A Classic Reservoir Dogs Scene Pitted Quentin Tarantino Against Harvey Weinstein

During an interview on “The Joe Rogan Experience,” Tarantino revealed Weinstein’s asinine reasons for wanting to cut such a visceral and exciting sequence:

“‘Look, Quentin, this is a movie that anybody can watch. But with that torture scene, you’re gonna alienate women; they’re not gonna wanna see this. So you’re literally putting your own movie in a little box. But without that scene, anybody can go and see this movie and everybody will enjoy it.'”

There are so many things wrong with this statement. The first, and most obvious, is Weinstein’s hypocritical desire to protect women as one of the biggest sexual predators in Hollywood. He feigns concern yet actively harmed them on a serial basis. Although Weinstein condemned cinematic violence for such “fragile” and “sensitive” women, he never hesitated to force unwilling young women into cruel sexual situations. He shamelessly abused his power, using young women’s careers as leverage to ensure their compliance. Weinstein has since been sentenced to 16 years of prison in California.

Secondly, the torture scene in “Reservoir Dogs” is not an anomaly; the entire film is a bloody, gritty caper. The ear torture scene is certainly grisly, but it doesn’t necessarily come as a shock during such a highly intense film that already parades its violent proclivities with glee. The removal of the “Stuck in the Middle With You” scene would make no difference in audiences categorizing the film as a rough gaze into the criminal underworld, or have it suddenly be perceived as a fun crowd-pleaser. Women are perfectly capable of enjoying this type of film, and there may be some men who do not have the stomach for it. Personal taste and movie genre preferences have no gender.