True Romance (1993)

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 | Chase | Cocaine | Hollywood

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)
True Romance (France)

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 | France

Language:

English | Italian

Colour:

Colour

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:

The comic book that Clarence shows Alabama is "Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos" #18. In this issue, Nick has gotten a ring for his sweetheart (Pamela Hawley) that he keeps on a chain around his neck. Later in the story, he gets in a fight with a Nazi and the ring falls overboard but Fury dives into the ocean to retrieve it. What Clarence doesn't tell Alabama is that when Fury returns to give the ring to his love he finds she's been killed.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the fight scene at Drexl's, Clarence shoots Drexl in the, well in the crotch. Marty then enters room and Clarence puts 4 shots into Marty, then shoots Drexl 2 more times in the head. All with a 6 shot revolver.

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:

Referenced in Grace and the Storm (2004)

Soundtrack:

Sous le dôme épais où le blanc jasmin

The Gun Had A Trigger

I cannot ignore the influence Quentin Tarantino's script had over the style of direction in "True Romance". The scary part is, if Tarantino had directed, it probably would have been even better. The sacrifice he made ended out being well worth it though. The good acting from a strong cast completed this great movie.

Christian Slater's wardrobe however, steals the show.

8 out of 10.