Quentin Tarantino: Definitive Guide To Homages, Influences And References

Reservoir Dogs

3. Taxi Driver

Mr. Orange's psyche-up talk before he leaves his apartment is a slightly less menacing redo of Travis Bickle's infamous scene in Taxi Driver. At another point, Mr. White mentions a store manager being a "Real Cowboy", a reference to what Harvey Keitel's character in Taxi Driver calls Bickle. In another nod to past Harvey Keitel roles, Mr Blonde says he bets Mr white is a Lee Marvin fan: in Who's That Knocking at My Door, Keitel's character is just that.

2. The Vocal Coach Cameo

Just after Mr Brown is killed, Mr Orange attempts to jack a car but is shot in the stomach by the driver before he quickly pulls his own weapon and kills her. The moment sees the dead woman get a short moment of glory, but she had a bigger part to play in the film. She was Tim Roth's vocal coach Suzanne Celeste, who got the part after Roth claimed people of her profession drive their students crazy.

1. City On Fire

Did Reservoir Dogs ever seem familiar to you? That's probably because it's a re-working of plot elements taken from 1987 Hong Kong movie City On Fire (which starred Chow-Yun Fat). Everything from the diamond heist-gone-wrong, undercover cop, Mexican standoff, and last minute revelation - in which a bemused criminal learns that his partner was a police officer all along - find their way into Tarantino's blender. Unlike Reservoir Dogs, though, City On Fire actually depicts the diamond heist in all its glory.