10 "Controversial" Movies That Didn't Deserve All The Hype

4. Reservoir Dogs

The controversy: In Quentin Tarantino's debut, one psychopathic member of a group of thieves - Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen) - tortures and cuts the ear off of a cop he's kidnapped. Not to get information out of him, but because Mr. Blonde enjoys it. The reality: Has a film ever had a false reputation precede it due to one single scene more than Reservoir Dogs? The infamous ear-cutting scene is, as anyone who's never seen it will no doubt be aware, the main talking point about the film. Those who have seen Quentin Tarantino's masterpiece, however, talk about everything else: the electric performances, that incredible dialogue, the mind-blowing structure of the thing, the symbolism, maybe even the fact that what some of what there is to see has been (as acknowledged by Tarantino and his detractors alike) taken from other, less-famous movies. Talking about the violence of the film alone would be to ignore how beautifully written and terrifically performed the film is.