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True Romance

 
Movies:

True Romance

  • Director: Tony Scott
  • AMG Rating: starstarstar
  • Genre: Crime
  • Movie Type: Crime Thriller, Road Movie
  • Themes: Hired Killers, Drug Trade, Criminal's Revenge
  • Main Cast: Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette, Dennis Hopper, Gary Oldman, Brad Pitt
  • Release Year: 1993
  • Country: US
  • Run Time: 116 minutes
  • MPAA Rating: R

Plot

Quentin Tarantino scripted this wild and wooly blend of action and dark comedy, which reached theaters a year before his breakthrough hit Pulp Fiction. Clarence Worley (Christian Slater) is a well-meaning but socially unskilled comic-shop clerk whose idea of a big night out is catching a Sonny Chiba triple-feature at a downtown grindhouse. Clarence is celebrating his birthday in just such a manner when he meets a beautiful girl named Alabama (Patricia Arquette), and it's love at first sight for both of them. Clarence's enthusiasm isn't dampened much when he discovers Alabama is actually a prostitute who was paid by his boss to bump into him; she's only been in the business for a few days, and is more than eager to give up streetwalking to be with Clarence. However, Alabama is certain her pimp, Drexl (Gary Oldman), will not be happy; he's an ill-mannered sort with mob connections and a fondness for violence. Chivalrous Clarence offers to break the news to Drexl and collect her belongings, but he doesn't tell her he also plans to kill Drexl while he's there; a melee breaks out that leaves Drexl and his henchmen dead. Clarence grabs a suitcase that he thinks contains Alabama's clothes, but he discovers it instead holds five million dollars' worth of cocaine. The couple hits the road for California, planning to sell the dope and enjoy the good life in South America with the proceeds, but soon a group of very unhappy underworld characters are after them, as well as the police. True Romance also stars Dennis Hopper as Clarence's father, Christopher Walken as a mob boss who wants his cocaine back, Brad Pitt as a cheerful stoner, and Val Kilmer as the ghost of Elvis Presley. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Cast

Christopher Walken - Vincenzo Coccotti; Val Kilmer - Mentor; Bronson Pinchot - Elliot Blitzer; Michael Rapaport - Dick Ritchie; Saul Rubinek - Lee Donowitz; Chris Penn - Nick Dimes; Tom Sizemore - Cody Nicholson; Samuel L. Jackson - Big Don; Frank Adonis - Frankie; Victor Argo - Lenny; Paul Bates - Marty; Michael Beach - Wurlitzer; Paul Ben-Victor - Luca; John Cenatiempo - 1st Squad Cop; Kevin Corrigan - Marvin; Said Faraj - Burger Man; Conchata Ferrell - Mary Louise Ravencroft; James Gandolfini - Virgil; Dennis Garber - 1st Lobby Cop; Patrick John Hurley - Monty; Eric Allan Kramer - Boris; Anna Levine - Lucy; Maria Pitillo - Kandi; Gregory Sporleder - Burger Stand Customer; Billy Hopkins; Lawrence Mason - Floyd "D"; Risa Bramon Garcia; Joe D'Angerio - Police Radio Operator; Steve Gonzales - L.A. Officer

Credit

James Murakami - Art Director, Billy Hopkins - Casting, Risa Bramon Garcia - Casting, Don Edmonds - Co-producer, James W. Skotchdopole - Co-producer, Susan Becker - Costume Designer, Tony Scott - Director, Michael Tronick - Editor, Christian Wagner - Editor, Gary Barber - Executive Producer, James G. Robinson - Executive Producer, Bob Weinstein - Executive Producer, Harvey Weinstein - Executive Producer, Stan Margulies - Executive Producer, Mark Mancina - Composer (Music Score), Hans Zimmer - Composer (Music Score), Ellen Wong - Makeup, Benjamin Fernandez - Production Designer, Jeffrey Kimball - Cinematographer, Gary Barber - Producer, Steve Perry - Producer, Samuel Hadida - Producer, Bill Unger - Producer, Thomas Roysden - Set Designer, William B. Kaplan - Sound/Sound Designer, Chuck Picerni, Jr. - Stunts, Charlie Picerni - Stunts Coordinator, Quentin Tarantino - Screenwriter

Similar Movies

Badlands; Kalifornia; Something Wild; Wild at Heart; Natural Born Killers; Love and a .45; Normal Life; Truth or Consequences, N.M.; Kiss or Kill; Thursday; Adrenaline Drive; The Learning Curve; The Way of the Gun; Nurse Betty; He Died With a Felafel In His Hand; Love the Hard Way; The Salton Sea; Highway; Men With Guns; Starkweather; Baja Run; Domino; Farewell to the Channel; Keys to Tulsa; Love Lies Bleeding
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Album Review: True Romance
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  • Artist: Original Soundtrack
  • Rating: StarStarHalf Star
  • Release Date: September 07, 1993
  • Total Time: 46:54
  • Type: Soundtrack
  • Genre: Soundtrack

