Quentin Tarantino recently made news by putting prospective next picture The Hateful Eight out to pasture. His fans, which is to say a large percentage of both movie buffs and mainstream consumers, have to be bummed that we’re not getting another slice of QT goodness, and that we’re going to be robbed of seeing his fourth movie in an eight year span. The flutter of activity had more than made up for the six years in between Jackie Brown and Kill Bill that he spent popping up in Alias and Little Nicky and doing not much of anything else.
But that approach leaves out the early days, when Tarantino was still an eager beaver looking to impress with one of the greatest directorial debuts of all-time, Reservoir Dogs. In case you haven’t seen it (what’s wrong with you?) it serves as something of a Rosetta Stone for QT’s filmography, showcasing the before-and-after of a diamond heist gone wrong, as the criminals involved try to suss out who might have ratted them out. The cast is a dream collection of names, including Steve Buscemi, Harvey Keitel, Michael Madsen, Tim Roth, Lawrence Tierney and the late Chris Penn, some giving their all-time best performances.
The good folks at Screencrush uncovered a rarity on YouTube, posted above, that shows the early rehearsals for the film. Seen in the clip, a composite of three scenes from the film, are Buscemi and Tarantino, putting the material together before shooting. Tarantino is standing in here for Keitel, and he’s quite loose and intense in these brief snippets of the film. Buscemi, of course, already has the character down pat. The video was uploaded by a user named TheSheik1976, who is hosting a treasure trove of old independent film making-ofs at his user page. If you got the time, it’s well-worth falling down that rabbit hole.
Tarantino’s still selecting what his next project will be (maybe still a western!). Hopefully it won’t involve more dubious acting, though if seeing him onscreen means another Reservoir Dogs, who are we to complain? Relive the trailer underneath, and fall down the QT hole one more time.
