Scene of the month: February 2015 - "Reservoir Dogs"

In Quentin Tarantino’s debut ‘Reservoir Dogs’, possibly the boldest debut in the history of cinema, five criminals and one undercover cop are hired to pull off a major diamond heist. Not wanting to reveal their real names, they are colour-coded to Mr. White, Mr. Pink, Mr. Orange, Mr. Blonde, Mr. Brown and Mr. Blue. Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen) is undoubtedly the most sinister and malicious of all, so it is unfortunate for their hostage Officer Nash that he’s the one he gets left with.

Mr. Blonde goes on to torture Nash for no reason other than the sadistic pleasure it gives him. It is arguably one of the most gut-wrenching and violent scenes ever filmed, and sent the censors into a stir back in 1992 when it first came out. The violence itself is not very gory, extending to nothing more than the removal of an ear with a straight razor and dowsing in gasoline, but it is the juxtaposition of the upbeat Stealers Wheel pop classic ‘Stuck in the Middle with You’ on the radio against the violence of the torture that makes this scene so unnerving, and the harsh irony that comes with it. It is played perfectly by Madsen, who adds a little dance routine while beating this man and cutting out his ear.