True Romance (1993)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Tony Scott

Writer:

Quentin Tarantino (written by)

Release Date:

10 September 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

Stealing, Cheating, Killing. Who said romance is dead?

Plot:

Clarence marries hooker Alabama, steals cocaine from her pimp, and tries to sell it in Hollywood, while the owners of the coke try to reclaim it.

Plot Keywords:

Pimp | Coke | Gangster | Chase | Cocaine

Awards:

6 nominations

Cast

Christian Slater	...	Clarence Worley
Patricia Arquette	...	Alabama Whitman
Dennis Hopper	...	Clifford Worley
Val Kilmer	...	Mentor
Gary Oldman	...	Drexl Spivey
Brad Pitt	...	Floyd - Dick's Roommate
Christopher Walken	...	Vincenzo Coccotti
Bronson Pinchot	...	Elliot Blitzer
Samuel L. Jackson	...	Big Don
Michael Rapaport	...	Dick Ritchie
Saul Rubinek	...	Lee Donowitz
Conchata Ferrell	...	Mary Louise Ravencroft
James Gandolfini	...	Virgil
Anna Levine	...	Lucy (as Anna Thomson)
Frank Adonis	...	Frankie

Also Known As:

Breakaway (Philippines: English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence and language, and for sexuality and drug use.

Runtime:

120 min | USA:121 min (unrated director's cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Netherlands:16 (DVD rating) | Finland:(Banned) (original rating) | Iceland:16 | Philippines:R-18 | Canada:18A (British Columbia) (1999) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Argentina:16 | Australia:R | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-18 | France:-16 | Germany:18 | Hong Kong:III | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:18 | Peru:18 | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | Singapore:NC-16 (edited for re-rating) | Singapore:R(A) (original rating) | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 (director's cut) | USA:R | USA:Unrated (director's cut)

Filming Locations:

Ambassador Hotel - 3400 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Morgan Creek Productions

Trivia:

Following the "eggplant scene", Dennis Hopper was concerned about being "shot" by Christopher Walken with the prop gun so close against his head for fear of being burned by the barrel. Director Tony Scott assured him the gun was 100% safe, and even tested it by having the prop man fire it against his (Scott's) own forehead. But upon firing the prop gun the barrel extended about a third of an inch and Scott ended up on the floor with blood pouring from the wound.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Clarence's father, Clifford is shot in the head, in a brief close-up front view, a red splatter appears on his forehead but with no kind of wound visible.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Clarence Worley: In Jailhouse Rock he was everything rockabilly's about. I mean, he is rockabilly. Mean, surly, nasty, rude. In that movie he couldn't give a fuck about nothing except rockin' and rollin', living fast, dying young and leaving a good-looking corpse.

Movie Connections:

References Fear and Desire (1953)

Soundtrack:

Learnin' The Blues

My favorite movie of all time

True Romance is my favorite movie of all time. The reason I love it so much is that you might think you know what is going to happen, but you are wrong! You don't know what is going to happen next. You're watching this movie and you're in a groove, when suddenly the movie takes a left hand turn and you are heading in the completely opposite direction.

The acting and directing is fantastic. This is a violent, violent movie, but the violence works. Patricia Arquette is wonderful as Alabama. I am a woman and I don't really want to see another woman's cleavage, but in this movie, the cleavage works. In other words, the sex and violence in this movie don't feel gratuitous, but rather a part of a great plot.

Christian Slater is such a great actor. This is a star-studded cast, including Christopher Walken, Brad Pitt, Val Kilmer, Gary Oldman and more. Most people watch this movie and don't even recognize Gary Oldman.

I've seen this movie about 20 times now and, although I'm no longer surprised by the plot twists, I am still fascinated by the cast, the music, the direction. I like this movie quite a bit more than Pulp Fiction. This film was written by Quentin Tarantino and directed by Tony Scott and came out a few years before Pulp Fiction. If you are really interested in this film be sure and get the DVD with all of the comments from the cast, producers, director, writer, etc.