Disc Details
Special Features:	Full-screen and widescreen anamorphic formats. Chapter selection. Five limited-edition collectible covers. Filmmaker's commentary track. Three critic's selected scene commentary track. Deleted scenes. Sundance Institute Directors Workshop Lab. Class of '92: A retrospective look at the Indie films and filmmakers at the 1992 Sundance Film Festival. Interviews. Tribute to Lawrence Tierney. Tribute to Eddie Bunker. Reservoir Dogs director tribute: A focus on nine filmmakers who influenced Tarantino's masterpiece. Film Noir Web: The writers and directors behind the legacy of this classic genre, introduction by Tarantino K Billy Radio feature. Small Dogs: Action figure featurette. Reservoir Dog style guide. Securing the shot: location scouting with Billy Fox. Poster gallery. Trailer.
Video Format:	Anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1) [SS-DL]
Languages:	English (Dolby Digital 5.1) English (DTS) English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
Subtitles:	Spanish.
Captions:	Yes
Casing:	2-Disc Keep Case

This is one of my favorite films. It was only surpassed by Tarantino's follow-up "Pulp Fiction." This is a great film given the treatment it deserves in an outstanding Special Edition DVD.

Picture Quality: 10/10
Beautifully remaster picture. The widescreen version looks better than the full frame format. The most realistic blood you will ever see outside the real thing. No artifacts or pixilation. Great flesh tones. Tim Roth's pale face is a prime example of how good the transfer is. He bleeds to death over the running time of the film. There are no delineation problems either. This is an accomplishment due to the dark clothing and visuals that permeate the film.

Sound Quality: 10/10
Both the DTS and 5.1 are outstanding. The DTS is found only on the widescreen version. The brilliant balance is best illustrated by the "Ear" scene. Nothing is lost amidst Michael Madsen's low-key delivery of his sadistic lines, the muffled cries and screams of Kurt Baltz as the hapless police officer, the rhythmic beat of Steeler's Wheel's song "Stuck in the Middle With You" and the scene's rapid-fire conclusion.

The soundtrack rocks. There was no score for this film. All of the music is original source material. No loss of dialogue during any point of the film. The sub-woofer mixes well with the rest of the speakers. There is little or none of the sudden burst of bass you get on some soundtracks.

Menu: 10/10
The menu is easy to navigate. This is an accomplishment considering how much stuff is crammed into the two disks. I didn't really like the menu design, but on reflection it is appropriate. The menu design is as flat as the posters were for the movie. While there are no Easter Eggs, there is a nice "rolling credits" section that is hidden on the second disk. The chapter selection menu on the fullscreen version isn't illustrated with pictures and only contains eight chapter breaks. The widescreen version is illustrated and contains 20 breaks.

Extra Features: 10/10
RESERVOIR DOGS

Filmmaker’s commentary track: Artisan did it right with this one. A massive, full-length commentary track featuring director Quentin Tarantino, producer Lawrence Bender, co-producer Monte Hellman, producer Richard Galdstein, DP Andrzej Sekula, editor Sally Menke, actors Chris Penn, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, and Kurt Baltz. Very informative for hard-core fans like myself.

Interview: Chris Penn: The interview with Chris Penn takes place in the back of a cargo truck driving around the L.A. Freeways. He discusses the impact of the film on his career, his friendship with wild man Eddie Bunker and Nice Guy Eddie’s fashion sense.

Interview: Kirk Baltz: Mr. Baltz talks about method acting, riding in trunks and the infamous ear. Good insights into the craft of acting and trusting other actors.

Interview: Michael Madsen: The 11-minute interview with Michael Madsen drags on and on until he gets to the story about driving fellow actor Kirk Baltz around in the trunk of his car. You can see a lot of Mr. Blond come out in Mr. Madsen.

Interview: Producer Lawrence Bender: Nice background info on the early days of his collaboration with Tarantino. Some good background info about getting the film off the ground.

Interview: Tim Roth: Mr. Roth discusses his acting technique, auditions and laying in gallons of blood for days on end.

Interview: Quentin Tarantino: Passion, humor and genius crammed into 14 minutes. The kind of guy you’d like to throw back some beers with.

Deleted scenes: There are three deleted scenes and two alternate takes of the “Ear Scene.” Each of these scenes were left out of the finished film with good reason. One scene deals with Mr. Orange uncovering Mr. White’s real identity. The extended scene gives quite a bit of background information about Mr. White’s criminal past. It is interesting, but it is out of pace with the rest of the film. A second deleted scene takes place between Mr. Orange and his police supervisor on the roof. It gives detail about the police setup outside the jewelry store. Again, it gives to much information and is out of place with the rest of the film. A final deleted scene takes place in the car with Nice Guy Eddie, Mr. Pink and Mr. White. The three argue about getting a doctor for the wounded Mr. Orange. Bonnie, the nurse who showed up in “Pulp Fiction” is mentioned. This scene would have taken place while Mr. Blond was back at the warehouse dancing around the cop. The two alternate takes are graphic shots of Mr. Blond giving the cop a shave. These prove that Tarantino made the right choice for the final film. The implied violence is more suspenseful and terrifying when finally revealed.

DISK 2 FEATURES

SELECTED CRITIC’S COMMENTARIES

Disk 2 contains three selected commentary tracks. Scenes from the film are edited together to illustrate the commentator’s points. I haven’t seen selected commentary tracks done this way before. It is a nice touch. This is almost like sitting through a video film class.

