10 Great Films That Are Ugly On Purpose

At the risk of committing sacrilege, it has to be said that Quentin Tarantino's directorial debut Reservoir Dogs, for all of its many brilliant merits, is not a good-looking film. Quite the opposite, in fact.

While expertly acted and terrifically edited for maximum impact, the film's overall presentation is flatly lit and unremarkable - and better still, intentionally so.

Tarantino has reiterated over the years that he styled Reservoir Dogs as an homage to 1970s exploitation films, and so the film's dominating muddy-grey aesthetic is entirely appropriate in how thoroughly unfussed it is.

Tarantino and cinematographer Andrzej Sekuła have gone into extensive detail about the film's tricky, budget-conscious shoot, but ultimately the scuzziness only made Reservoir Dogs that much more of a scrappy, ferocious debut from a hungry filmmaker.