The Tarantino Film That Was Too Dangerous For The UK... | Reservoir Dogs (1992)

Before Pulp Fiction made Quentin Tarantino a household name, there was Reservoir Dogs — a film so raw and transgressive it was banned in the UK for years, circulated on pirate VHS tapes, and became the blueprint for an entire generation of filmmaking. A guy who worked in a video store in LA wrote and directed this. Wrap your head around that.

Richard Lewis, MonteCristo, and Thorin kick off Four Play's Tarantino Arc with the film that started it all. They dig into why Reservoir Dogs was banned in the UK (and what the Jamie Bulger case had to do with it), how Tarantino's background as a video store clerk — obsessively watching foreign cinema and genre trash alike — produced one of the most assured directorial debuts in film history, and why this movie, despite its reputation as a "video nasty," has a surprisingly low body count and a genuine soul underneath the blood.

The crew breaks down what makes the non-linear storytelling genius rather than gimmick, unpacks the iconic Mr. Blonde torture scene and what Michael Madsen brought to that role, makes the case for Steve Buscemi's Mr. Pink as the film's true protagonist, and explains how the K-Billy Super Sounds of the 70s changed how soundtracks work in movies — commercially and culturally — forever.

This is the beginning of Four Play's deep dive through Tarantino's career. Coming next: Pulp Fiction. The arc is just getting started.

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