Tag: reservoir dogs

The Tarantino Influences: City on Fire

City on Fire is a 1987 movie directed by Ringo Lam. Its’ style, characters and story were huge influences on Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs.

City on Fire tells the story of Chow, an undercover cop, who infiltrates a band of diamond thieves. Chow is pushed further into the group’s plans and becomes a sort of pawn stuck between two police inspectors. The movie ends with a botched robbery and the group sorting out the chaos that has ensued.

Heading into this project, City on Fire was high on my list of movies to review. I had read about the connections between the movie and Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs – including the controversial opinion held by some that City on Fire was directly copied. After watching the movie, I can see the obvious similarities between the works.

However, I’m not sure either City on Fire or Reservoir Dogs could ever remain exclusive. The two movies perfectly complement each other.

Of course, there is no Reservoir Dogs – at least in its existing form – without City on Fire. The Chow and Fu relationship serves as the model for Mr. Orange and Mr. White in Reservoir Dogs. Mr. Orange is playing a role similar to Chow – albeit the two characters and actors inhabit completely different energies. Similarly, the bands of jewel thieves in each movie exhibit their own unique criminal styles and ultimately follow a similar path to their respective downfalls. And of course, the endings to each movie are dramatically similar.

However, I strongly feel that what Tarantino did with City on Fire is very similar to what he has done over his entire filmography: he takes really cool pieces of movies and pop culture and frames them within his own storytelling universe. Over nearly 30 years, we’ve seen him mature in this process to the point that Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is an unquestioned masterpiece of movie making. Naturally, this process takes time.

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The Tarantino Influences: The Thing

The Thing is a 1982 movie directed by John Carpenter. Its themes of isolation and trust and its remote setting are influences on Tarantino’s Hateful Eight and Reservoir Dogs.

The Thing tells the story of a group of scientists and related crew who encounter an alien being on a research base in Antartica. The alien is able to assume the form of the life around it, which forces the crew to battle both the creature and themselves.

Tarantino has admitted The Thing was an influence for his Hateful Eight. There are clear similarities in the settings for both movies – a remote Antartica research base and the wilderness of post-Civil War Wyoming. Brutal cold conditions serve as the backdrop for each movie, although they influence The Hateful Eight much more than The Thing. Perhaps the most striking link between the two movies is the mistrust that develops between the characters. Someone is not who they appear to be: be it an alien in Antartica or an outlaw in Wyoming.

I’ve been hesitant to watch this movie, despite its clear influence on Tarantino.

I’ll admit that I’m not a huge horror movie fan. For whatever reason, the genre never connected with me outside of the bad, schlocky variety made in the 1960’s. Also, Escape From New York is one of my least favorite movies of all time. It’s a brilliant concept made extraordinarily dumb in its execution. Every character in the movie is a dull, unfinished cartoon void of reality. Escape From New York is painful to watch – especially when in the hands of a more talented writer/director, it could have been amazing.

Additionally, I possess a bizarre dislike for Wilford Brimley….more on this later.

After watching The Thing, I hold similar thoughts – although not to the level of Escape From New York. The Thing is an improvement. It’s another terrific concept and although Carpenter still fumbles with the character development, the pacing, tone and special effects keep the movie interesting. However, the selling point of the movie – the alien – doesn’t live up to Ridley Scott’s 1979 classic.

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The Tarantino Influences – The Killing

The Killing is a 1956 crime movie directed by Stanley Kubrick. The movie’s style, tone and characters likely influenced Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs , Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown.

The Killing tells the story of Johnny Clay, a recently freed criminal, who orchestrates a plan to rob a local horse track of potential millions. He recruits five other men to help him pull off the job. However, one of the men tells his wife of the plan – which leads to another scheme and an eventual explosive ending, which sees everything go up in smoke.

It’s clear that this movie was an inspiration for Tarantino (and probably dozens of other writer/directors). The characters in Reservoir Dogs borrow their toughness and quirkiness from The Killing, along with some classic dialogue exchanges and a violent shootout towards the movie’s climax. A younger Tarantino could have also been influenced by the way Kubrick plays with the narrative structure and puts an emphasis on time during the movie’s second half. Along with Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown and The Hateful Eight all employ similar linear storytelling traits.

The movie starts with Sterling Hayden’s Johnny Clay meeting up with Fay, his girlfriend. Hayden instantly commands the screen: it’s clear this is his story. He doesn’t allow Fay much intimate space and her only real dialogue points to her low self-esteem. She claims she isn’t smart or pretty and seems to only exist through Clay’s orbit. A similar relationship is shown with Marvin, the oldest of the criminal group, who initially appears to serve as a father figure. However, his actions are similar to Fay in that he appears in awe of Johnny’s presence.

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The Quentin Tarantino Movie Rankings

Quentin Tarantino movies have now been a part of my life for 25 years. I recently decided to take the time to rewatch and rank all nine of his movies – mainly because I wanted to see if tastes have changed and really, because why not? I’m far from a movie critic and I’m not concerned about film theory or anything like that. These are my personal rankings.

1. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)

2. Pulp Fiction (1994)

Without Pulp Fiction, I would have never known that movies existed. Of course, I was aware of movies and sometimes went to the movies. However, movies were a passing interest – something easily detachable. Pulp Fiction changed that. I had no idea that something could be so cool, original, fun, violent, hilarious – let alone a movie.

What I later learned was that Pulp Fiction was an entry to everything that made it cool, original, fun, violent and hilarious – all the little movie, TV and pop culture references that shaped Tarantino’s vision. Because of this one movie, I discovered hundreds more and all the wormholes attached – great directors, cool actors – all the influences both great and awful. I learned movie history from Anthony Cocca 49 cent general rentals and in each one, there’s some path that leads you back to Pulp Fiction.

Naturally, I’ve followed Tarantino ever since. And naturally, the movies have changed. Tarantino is still innovative, writes killer dialogue, creates visually stunning environments and is remarkably – still cool. I’ve loved all of his movies but I would always go back to Pulp Fiction as his best work. Or at least my favorite.

Maybe nostalgia informs this ranking – there’s a comfort in the characters, the soundtrack, the moments – being in the Warren Twin Cinema and for the first time experiencing a Royale with Cheese, personality going a long way or “I shot Marvin in the face!”

But then again, maybe there’s more to nostalgia.

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