How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from Reservoir Dogs.
Quote #4
PINK: Man, could you believe Mr. Blonde?
WHITE: That was the most insane f***ing thing I have ever seen. Why the f*** would Joe hire a guy like that?
PINK: I don't wanna kill anybody. But if I gotta get out that door, and you're standing in my way, one way or another, you're getting out of my way.
WHITE: That's the way I look at it. The choice between doing ten years and taking out some stupid motherf***er ain't no choice at all. But I ain't no madman either.
Pink and White are really clear that sometimes you just have to kill somebody to avoid getting caught or going to prison. They think that's justified, unlike Blonde's "insane" shooting spree. That's some psychopathic thinking, but even they can see the difference between themselves and someone like Blonde. Notice that White calls a potential victim a "stupid motherf***er." That's one way to make it easier to kill someone—dehumanize them.
Quote #5
MR. BLONDE: Look, kid, I'm not going to bulls*** you, okay? I don't really give a good f*** what you know or don't know. But I'm going to torture you anyway... regardless. Not to get information. It's amusing to me to torture a cop. You can say anything you want 'cause I've heard it all before. All you can do is pray for a quick death... which... you ain't going to get.
When you think Reservoir Dogs and violence, you think about this torture scene. Tarantino said that a lot of people walked out of the theater at this point. Even some of the actors found it hard to watch, even though the camera pans away from the actual mutilation. As Tarantino (and many directors) know, what happens off-screen can be scarier than what happens on-screen. The scene suggests that Blonde's violence is inherent in his personality. It's too over-the-top to be seen purely as a result of a particular situation. If he wants to kill Marvin, he can just shoot him and be done with it, but he enjoys seeing him suffer and beg. Sick.
Quote #6
MR. BROWN: Jesus. I got blood everywhere - I'm f***ing blind.
MR. ORANGE: You're not blind, you just got blood in your eyes, all right?
MR. WHITE: Is he dead? Did he die or not? Let's go. [They quickly walk away. Mr. White stops a car] Hold it! Hold it! Right there! Get out of the f***ing car! [the woman in the car shoots Orange in the stomach. Orange shoots her back in the chest, presumably killing her.]
No one was supposed to get hurt; of course the whole job wasn't supposed to be a set-up either. The shock here is that the cop kills a woman just to keep up his cover. He's been drawn into the bloodbath; it's a situation-evoked violence. Despite all the shocking violent scenes, the sight of Orange bleeding, begging, and moaning throughout the film is as disturbing as anything else. Lots of people die in violent movies, but most of them die pretty quickly. This is as slow and realistically agonizing as it gets.