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Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs gained him immediate notoriety as an upcoming director. It was hard to believe that this was his debut movie as it seemed like a film made by an experienced veteran director. Tarantino is known to be a major film buff and Steve Buscemi, who starred in Reservoir Dogs, shared that Tarantino’s excitement for making his first movie was infectious. 

‘Reservoir Dogs’ is Quentin Tarantino’s first movie

Steve Buscemi and Quentin Tarantino speak onstage at a 25th anniversary screening of the movie Reservoir Dogs
Steve Buscemi and Quentin Tarantino | Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival

Reservoir Dogs debuted in 1992 and kicked off Tarantino’s career as a director. The film centers around a group of jewelry thieves whose robbery goes horribly wrong. As the film goes on, we learn more information about each character’s motivation and who is really behind this whole thing. The movie stars Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Buscemi, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, and Lawrence Tierney. 

Tarantino wrote, directed, and even starred in Reservoir Dogs, making the movie his baby. It received great reviews from critics and audiences, with many wondering what Tarantino would do next. One scene that is fondly remembered is when Madsen’s Mr. Blonde tortures a police officer. The whole scene is done in one shot and is set to “Stuck in the Middle With You” by Stealers Wheel. 

Steve Buscemi remembers how excited Quentin Tarantino was to make ‘Reservoir Dogs’

Buscemi played Mr. Pink, one of the most comedic roles in Reservoir Dogs. His character is the only character to be uninjured, but he does end up fleeing from the police. During an AMA (Ask Me Anything) session on Reddit, Buscemi was asked to share his favorite memory from shooting Reservoir Dogs. Buscemi took the opportunity to praise the Tarantino and the energy he created on set. 

“He was SO excited to be making a film,” Buscemi explained. “And… to be directing his first film. In rehearsals, the rehearsals were just as exciting as the filmmaking! He would set up – this whole improvisation of us robbing the jewellery store, so that we would improvise and act out what went wrong. He just had, you know, has a lot of joy, in him! And it was – it made all of us also feel like we were working on our first film.”

Reservoir Dogs was somewhat of a star-making performance for Buscemi as he began to star in more prominent roles after this movie came out. He ended up working with Tarantino one more time through a small role in Pulp Fiction. 

Quentin Tarantino is one of the best movie directors currently working

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Since Reservoir Dogs, Tarantino has become a legendary name in Hollywood. While he hasn’t directed a ton of movies, most of them have racked up several Academy Award wins and nominations. Many consider Pulp Fiction to be his best movie, but there are several that are up for debate like Django Unchained, Inglorious Basterds, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. 

Unfortunately, Tarantino has been very open about the fact that he only wants to direct one more movie before retiring. The director has made some absolute classics and it would be a shame if he decides to stop making more, but his legacy will still be fully intact in Hollywood. 

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