Quentin Tarantino used to count the number of people who walked out of his film “Reservoir Dogs” during the infamous torture scene.
“The thing about it is, at a film festival screening sometimes no one really knows what they’re going to see,” the Oscar-winning director told the audience at Tribeca Film Festival‘s 25th anniversary screening of “Reservoir Dogs” on Friday. “They just get the program and hear a synopsis and that’s that… so it’s understandable somebody gets a ticket at a film festival and maybe this is not what they want to see and they have to leave.”
The gruesome scene from the film people couldn’t handle was when Michael Madsen was dancing to “Stuck in The Middle with You” while brutally torturing a cop after a jewelry heist.
At one screening, he counted 33 walkouts, but the most memorable one may have been at Sitges Film Festival in Spain, which specializes in fantasy and horror films.
“I thought, ‘Finally I’ve got an audience that won’t walk out.’ I even joked about that in the opening introduction for the movie.”
Tarantino continued, “Five people walked out of that audience, including Wes Craven. The f–king guy who did ‘Last House on the Left’ walked out? The guy who did ‘Last House on the Left,’ my movie’s too tough for him.”
Craven was famous for directing horror films like “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” “The Hills Have Eyes” and “Scream.” He passed away in 2015.
Cast members Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen and Steve Buscemi were also in attendance at the anniversary screening.
