How Reservoir Dogs made one of cinema’s most brutal scenes unforgettable

Reservoir Dogs is a highly influential film directed by Quentin Tarantino in 1992. It is generally believed to have revolutionized independent films. The film was popularized not only for its intelligent, quick-witted characters and narrative technique of presenting events in non-chronological order, but also for the presentation of violence and its innovative use of music.

The most popular detail of the film is the "ear-cutting" scene. Here, one character, Mr. Blonde (played by Michael Madsen), brutally tortures a captured police officer. The more bizarre aspect of it is that Mr. Blonde dances joyfully to an upbeat pop song named "Stuck in the Middle With You" by Stealers Wheel while committing the act.

This sequence has become one of the best-known in film history. It is widely discussed because it combines something extremely violent with something silly and fun so that the viewer is surprised and puzzled simultaneously.

What is Reservoir Dogs about?

Reservoir Dogs is a crime thriller, and as such, it's an exciting, thrilling, and tense story about criminals. The film revolves around what happens after a well-planned heist of diamonds turns into a disaster.

The film does not follow a general beginning-to-end order. Rather, it goes back and forth between the past and the present. This technique is referred to as nonlinear storytelling.

The characters are all thieves, and in order to protect their actual names, they give themselves color-based nicknames such as Mr. White, Mr. Orange, Mr. Pink, and Mr. Blonde.

A crime lord by the name of Joe Cabot and his son, whom people refer to as "Nice Guy Eddie," gather these criminals. They are to work together to steal a collection of expensive diamonds.

But something goes awry during the robbery. The police arrive very soon, as if they had been informed of the plan. Some of the robbers are killed, and the rest flee to hide.

They reunite at a warehouse, where most of the film is set. There, they attempt to understand what went wrong.

Soon, they begin suspecting that one among them is a police officer who is working undercover. They do not know who it is, and this frightens everyone and makes them angry, and they are all ready to fight.

There are flashbacks throughout the film that tell us how each of the criminals became involved in the profession. These segments tell us more about their personal lives and why they behave the way they do.

As tensions mount, the crew disintegrates. There is fighting, shouting, and lots of violence.

One of the most shocking scenes is when Mr. Blonde beats up a hostage police officer. Mr. Blonde believes the officer may know who the "rat" is — the undercover police officer who has betrayed them.

The film leads to a climactic climax in the form of a Mexican standoff, when various characters cross their guns with other characters at one time.

Finally, it descends into a gory shoot-out. Almost all characters end up dying.

Just before his death, Mr. Orange reveals that he had been an undercover police officer the entire time.

We notice that almost all of the central characters are killed by the end. Only the fate of Mr. Pink remains somewhat ambiguous — he escapes with the diamonds, but we don't actually see what happens to him.

Ultimately, Reservoir Dogs is not so much a tale of a botched crime. It's actually a tale of trust, betrayal, and how violence can ruin relationships and lives.

The infamous scene of Reservoir Dogs: Mr. Blonde's dance and the cutting of the ear

The setting and build-up

Reservoir Dogs (Image via Amazon Prime Video)

The infamous scene occurs within the same grimy warehouse.

Officer Marvin Nash, kidnapped by the gangsters, is bound to a chair. He is injured, bleeding, and frightened.

Mr. Blonde stands guard over him. Initially, Mr. Blonde is extremely calm and even appears to be friendly — but this is a disguise for how cruel he actually is.

As the tension builds, Mr. Blonde flips on the radio, and Stealers Wheel's song "Stuck in the Middle with You" comes on. It is a very cheerful, upbeat song.

Then something extremely disturbing occurs: Mr. Blonde begins dancing merrily to the song as he prepares to torture the defenseless officer.

He severs the officer's ear with a razor. Notably, the camera does not show the actual severing — it looks away at the last moment. This makes the scene even more terrifying because the audience pictures the horror rather than viewing it directly.

Why is this scene so powerful?

The manner in which Tarantino has directed this scene in Reservoir Dogs can only be referred to as cunning. He combines a joyful tune with a heinous act of brutality.

Under normal circumstances, frightening music is used where there is brutality, but in this case, the joyous music makes the brutality more jarring.

Since the music is light and tune-like, everyone gets confused.

One part of you wants to tap your foot to the rhythm, but the other part of you is revolted by what is going on. Tarantino employs this gimmick to play tricks on the audience's emotions.

He causes us to consider how films — and perhaps even life — tend to make violence appear "cool" or "funny."

By causing us to feel uneasy and curious, Tarantino compels us to consider why we sometimes find it enjoyable to watch violence on film.

Music as a tool for dehumanization

There's another deeper significance as well. By playing happy music while torturing, Mr. Blonde indicates that he doesn't care about the pain of the officer. For him, the officer is not even human— merely an object to toy with.

The ear, which helps people listen and communicate, is cut off.

Symbolically, Mr. Blonde is silencing the officer and taking away his humanity. It shows how easy it is for people to dehumanize others, especially during violent situations.

When we watch this scene, we tend to feel extremely conflicted. We may laugh uncomfortably, be frightened, or even feel guilty for enjoying it.

And that is precisely what Tarantino desires. He does not merely want to present violence; he wants people to question themselves about how they respond to it.

Are we to be shocked? Amused? Both? Tarantino leaves it up for grabs, making the scene even stronger and more unforgettable.

How this scene revolutionized movies

When Reservoir Dogs was released, some people were left speechless after watching the ear-cutting scene. Some critics complained that it was too much — too graphic and unnecessary.

Others believed it was masterful because it made people think harder about violence in movies.

This made Reservoir Dogs extremely popular and turned it into a cult classic.

Previously, music in films tended to correspond to the tone of the scene (happy music for happy scenes, frightening music for frightening scenes).

Following Reservoir Dogs, directors began placing mirrors in front of audiences about happy music in violent scenes or sad music in humorous scenes to induce uncomfortable, memorable sensations.

For instance, in the film American Psycho, released in 2000, the main character, Patrick Bateman, murders a man by the name of Paul Allen while a cheerful, upbeat song titled "Hip to Be Square," performed by Huey Lewis and the News, is being played in the background.

The cheerful music that is being played while someone is brutally murdered makes the scene even more bizarre, darkly humorous, and very frightening at the same time.

Meanwhile, Tarantino went on to use music such as this in his subsequent films, particularly in Pulp Fiction, which boasts one of the most popular soundtracks in film history.

How did academics and students analyze the scene

Film scholars and students have written numerous papers on the ear-cutting scene. They analyze how it discusses violence, masculinity, and how individuals can become desensitized to pain when it is presented through entertainment.

The scene is frequently cited as an example when individuals discuss how films can make viewers feel guilty (part of the wrongdoings) simply by watching.

Despite Reservoir Dogs having a limited budget of only $1.2 million, it grossed more than $2.8 million in U.S. theaters — and still more later from video sales. It launched the career of Quentin Tarantino and established him as one of the world's best-known filmmakers.

The ear-cutting scene remains one of the most discussed scenes in cinema history. In 2017, it was voted as being among the most shocking scenes ever produced in a British Film Institute (BFI) poll.

The soundtrack of Reservoir Dogs, of which "Stuck in the Middle with You" forms a part, is also regarded as one of the greatest soundtracks ever produced.

Reservoir Dogs revolutionized how individuals imagine music, violence, and narrative can be intertwined in films.

Even now, directors attempt to replicate the magic that Tarantino achieved in that dirty warehouse with a dance, a razor, and a very ordinary pop tune.