you to revisit it it
really holds up well but also to mention
that this video is made possible because
of patreon if you're interested in
supporting the channel this is the best
way to do so there are a lot of great
rewards over there including early
access a bonus audio commentary and even
getting a say in what videos come next
so if you're interested there's a link
on-screen there's also a link to my last
video in which I looked at Chinatown and
why that's the greatest screenplay of
all time so if you're interested in that
Click on any text or timestamp to jump to that moment in the video
Share:
Most transcripts ready in under 5 seconds
One-Click Copy125+ LanguagesSearch ContentJump to Timestamps
Paste YouTube URL
Enter any YouTube video link to get the full transcript
Transcript Extraction Form
Most transcripts ready in under 5 seconds
Get Our Chrome Extension
Get transcripts instantly without leaving YouTube. Install our Chrome extension for one-click access to any video's transcript directly on the watch page.
Chrome Extension