Film Comment Critic Amy Taubin’s 22-minute commentary track focuses on Tim Roth’s performance and the esthetics of American gangster movies.

Rolling Stone film critic Peter Travers provides a great 30-minute commentary on the impact of Tarantino on American film. He discusses the wonderful opening, the “ear” scene and the Mexican standoff finale among others.

Author and ASU film professor Emanuel Levy provides the most interesting commentary track. Mr. Levy examines the film’s structure, historical film noir context and underlying themes. This commentary track is 30 minutes long.

TRIBUTES AND DEDICATIONS

Dedicated to Director Tarantino: talks about several actors, writers and directors who influenced his development as a filmmaker. I especially enjoyed his comments on the late great film critic Pauline Kael. His story should inspire you to go read Ms. Kael’s work.

Dedicated to Lawrence Tierney: What a mad man Mr. Tierney must have been. Chris Penn, Michael Madsen, Tim Roth, Eddie Bunker and Tarantino all relate several great stories about the outrageous behavior of Lawrence Tierney on and off the set. The featurette includes several snippets of outtakes, which illustrate part of Tarantino’s story. Funny and scary.

Dedicated to Eddie Bunker: A wonderful travelling interview with Eddie Bunker, ex-con turned novelist, screenwriter and actor. Bunker went from the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list to Hollywood. He wrote “Straight Time” and the screenplay for “Runaway Train.” Mr. Bunker takes you on a tour of L.A. as it related to his criminal career. Funny and insightful. One of my favorite features on a disk crammed with great features.

Tribute to: Monte Hellman: Roger Corman, Monte Hellman and Tarantino talk about Hellman’s work on “Ride in the Whirlwind” and “Two Lane Blacktop.”

Tribute to: Jack Hill: The screenwriter of “Coffy” “Women in Cages” and “Foxy Brown” talks about his work and meeting Tarantino.

Tribute to: Pam Grier: Ms. Grier tells about her reaction to Tarantino’s mention of her in the film “Reservoir Dogs.” Short and sweet.

Tribute to: Roger Corman: Tarantino’s comments bookend a five minute interview with the legendary producer/director. Corman gives advice to young filmmakers as well as tells of his early days.

K Billy Radio: This interactive feature includes three audio segments and visual segment. Pushing the buttons on an old car radio accesses the segments. The four segments include Tarantino directing Steven Wright through the recording of K-Billy radio spots heard throughout the movie. Another segment is an interview with an inmate by a French Journalist. The inmate shares his less than flattering views about the fictional criminals in the movie. In the third segment, Gerry Rafferty of “Steeler’s Wheel” relates the story behind the song “Stuck in the Middle With You.”

The fourth segment is one of the funniest parts of the entire DVD. This is an accomplishment because it deals with the gut-wrenching “Ear” sequence. The scene is reenacted using action figures from the movie. The actual scene plays in the upper right corner of the screen and the doll maul takes place.

Poster gallery: So-so. Includes three posters.

Reservoir Dogs Style Guide: A 30-second comedy bit that doesn’t really work.

Small Dogs: 4-minute featurette covering the origin and production of the “Reservoir Dogs” action figures.

Securing the Shot: Location Scouting with Billy A. Fox: Billy Fox takes you on a tour of the different locations used during the 24 day shoot. Lots of before and after production snapshots. A couple of funny anecdotes.

THE FILM NOIR WEB:

An Introduction to Film Noir: Writers and Filmmakers: Writers and filmmakers Donald Westlake, Woody Haut, Robert Polito, John Boorman, and Stephen Frears discuss the evolution of the Film Noir genre. Writer Jim Thompson’s work is given heavy emphasis. There is a great story about some criminals who used Lionel White’s book “The Snatch” as a blueprint to carry out their not-so-perfect crime.

The Noir Files: This section is made up of text files you access with your remote control. “Dave’s Pocket Guide to the Big Three” is a six-screen commentary on the work of Dashiell Hammet, Raymond Chandler and James M. Cain. “How to Handle Your Gun” is another six-screen commentary on the style of holding a gun on film. It is a funny look at the evolution of tough-guy etiquette from Bogie to Bonnie and Clyde and beyond.

This section also includes an interactive index of “Books and Films” “Writers and Directors” and “Characters and Actors.” Click on one of the many indexed items to go to essay discussions about the subject. This section is very lengthy and informative. The only way Artisan could have improved this feature would have been to put it in booklet form. Lots of information and facts for fans of the genre.

SUNDANCE

Class of 92: Ten-minute featurette includes interviews with several filmmakers who competed in the 1992 Sundance festival. 1992 was the year the indie film movement exploded. This featurette chronicles an important turning point in both American film and the Sundance Film Festival

Sundance Institute Filmmaker’s Lab: Scenes from Reservoir Dogs: Steve Buscimi, Tarantino and another actor act out two sequences from Reservoir Dogs. This would have been more interesting with some explanatory commentary.

The Final Word:
I liked this DVD so much that I was tempted to lie to Artisan and say I didn't receive it in hopes of eventually getting all of the different collector's cases! I wouldn't do that, really. I hate to use an old cliche, but sometimes those are all you have. "If you only buy one DVD this year, buy this one!" More than worth the price of admission. I am not worthy to own this great disk.

Rusty White