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True Romance


True Romance
(1993, Tony Scott)



The first thing I did after my ‘Tarantino XX’ Blu-Ray set arrived was watch True Romance, the only film included that I had not previously seen, along with Death Proof which I shall be watching soon.

What is interesting about its inclusion in the set is the fact that it is the only film included that is not directed by Quentin Tarantino. It is well known that Tarantino wrote two screenplays based on romantic duos: True Romance and Natural Born Killers. He sold the latter (which I have not seen) to Oliver Stone however that is not included in the set due to his dislike towards Stone’s take on the script which is criticised for removing much of the satirical elements of Tarantino’s original story. With True Romance, Tarantino’s attitude is different with the director approving of Tony Scott’s take on the film with much of the original screenplay intact, something which is clearly evident throughout the film and something that makes it as good as it is.

With the screenplay so good I honestly believe that with Tarantino also behind this camera then this film may now viewed at the same level of his most famous film – Pulp Fiction. The film has all the elements of a typical Tarantino film with the same fast-paced and enjoyable formula that we expect from the director, the film is filled with fantastic and memorable references, pop culture references and references to plenty of other films – the Vietnam and Oscar awards conversation where Tarantino pays homage to some of his personal favourite films such as The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and Rio Bravo.

The biggest film inspiration evident is Terrence Malick’s classic Badlands, a clear influence on both of Tarantino’s romantic screenplays. This inspiration is portrayed clearly in the film with the same charming yet haunting sounds of Carl Orff that were used in Badlands used in Hans Zimmer’s score, with the voiceover from the film’s female protagonist Alabama sounding almost identical to that of Sissy Spacek’s character Holly in Badlands.

The film has perhaps one of my favourite casts of all time with a fantastic ensemble of great actors including a few that would later go on to appear in the films of Tarantino such as Samuel L. Jackson, Brad Pitt and Christopher Walken. Two of my favourites were Dennis Hopper who portrays a ‘good guy’ in contrast to the last film of his that I saw, Blue Velvet, and James Gandolfini as a member of the criminal gang chasing Clarence and Alabama who have run off with their cocaine, watching his performance it is easy to see how he would later become the star of my all time favourite TV show, The Sopranos.

Dennis Hopper and Christopher Walken create perhaps the film’s greatest scene, possibly one of the greatest scenes of all time. Hopper plays the role of Clifford Worley, the father of the on the run Clarence who attempts to protect his son from the ruthless Sicilian mafia member Vincenzo Coccotti with the other members on looking. Then there’s another favourite scene of mine, perhaps the most violent of the entire film where we see James Gandolfini’s character Virgil confront Patricia Arquette’s character Alabama. I actually had to ask my step-dad about an hour in, “have we seen Gary Oldman yet?” wondering whether I had missed him, I was correct in my suspicions as he told me (having previously seen then film and highly recommending it) he was the pimp Drexl.

To put it simply, True Romance is two hours of pure popcorn fun, its explosive, fast-paced, filled with memorable dialogue, unique and brilliantly portrayed characters, pop culture and film references, plenty of violence and of course a romantic centre with two characters who we come to love. True Romance has everything you could want from a film and much more. I would say it is definitely one of Tarantino’s best films despite him not actually directing it, and I would say that it made for one of the most enjoyable viewing experiences that I can remember.

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