Quentin Tarantino: Definitive Guide To Homages, Influences And References

Reservoir Dogs

18. The Colourful Names Inspiration

Back in '92, colour-coded nicknames seemed like the coolest idea in the world. Tarantino neatly transposed this idea from the original 1974 version of The Taking of Pelham One Two Three. Though that film features Mr. Green, Mr. Brown and Mr. Blue, it was Tarantino's idea to include a character called Mr. Blonde

17. "...You Better Wake Up And Apologise."

During the opening breakfast sequence, Mr. White tells Mr. Blonde: "You shoot me in a dream, you better wake up and apologize." This is a play on a line from the 1938 movie Angels With Dirty Faces, in which James Cagney says: "You slap me in a dream, you better wake up and apologize."

16. Like A Virgin

As Mr Brown so delicately explains the finer details of Madonna's "Like A Virgin" in the diner scene, he refers to the well-endowed man at the heart of his story, and the cause of the titular expression, as "like Charles Bronson in The Great Escape, he's digging tunnels." Madonna apparently loved the film, but rather than accepting Mr Brown's theory about the song, she gave Tarantino a copy of her "Erotica" album inscribed: "To Quentin. It's not about dick - it's about love. Madonna." The scene is also shot identically to the dinner scene in Hannah And Her Sisters.