-== FAQ ==-

Q  U  E  N  T  I  N    T  A  R  A  N  T  I  N  O



A  N  D    H  I  S    F  I  L  M  S  (V2.0)



             (c) 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, Simon Gleave and Jason Forrest

Contents

• Biography
• Reservoir Dogs
• Pulp Fiction
• Four Rooms
• Miscellaneous

Quentin Tarantino was born on March 27, 1963 in Knoxville, Tennessee, the son of a 16 year old nursing student Connie and a 21 year old law student and aspiring actor Tony. Connie named him after Burt Reynold's character, Quint in 'Gunsmoke'. When Quentin was 2, they moved to South Los Angeles which is where Quentin grew up. His mother took him to the cinema from an early age, he saw 'Carnal Knowledge' at the age of 8 and 'Deliverance' at the age of 9. From this early introduction Tarantino fell in love with the cinema and went at every opportunity.

At the age of 22, he landed a job in Video Archives, a video store in Manhattan Beach, California where he and Roger Avary spent all day watching, discussing and recommending videos. He made his first (unfinished) film in 1986, 'My Best Friend's Birthday', written with acting class friend Craig Hamann, and followed this up by writing his first script, 'True Romance' a year later.

During this period, he was attending acting classes and put together a CV of his (non-existent) acting experience which included a role in Jean-Luc Godard's 'King Lear' because nobody in Hollywood would have heard of the film or director and 'Dawn of the Dead' by George Romero because he resembled a biker in one of the scenes. His role in 'King Lear' was actually listed in Leonard Maltin's video guide.

Bender was attending acting classes with Peter Flood, who was divorced from acting teacher Lily Parker and knew Harvey Keitel from the Actors Studio. Keitel saw the script and was impressed enough to raise some more finance, act in the film and help Tarantino cast the main roles. At this point, producers Monte Hellman and Richard Gladstein also joined the project.

In 1991, Tarantino filmed some scenes at Sundance with him playing the role of Mr White and Steve Buscemi playing Mr Pink. These scenes were shown to various film people to comment on and the group containing Terry Gilliam were particularly impressed.

'Reservoir Dogs' finally premiered at Sundance '92 before appearing at various film festivals around the World. Miramax picked the film up for distribution after Sundance and it was released in the US later in 1992 and in the UK on January 8 1993.

Riding on the success of Pulp Fiction, Tarantino has gone on to be a major Hollywood player, Producing, Distributing films through Miramax with an arm of the company called 'Rolling Thunder', Co-Directing and Co-Writing 'Four Rooms', an anthology-type feature film, Directing an episode of 'ER', a popular TV show, and making many appearances in movies and TV.

Tarantino's first two films and his anthology contribution are the subject of this FAQ:

Reservoir Dogs is the third film written and first directed by Quentin Tarantino and was released in the USA in 1992 and in the UK at the beginning of 1993. The film deals with the meeting at a pre-planned rendezvous of a group of robbers who have been involved in an attempted jewelery heist. The robbery has been organized by Joe Cabot with his son Nice Guy Eddie who have put together a team of six men, each with a different role to play and each with a pseudonym chosen by Joe. The robbery has gone wrong although the participants have still managed to get away with a quantity of diamonds. The protagonists believe that one of their number is a police informer and the film deals with the recriminations that arise from this.

• 1. What is the meaning of the title 'Reservoir Dogs'?

When Tarantino worked in a video store, he referred to the French film 'Au Revoir Les Enfants' as 'the reservoir film' because he couldn't pronounce the title. He combined this with 'Straw Dogs', a Sam Peckinpah film from 1971, to produce the title 'Reservoir Dogs'. Although Quentin chooses to remain quiet about this, this story has been confirmed by Quentin's mother and Roger Avary, among others.

• 2. Which films influenced Quentin Tarantino in the making of this film?

In the 1974 American film, 'The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3', the four hijackers of the subway train are all dressed alike (hat, glasses, moustache, big overcoat and machine gun) and had the pseudonyms of Mr Blue, Mr Green, Mr Brown and Mr Grey.

The scene which runs over the credits near the beginning of 'Reservoir Dogs' showing the characters walking in slow motion is a homage to a similar scene in Sam Peckinpah's 1969 film, 'The Wild Bunch'.

Jean Pierre Melville is also a great influence on Tarantino, he was the director of several stylish gangster films in France in the 1950's and 1960's which deal with honour and gangster ethics and are set in a bleak urban environment where everybody is cynical and impeccably dressed. The 'three way stand-off' appears in Melville's film, 'Le Samourai'.

