Music

I think the lack of music reinforces the background sounds of soldiers on punishment, and fits in with the drab appearance of the place!

Mood music isn't really necessary in a piece which sets the mood without it!


I agree. Unfortuantley if this movie were to be remade, they'd probably add a musical score and flashbacks.

Music in the movies usually gives us an indication of where the film is going - it's like punctuation - so if a scary moment is coming along it's usually indicated in the music and we prepare ourselves (sometimes subconciously) for what's about to happen.
If that punctuation is taken away, it can make viewing even more unpleasant because we don't have any musical cues.

Tarantino uses this - very little music in Reservior Dogs - and when he does use music it's usually source music (eg - pop music), not score. He even used it to reverse effect during the toture scene in RD by using an upbeat tune. We have in one sense no reference as to where this scene is going to end, no climax indicated in the music but it also tells us something about the man who decided to listen to it while dancing around and toturing the cop.
Which is why 'Stuck in the middle...' will forever be remembered as 'that' tune from RD, though it was recorded and popular in it's own right a couple of decades earlier.