Francesca Rudkin: Tim Roth or as my son says 'Mr Orange'

When my just 16-year-old son asked me yesterday, who are you talking to on the show tomorrow, I started building a list of films and TV series in my head to explain to him who my guest is, Tim Roth.  

But there was no need. “Mr Orange” was my son’s response. “Cool.”  

Mr Orange is, of course, the character Tim Roth played 30 years ago in Quentin Tarantino’s debut feature film Reservoir Dogs, released in 1992. You’d be hard pressed to find another debut feature that announced the arrival of a new filmmaker in such a violent and memorable manner as this cult classic did.  

Reservoir Dogs began its ascent into the halls of independent filmmaking fame at the Sundance Film Festival at the beginning of 1992. It was the most talked about film of the Festival. The talk didn’t stop there. Reservoir Dogs was selected for Cannes and screened at many other prestigious Festivals, such as the Toronto Film Festival.  

And yet, the majority of people saw the film after the release of Tarantino’s hugely popular follow up, Pulp Fiction.  

Tim Roth appreciates how his career has been built on people taking a chance on him, and throughout his career he’s always tried to return the favour, often working with first time directors like Tarantino. Roth went on to appear in four more Tarantino films; launching the British actor internationally. Roth may have two recent and well-known TV series to his name - She Hulk and Tin Star - but to this day it’s Tarantino’s timeless classics which continue delivering Roth a new generation of fans.  

Reservoir Dogs, made for US$1.2 million, introduced us to what would become known as the Tarantino Effect - a trademark visual and narrative style of filmmaking that incorporated brutal, stylised violence, a nonlinear narrative, pop culture references, retro soundtracks, a dark sense of humour, close up shots, and a unique rhythm of dialogue in philosophical conversations about day-to-day things.  

While all this has turned Tarantino into a critically acclaimed, commercially successful and influential filmmaker, his work is not without controversy. Many words have been written about Tarantino glorifying graphic violence – so let’s just put it this way; you’re either a fan or not.  

30 years later the impact of Tarantino’s debut feature is still evident in the work of each new generation of filmmakers. Tim Roth can not have known what signing up to do Reservoir Dogs would do for his career, but it’s great to see he’s still taking a chance on new directors, this time New Zealand director Welby Ings and his debut feature, Punch. 

  

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