No director defines the decade like Quentin Tarantino, who exploded into American independent cinema with this iconic debut. His unique ear for endlessly quotable dialogue, combined with an encyclopaedic knowledge of film, particularly certain subsets of domestic and international B-movies, leftfield soundtrack and casting choices, and a penchant for casual but extreme violence mixed with mordant humour, led to something genuinely fresh and original, and massively controversial. All of these characteristics are on display in Reservoir Dogs, which features in its ensemble Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Steve Buscemi, and Michael Madsen as criminals whose diamond heist has gone terribly wrong.

Notes by Kevin Coyne.

Screening as part of the American Independents season.