Review

The soundtrack to True Romance starts out with some light marimba music (the basis of all the score pieces intermingled between tracks), then moves on to go over a number of light pop/soft rock bits. Charlie Sexton's Elvis-inspired "Graceland" is followed by a light number from John Waite, and then contemporary classic soul men Charles & Eddie's "Wounded Bird." Something of a club track from Nymphomania follows, and then more of the same lightweight material as before. Finally, near the end, Soundgarden's "Outshined" appears, bringing a much-needed (by then) dose of heavier material. The album finishes with Chris Isaak's "Two Hearts," which brings a return to the softer material the album has been pushing (as well as another slight Elvis tinge). Overall, not a bad album, though it becomes rather predictable up until the Soundgarden moment. Pick it up for a few relative rarities put into the same album. Otherwise, simply get an Elvis album, a Soundgarden album, and some sort of soft rock compilation. ~ Adam Greenberg, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
You're So Cool Hans Zimmer Hans Zimmer (3:40)
Graceland Charlie Sexton Charlie Sexton (3:25)
In Dreams (Lyrics) John Waite, Mark Spiro John Waite (3:45)
Wounded Bird (Lyrics) Eddie Chacon Charles & Eddie (5:10)
I Want Your Body John Ewbank Nymphomania (4:18)
Stars at Dawn Hans Zimmer Hans Zimmer (2:04)
I Need a Heart to Come Home To (Lyrics) John Jarvis, Russell Smith Shelby Lynne (4:20)
Viens Mallika Sous le Dome (3:56)
(Love Is) The Tender Trap Sammy Cahn, James Van Heusen Robert Palmer (2:37)
Outshined (Lyrics) Chris Cornell Soundgarden (5:12)
Amid the Chaos of the Day Hans Zimmer Hans Zimmer (4:54)
Two Hearts Chris Isaak Chris Isaak (3:33)

Credits

Shelby Lynne (Performer), Chris Isaak (Performer), Robert Palmer (Performer), Charlie Sexton (Producer), Charlie Sexton (Performer), Soundgarden (Producer), Soundgarden (Performer), John Waite (Producer), John Waite (Performer), Charles & Eddie (Performer), Bekka Bramlett (Performer), Maureen Crowe (Producer), Maureen Crowe (Executive Producer), Terry Date (Producer), Erik Jacobsen (Producer), Teo Macero (Producer), Brent Maher (Producer), Jim Mazza (Producer), Jim Mazza (Executive Producer), Nick Name (Producer), Nymphomania (Performer), Denzil Slemming (Producer), Mark Spiro (Producer), Hans Zimmer (Producer), Hans Zimmer (Performer), Josh Deutsch (Producer), Mark Waldren (Mastering), Thomas Milano (Editing), James G. Robinson (Executive Producer), Tom Milani (Music Editor), Mark Walden (Mastering), MPM (Art Direction), MPM (Design)
Wikipedia: True Romance
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True Romance

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Tony Scott
Produced by Gary Barber
Harvey Weinstein
Bob Weinstein
Samuel Hadida
James G. Robinson
Written by Quentin Tarantino
Roger Avary (uncredited)
Starring Christian Slater
Patricia Arquette
Dennis Hopper
Val Kilmer
Gary Oldman
Brad Pitt
Christopher Walken
Bronson Pinchot
Samuel L. Jackson
Michael Rapaport
Music by Hans Zimmer
Cinematography Jeffery L. Kimball
Editing by Michael Tronick
Christian Wagner
Studio Morgan Creek
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date(s) September 10, 1993
Running time 121 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $12.5 million[citation needed]
Gross revenue $12,281,551

True Romance (1993) is an American romantic crime film written by Quentin Tarantino and directed by Tony Scott, director of Top Gun and Beverly Hills Cop II. It stars Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette with an ensemble cast.

The title and plot is a play on the titles of romance comic books with their overwrought love stories -- very popular in earlier decades -- such as "True Life Secrets," "True Stories of Romance", "Romance Tales," "Untamed Love" and "Strange Love."

True Romance was a breakthrough of sorts for Tarantino. It was his first screenplay for a major motion picture. He had hoped to direct the movie himself, but ended up selling the script.

Also notable is the film's score by Hans Zimmer; its leitmotif is based on a familiar piece by Carl Orff.

