How Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs (1992) influenced by the French New Wave - Essay Example

VISUAL ARTS AND FILM STUDIES By French New Wave Movement Influence on Tarantino’s Film “Reservoir Dogs” (1992) The French New Wave was a phase in the motion picture industry from France where the directors reworked the elements of film production to create new ways making films. Film directors of the French New Wave created films as a conventional way of directing films (Wiegand, 2012, p.1956). The film directors who started this new phase in the film industry would critic events around them and show their thinking in the films.

Quentin Tarantino’s film, “Reservoir Dogs”, borrowed from the characteristics and aspects of the French New Wave films. In terms of narrative, the Reservoir Dogs film adopts the French New Wave concept of using jump cuts. In the film, Tarantino cuts some scenes and moves to other scenes in a manner that the audience is able to note that some scenes are not there. The Reservoir Dogs has a non-linear narration just like the French New Wave films. This is evident where Tarantino introduces the past life of some characters and then comes back to the present.

The Reservoir Dogs film also makes references to films produced earlier including Get Christie Love and The Lost Boys films. The referencing of films produced earlier, in a film was a common characteristic of the French New Wave films (Conard, 2008, p.108).In terms of the formal elements of the film, the film employed the on-location shooting concept. Tarantino shoots about a quarter of an hour in one particular location and entry of new character in the scene happens without cutting of the shot.

According to Neupert (2007, p.39) the French New Wave films were produced on a low-budget and location of shooting was not costly. The use of handheld cameras which was also a popular concept during the French New Wave can also be seen in the Tarantino’s film. BibliographyConard, M. T. 2008.The philosophy of film noir. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky.Neupert, R. J. 2007. A history of the French new wave cinema. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.Wiegand, C. 2012. French new wave.

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