Director
Quentin Tarantino
Leading Actors/Actresses
Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Steve Buscemi, Chris Penn
Supporting Actors/Actresses
Lawrence Tierney, Randy Brooks, Quentin Tarantino, Kirk Baltz, Edward Bunker
Genre
Crime, Drama, Thriller
Language
English
Awards
Film Independent Spirit Awards - Won Best Supporting Actor (Steven Buscemi), Nominated Best Director and Best First Feature
Date of Release
1992
Producer
Lawrence Bender
Setting and Context
Los Angeles present day 1992
Narrator and Point of View
Each chapter relates to a new character's point of view, Mr. White, Mr. Blond and Mr. Orange.
Tone and Mood
Serious, Violent, Darkly Humorous
Protagonist and Antagonist
Mr. White, Mr. Orange are the protagonists and Mr. Pink and Mr. Blonde are the main antagonists
Major Conflict
There is a rat in the midst of the crew who just attempted a diamond heist, and no one knows who it is.
Climax
Joe, Mr. White and Eddie all shoot each other over the identity of Mr. Orange. Mr. White finds out that Mr. Orange was the rat after defending him.
Foreshadowing
Mr. White says that Mr. Blonde should not be left alone with the cop in the warehouse because he's a lunatic. They let him stay with the cop and he ends up torturing him, leading to his death and the eventual deaths of everyone in the crew.
Understatement
Tarantino understates the loyalty that Mr. Blonde has to Joe and Eddie until after Mr. Orange kills him.
Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques
Tarantino recalling shots from films he admires and grouping them together to create his own style in his film.
Allusions
Holdaway's speech to Freddy about how to learn his 'Commode Story' allude to Hamlet's speech to the players.
Paradox
This film's violence drew a lot of attention, but paradoxically it has just as much humor in it as well.
Parallelism
The opening scene with the crew 'prepping' before the heist parallels Freddy (Mr. Orange) 'prepping' to work in Joe's crew with Holdaway in a separate diner.