Other influences include 'Rififi' from 1955 directed by Jules Dassin and 'The Killing' directed by Stanley Kubrick in 1956. The films of Hong Kong director John Woo are also a great influence on Tarantino.

However, City on Fire, a Hong Kong action movie directed by Ringo Lam in 1987 is by far the biggest influence on Reservoir Dogs. Tarantino has used a number of ideas in the film and these are worth outlining:

• 1. Just before the robbers in City on Fire rob a jewelery store, one of them says 'Let's go to Work'.
• 2. The relationship between Chow (the undercover cop) and Fu (the gangster) is mirrored by that of Orange and White.
• 3. One of the gang members kills a shop girl in the jewelery shop for setting off the alarm.
• 4. There is a scene where Chow is shot by a cop and kills him (Orange is shot by a woman and kills her) while Fu is shooting cops in a car by shooting at them with two guns.
• 5. In the warehouse there is a Mexican standoff.
• 6. A dying Chow tells Fu that he is a cop.

• 3. What fates befall the members of the robbery team?

• 4. What is the order of gunfire in the triangular shootout?

Joe shoots Mr Orange, Mr White shoots Joe, Nice Guy Eddie shoots Mr White, Nice Guy Eddie shoots Mr White again and Mr White shoots Nice Guy Eddie as he falls from his wounds.

• 5. Plot Problems

There are a number of things in the film that don't quite add up:

• a) Why would the cops be waiting at the jewelery wholesalers as they knew that everybody would meet up at the warehouse after the heist? A possible reason for this is that the cops were carrying out surveillance at the jewelery store just in case anything happened and when Blonde started shooting people, they had to move in. Mr Blonde does say that he shot one of the cashiers for setting off the alarm, so the cops were presumably not in the store at that stage.
• b) Eddie is very open about the events of the heist when talking to Dolph over a cellular phone. Cellular phones are relatively easy to monitor and it is surprising how much Eddie says in this scene. Cellular phones are easy to scramble and as Eddie carries it everywhere and is likely to be talking about sensitive things on it, he is likely to have scrambled the signal.
• c) If Joe is supposed to be the head of an 'empire of crime' where he gets people to do the work for him, why is he involved in jewelery robberies which are dangerous without huge rewards, instead of drugs which are less dangerous with much bigger rewards. The best explanation for this is that Joe is from the 'old school' of organized crime and does things like bank robberies because the banks are insured and nobody gets hurt. He clearly had moral beliefs as shown in the restaurant tipping scene at the beginning of the film.
• d) In Eddie's car on the way to the warehouse he refers to Pink as Pink. Didn't they get their names from Joe after this scene? Joe would have had to give them their names before the warehouse scene, he just chose that time to let everybody know everyone elses name because it was the first time they were all together. Pink complained about his name then, because there was a room full of people.

• 6. Why did Mr Orange tell Mr White that he was a cop?

This is thought to stem from Tarantino's love of Hong Kong action movies where honour and respect are an integral part. Mr White had saved his life, told him his real name and killed two friends (Joe and Eddie) to protect him. The only thing that Mr Orange could offer in return was the truth and this is why he told Mr White that he was the undercover cop.

• 7. How did Mr Brown die?

There has been some comment made on the death of Mr Brown. In my opinion, this is one of the best things about the film in that it shows more clearly than any other demise that you don't just die instantly when shot. My interpretation is that Mr Brown has been shot in the head by the cops while escaping from the robbery. Mr. White confirms that the cops shot him to Nice Guy Eddie. He doesn't die instantly, but is able to drive (albeit erratically) away from the scene. Eventually, he crashes and to show that he is on the verge of death, he says that he has gone blind when in fact, he just has blood in his eyes. Mr White and Mr. Orange leave the car and when they return, Mr Brown has died. Mr. Orange did not shoot Mr. Brown.

• 8. Why did Mr Blonde start shooting at the jewelery store?

Mr Blonde wasn't a robber, he was only put on the job because Joe owed him a debt of gratitude for doing time without dragging Joe's organization down with him. Joe also referred to him as a 'goodfella' suggesting that Mr Blonde is more of a trigger man, employed to sort out the opposition. Unfortunately, this means that Mr Blonde will shoot with the slightest provocation and putting him on this job is a fatal misjudgement by Joe, possibly indicating a weakness of Joe's in that his emotions affect his judgement.

• 9. Why does Orange put a wedding ring on before leaving his apartment?

I thought the ring was just part of Orange's persona in his undercover work - i.e. he is married in his 'role'. So, how do you go about backing this up? Well, if this is the case he would be wearing a wedding ring every time we see him with the rest of the gang and the first scene that he appears in other than scenes that are chronologically after he puts the ring on, is when he is relating his restroom story to Joe, Eddie and White and he is wearing a wedding ring. This, along with the state of his flat should be ample evidence.

