Tagged: Harvey Keitel
Winston Wolf in Pulp Fiction
Harvey Keitel as Winston Wolf in Pulp Fiction (1994).
Vitals
Harvey Keitel as Winston Wolf, problem solver
Los Angeles, Summer 1992
Film: Pulp Fiction
Release Date: October 14, 1994
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Costume Designer: Betsy Heimann
Background
I’m Winston Wolf. I solve problems.
Last Friday, Harvey Keitel turned 77 years old, a birthday that was almost certainly celebrated by Quentin Tarantino. Tarantino has stated that “Harvey had been my favorite actor since I was 16 years old,” so he penned the character of criminal fixer Winston Wolf – and according to the screenplay, it is Wolf and not Wolfe – specifically for Keitel. Two years earlier, the actor’s involvement in Reservoir Dogs as the pragmatic career criminal “Mr. White” helped shoot Q.T. onto the map of filmmakers to watch. The Wolf may have also been a nod to Keitel’s role as Victor, the ruthlessly efficient “cleaner” in 1993’s Point of No Return. Continue reading
Reservoir Dogs — Mr. White
Harvey Keitel as Mr. White in Reservoir Dogs (1992).
Vitals
Harvey Keitel as Larry Dimmick, aka “Mr. White”, professional armed robber
Los Angeles, Summer 1992
Film: Reservoir Dogs
Release Date: October 9, 1992
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Costume Designer: Betsy Heimann
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
If you’ve never heard of Reservoir Dogs, you’ve either:
a) Chosen to live under a rock
b) Never stepped into a college dorm room inhabited by at least one man (see also: The Boondock Saints)
Once again, I turn to the pros at Clothes on Film to help express the importance of this film’s costuming. Chris Laverty, who interviewed the film’s costumer Betsy Heimann, states:
Betsy Heimann’s costume design for Reservoir Dogs spawned a legacy in pop culture and fashion that is still being felt today. Heimann and director Quentin Tarantino determined a cinematic sub-genre by redefining the appearance of the petty gangster. From shambolic to symbolic; a man in a black suit, white shirt and black tie walking in slow motion is possibly the single most memorable costume image of the nineties.