A bungled diamond heist leaves a severely depleted gang of hand-picked goons holed up in their hideout, picking over what went wrong, why, and, of course, who the "rat" among them might be. Everyone plays perfectly to type (Harvey Keitel - - cool, Michael Madsen - - volatile, Steve Buscemi - - wired) and, no matter how many times you've freeze-framed the bit at the end, it's still up there with Die Hard and Taxi Driver as one of the great once-a-year indulgences.
DVD Extras:
Theatrical trailer, introduction by Quentin Tarantino.Two years off its 10th anniversary, Tarantino's directorial debut still packs a solid wallop of non-fetishised gunplay and supremely crafted, motormouth dialogue. The DVD transfer is rich and crisp and, of course, widescreen is the only way to revisit such a lo-fi, claustrophobic film. But you'll feel double-crossed by the extras: QT's forced intro-babble is a pointless tack-on, and no substitute for a full-on commentary track.