• 10.Trivia

• There are a number of bits of trivia which are worth mentioning:
• a) Roger Avary co-wrote the radio play in the film.
• b) The seventies figure heavily in 'Reservoir Dogs' with the soundtrack being composed of seventies music, and references to television (Christy Love and Baretta), comic books (Fantastic Four and Silver Surfer) and film stars ((Charles Bronson and Lee Marvin), all of which were around and Quentin grew up with in the seventies.
• c) Tarantino was going to film 'Reservoir Dogs' in black & white with him and his friends playing the lead roles. However, his friend Lawrence Bender was able to get in touch with someone who knew Harvey Keitel and was able to get him to read the script. Keitel was so impressed that he immediately signed on and helped with raising the money to film it. Keitel's participation also made it possible to attract other character actors to the piece.
• d) In the warehouse where the film takes place, there are coffins sitting on end all around them and Mr Blonde is sitting on a hearse when Nice Guy Eddie arrives.
• e) After 'Stuck in the Middle with You' you can faintly hear the radio still playing, and an advertisement for Jack Rabbit Slims comes on.
• f) When Joe comes back to the table in the diner and asks who didn't throw in their dollar, Orange immediately 'rats' on Mr. Pink. Could this be more foreshadowing that Orange is the 'rat'?
• g) Producer Lawrence Bender plays a 'young cop' chasing Mr. Pink during his getaway.
• h) Eddie Bunker, who played Mr. Blue, has spent over 20 years in prison and has written a few crime novels based on his real-life experiences.

• Soundtrack and Location in the Film:

• Hooked on a Feeling - Blue Swede

The cops trailing Eddie's car after Orange gets in from his apartment. It is also on the car radio in the next scene in Eddie's car just before the E. Lois conversation.

• I Gotcha - Joe Tex

Eddie talking to Dolph on the car phone and White, Blonde and Pink beating up Marvin the cop to get information.

• Magic Carpet Ride - Bedlam

In the bar where Orange is relating his commode story to Joe, Eddie and White.

• Fool for Love - Sandy Rogers

Orange's apartment when he gets the phone call that Eddie, White and Pink are downstairs in the car.

• Stuck in the Middle with You - Stealers Wheel

I think we all know where this.

• Harvest Moon - Bedlam

When Orange is telling Holdaway in the diner how he's on the inside due to Longbeach Mike.

• Coconut - Harry Nilsson

End credits.

The film opens in a diner as a couple of thieves discuss the possibility of holding up restaurants. This leads us into three distinct strands; a date between a hit man and the wife of his boss, the boxer who is supposed to throw a fight and the cleaning up of a hit man's mistake. The stories are told in non chronological order and we finally return to the diner for the final scene.

• 1. What is contained in the briefcase?

• 2. What films have influenced Tarantino in the making of 'Pulp Fiction'?

• 3. Why did Mia overdose at her house?

• 4. Why did Butch return to the pawn shop to save Marsellus?

• 5. Why did Vince leave his gun on the counter at Butch's apartment when he went to the bathroom?

• 6. Why are Honey Bunny's lines different from the beginning of the film and at the end?

• 7. What was Winston Wolf doing in a tuxedo at 8:30 in the morning? Where was he?

• 8. What was the book that Vince was reading on the toilet?

• 9. How does a guy like Jimmy know a gangster like Jules? Why does Jules refer to him as 'his partner'?

• 10. Who was Marvin and why did Jules and Vince take him with them?

• 11. Why is there a band-aid on Marsellus' neck?

• 12. There's bullet holes in the wall behind Jules and Vince before 'The Fourth Man' (a.k.a. Seinfeld) empties his gun. Was this an editing error?

• 13. Red Apple cigarettes appear throughout the film, what are they?

• 14. What happened to the Gimp? Did butch kill him, or was he just knocked out?

• 15. Did Butch key Vince's car outside Sally Le Roy's?