Contents

Plot

Comic-book store clerk and movie buff Clarence Worley watches a Sonny Chiba triple feature at a Detroit movie theater on his birthday. Here he meets Alabama Whitman, an attractive young woman he takes home afterward.

After sex, she tearfully confesses that she is a call girl hired by Clarence's boss as a birthday present. She also confesses that she has fallen in love with Clarence in a short time. He has also fallen for her, so they marry the next day.

Clarence is concerned about Alabama's volatile pimp, Drexl Spivey. He is visited by an apparition of his idol, Elvis Presley, who tells him that killing Drexl would make the world a better place.

After assuring Alabama he is only going to Drexl's to get her things, Clarence confronts the intimidating Drexl and tells him to leave Alabama alone from now on. Drexl and his right-hand man Marty attack and subdue Clarence, take his wallet to find out where he lives and threaten to find Alabama there. Clarence manages to draw a gun and kill them both. He grabs a bag which he assumes belongs to Alabama and leaves.

He confesses to Alabama that he killed Drexl, which she tearfully finds "so romantic!" Opening the suitcase, the two find it is filled with stolen cocaine.

Deciding to leave town for Los Angeles, the couple first visits Clarence's father, Clifford Worley, a security guard and ex-cop. Clarence asks to use his police connections to find out if he is in the clear regarding Drexl's murder. His father learns the police assume the murder was a drug-related thing.

Clarence and Alabama take off for L.A., where they look up Clarence's old friend Dick Ritchie, an aspiring actor. Back home, however, Clarence's father is ambushed by a gangster named Vincenzo Coccotti and his men who want their drugs back. Clarence's dad stalls for as long as he can before accepting that he is going to die anyway, whereupon he tells a graphic story that insults Coccotti and his Sicilian descent. He is killed. One of the gangsters finds a note on the fridge giving Clarence's whereabouts at Dick's home address.

Clarence plans to use Dick's contacts with an actor named Elliot to sell the drugs to a wealthy movie producer, Lee Donowitz. But when Elliot is arrested by the police for drug possession, he uses his knowledge of Clarence's drug deal to try to escape prison time by wearing a wire for the cops.

In the meantime, while Clarence is away getting food, Alabama is found by one of Coccotti's most ruthless henchmen, Virgil. He thinks she's cute, but nonetheless viciously beats her to find the cocaine. Alabama bravely fights back and amazingly manages to kill him. Clarence comes home and drives her away.

On the day of the deal, detectives Nicholson and Dimes stage a sting operation to nail Lee, the filmmaker. At the same time, Coccotti's men arrive at Lee's hotel to retrieve the drugs after finding out where the deal is taking place from Dick's stoned roommate Floyd.

Clarence, Alabama, Dick and a terrified Elliot arrive in Lee Donowitz's hotel room to begin negotiations. Lee takes a liking to Clarence and is happy to go through with the deal. He is then ambushed by the cops and the gangsters at the same time, bursting into the room.

In the middle of a Mexican standoff between the cops, robbers and Lee's heavily armed bodyguards, Lee realizes that Elliot has betrayed him. He scalds Elliot with a pot of hot coffee, triggering a massive outburst of gunfire. Lee, police officers, the gangsters and the bodyguards are killed.

Dick tosses the bag of drugs in the air as a distraction and flees. Clarence suffers a grazing bullet wound to his eye when he exits the bathroom and appears to be dead, devastating Alabama. A lone remaining Italian kills detective Dimes just after Dimes shoots Boris, one of Lee's bodyguards. In the alternate version, Alabama kills Dimes in retaliation for the wounding of Clarence.

Clarence revives. He is only partially blinded. Alabama leads him from the hotel and they escape as more police descend.

On a beach in Mexico, a healing Clarence and Alabama are shown as a happy family, playing with a son whom they have named Elvis.

Cast

Reception

Reviews for the film were largely positive. Out of the 43 reviews collected on Rotten Tomatoes, 39 are positive, giving it an overall "fresh" rating of 91%.[1]

Phil Villarreal of the Arizona Daily Star called it "one of the most dynamic action films of the 1990s."[2] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave it three stars, saying "it's Tarantino's gutter poetry that detonates True Romance. This movie is dynamite."[3]

Roger Ebert gave the film a somewhat mixed review, but also said that "the energy and style of the movie are exhilarating", and that "the supporting cast is superb, a roll call of actors at home in these violent waters: Christopher Walken, Dennis Hopper and Brad Pitt, for example."[4] A negative review by The Washington Post's Richard Harrington claimed the film was "stylistically visceral" yet "aesthetically corrupt".[5]

Film critic Richard Roeper named True Romance one of his all-time favorite films.

References

External links


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