• 16.Trivia

• a) During the opening scene, you can see the bottom half of Vince as he makes his way to the bathroom. Look out for his book, shorts, t-shirt and 'strut'.
• b) The Buddy Holly waiter in Jack Rabbit Slims is played by Steve Buscemi who as Mr Pink in Reservoir Dogs, refused to tip waitresses.
• c) The room in Lance's apartment where Mia receives the injection of adrenalin contains two board games, Operation and Life.
• d) The cabdriver, Esmeralda Villa Lobos (Angela Jones) appeared in a 30 minute short called 'Curdled' in which she played a character who cleaned up after murders. This makes her fascinated by the idea of murder. Tarantino saw this film and decided to include this character in Pulp Fiction but as a cabdriver.
• e) When Butch is sneaking up to his apartment, there is an advert for Jack Rabbit Slims on the radio.
• f) Butch's great-grandfather bought the gold watch in Knoxville, Tennessee and this is also where Butch is meeting his connection. Knoxville is Quentin Tarantino's birthplace.
• g) The undercard for Butch's fight is Vossler vs. Martinez; Russell Vossler and Jerry Martinez are two friends of Tarantino's from Video Archives who use to live together and their constant fighting was the butt of jokes around the store.
• h) Jerry Martinez's brother, Steve, painted the picture of Uma Thurman in Mia's house.
• i) Lawrence Bender plays the 'long haired yuppy scum' in the restaurant hold up.
• j) The guy who comes out of the bathroom is played by Alexis Arquette who is the brother of Rosanna and Patricia.
• k) The cartoon being watched by the young Butch was 'Clutch Cargo', a kid's show from the sixties. The film playing in the motel room was The Losers directed by Jack Starrett in 1970; it's about five Hell's Angels sent to Cambodia by the CIA to rescue a presidential adviser who has been captured by communists.

• Misirlou - Dick Dale

Opening credits.

• Jungle Boogie - Kool and the Gang

Opening credits.

• Let's Stay Together - Al Green

While Jules and Vincent are at Marsellus' club.

• Bustin' Surfboards - The Tornadoes

Playing when Rosanna Arquette is talking about her body piercing.

• Lonesome Town - Ricky Nelson

Sung by the Ricky Nelson impersonator at Jack Rabbit Slims.

• Son of a Preacherman - Dusty Springfield

While Vincent is waiting for Mia at her house.

• Bullwinkle Pt. II - Centurians

As Vincent is driving to Mia's house after leaving Lance's place.

• You Never Can Tell - Chuck Berry

The Twist Contest at Jack Rabbit Slims.

• Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon - Urge Overkill

Mia dancing by herself while Vince is in the bathroom at her house.

• If Love Is A Red Dress - Maria McKee

Maynard's store when Butch and Marsellus first come in fighting.

• Comanche - The Revels

Butch and Zed "bonding" in the pawn shop.

• Flowers on the Wall - Statler Brothers

Playing when Butch is leaving his apartment having killed Vincent.

• Surf Rider - The Lively Ones

End credits.

In this, the final segment of the anthology 'Four Rooms', Tarantino plays Chester Rush, a new Hollywood hot-shot partying with a few close friends in the penthouse of a posh Hollywood hotel on New Year's Eve. The bellhop of the hotel, played by Tim Roth, gets caught in the middle of a wager held by Rush and his friends.

• 1. Where did Tarantino get the idea for the story?

• 2. Why was the ball of twine and the nails requested by Chester when they were never used?

• 3. Why wasn't Bruce Willis in the credits for the story.

• 4. Trivia

• a) Fans will recognize both Bruce Willis, who played Leo, and Paul Calderon, who played Norman, from Tarantino's 'Pulp Fiction'.
• b) Although not in Tarantino's segment, longtime friend and producer Lawrence Bender plays another 'long hair yuppy scum'.

• Jules' speech from Ezekiel 25:17:

'The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon you.'

This is actually not directly from Ezekiel 25:17 and in fact, only the last sentence and part of the second last sentence will be found there.

• The racism question:

I've decided not to tackle this subject because whatever I write is not going to change anybody's viewpoint. However, Tarantino has said, "...that's the way my characters talk in the movies I've made so far. I also feel that the word 'nigger' is one of the most volatile words in the English language and any time anyone gives a word that much power, I think everybody should be shouting it from the rooftops to take the power away. I grew up around blacks and have no fear of it, I grew up saying it as an expression." Movieline, Aug 1994

• The 'Tarantinoverse':

There has been a lot of discussion about the fact that the same character names appear in different Tarantino scripts and whether these people are either related or one in the same. Some of the common names so far are as follows:

• Alabama - White has worked with someone of this name in Reservoir Dogs and she is one of the main protagonists in True Romance.
• Spivey - Marsellus is mentioned in Reservoir Dogs and Drexl appears in True Romance.
• Marsellus - as above and 'the big man' in Pulp Fiction.
• Vega - Vic (Mr Blonde) in Reservoir Dogs? and Vincent in Pulp Fiction.
• Marvin - the cop in Reservoir Dogs and the inside man in Pulp Fiction.
• Scagnetti - Seymour in Reservoir Dogs and Jack in Natural Born Killers.
• Nash- Marvin the cop in Reservoir Dogs, and Gerald the cop in Natural Born Killers

The best explanation is that the names reflect Tarantino's ideas so the name Vega is used for a killer, the name Marvin is a fall guy and Scagnetti is an authority figure. Quentin has said that Vic and Vince are supposed to be brothers, which may have been an afterthought as Michael Madsen could have ended up playing both roles.

• His Other Scripts:

True Romance was bought and directed by Tony Scott, it was released in the summer of 1993 in the US and October of the same year in the UK. It has recently been granted a video certificate in Britain after some delay. It's worth mentioning some of the more common FAQ's that come up with regards to True Romance:

• 1/ Where was Val Kilmer in the movie?

Kilmer played the 'Mentor' in the film, who spoke to Clarence in the bathroom, and was supposed to represent Clarence's hero Elvis.

• 2/ How was Tarantino's script different from Tony Scott's filmed version?

Certainly the biggest difference is that in Tarantino's version Clarence was supposed to have died at the end, perhaps paving the way for Alabama to join up with Mr. White later on in life, as many people seem to think.

Also, Tarantino's script jumped around in time, much like Pulp Fiction.

• 3/ What is the difference between the 'director's cut' and the original version of the film?

The director's cut has a longer, more violent scene with Alabama and Virgil (James Gandolfini) in the hotel room, and it's Alabama not one of Coccotti's men that shoots Officer Dimes (Chris Penn) at the end of the movie.

• Natural Born Killers was made by Oliver Stone and released in the US in August 1994. It's certificate has been delayed by the British Board of Film Classification until 1995 although it will premiere at the London Film Festival on November 12 1994. Tarantino asked for his credit to be purely for the story as he feels that Stone has changed the film so much from what he originally intended.

• From Dusk Till Dawn was directed by Tarantino's friend and fellow filmmaker Robert Rodriguez, who Tarantino has worked with in the past (Desperado, 4 Rooms). Quentin wrote the script based on a story by Robert Kurtzman, a makeup artist and writer who wanted to direct. Kurtzman read the scripts for True Romance and Natural Born Killers before they were in production, and asked Tarantino to fill out his story into a full length script. The movie also had Tarantino in a leading role opposite TV star George Clooney.

• Tarantino and Britain:

Quentin Tarantino's films have proved to be very controversial in Britain due to their violent content. Reservoir Dogs only recently was allowed its video release after years of playing in late night theaters. True Romance had it's video certificate delayed until 1994 and Natural Born Killers didn't get its certificate until Feburary 1995. Pulp Fiction was released on video in April 1995. Because of what is commonly known as the 'Dunblane massacre', Natural Born Killers has had it's video release delayed indefinitely.

• Tarantino's Future

After 'Four Rooms', Tarantino decided to take a break from writing and directing to pursue other projects and to relax. As it turned out, this break didn't keep him any further away from the media, appearing on talk shows, attending awards shows, film festivals, etc. He has been rumoured to be directing several future pictures including, but not limited to, the next James Bond picture, an adaptation of Mac Beth and a 'Vega Brothers' movie. What is known for sure is that Tarantino is going to be working in Hollywood, probably in several capacities at once, for many years to come.

• Scripts:

Tarantino's scripts can be bought from the following outlets:

HOLLYWOOD SCRIPTS

5514 Satsuma Ave.

N. Hollywood, Ca 91601

ph. (818) 980-3545

fax (818) 566-1143

MR. WEEKEND PRODUCTIONS

Jimmy L Shirah

P.O. Box 1803

Lilburn, GA 30226

ICONOGRAPHICS

1807 Second St #4

Santa Fe NM 87505

1-800-279-9779

The script for Pulp Fiction has been published in paperback in the US by Miramax, retailing at $9-99 and in the UK by Faber and Faber costing 8-99 GBP.

The authors would like to thank Roger Avary, Greg Bole, Skander Halim, Al Harrell, Dennis Humbert, Ray Lahey, Robert Martin, Dave Munroe, Dave Robson, Joan Shields, Ajaipal Tanwar, Ola Torstensson, and Kale Whorton for their input into this FAQ.

A special thanks is extended to Jami Bernard whose contributions and help have proved invaluable to this FAQ.

This FAQ was converted to HTML by Kale Whorton.

All Rights Reserved.

Simon Gleave, E-Mail sg@ssru.city.ac.uk Phone +44-71-477-8000 4129 Computing Officer, LS Support Group, Social Statistics Research Unit, The City University, Northampton Square, London EC1V 0HB, UK