True Romance (1993)

Submitted by movieguy2004 t3_z6o3q0 in movies

This is one of those classics that I had missed out on up till now and I’m glad I got to it tonight because it’s excellent.

First off, I know he didn’t direct this, but this is absolutely a Quentin Tarantino movie. The script is identifiable as his from 1,000,000 miles away. It’s got the obscure pop culture references, the rambling dialogue structure, everything. And it’s a pleasure to listen to. At the same time though, Tony Scott’s fingerprints are also very visible. The second half in particular reminds me a lot of Top Gun visually with all the sundrenched imagery.

I was just really invested in the story of this. I found both main characters very likable and really wanted to see them succeeded. The ending in particular was very cathartic for me. I knew basically nothing about this going in except that Quentin Tarantino wrote it, so when >! Clarence gets shot at the end, I absolutely bought it that he was actually dead.!<

>!And while they could’ve made a very good ending out of that as well, seeing him survive and watching the final scene of the two of them with their son on the beach was just as satisfying as the ending of Shawshank.!<

The performances here are also very good. Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette are convincing as unhinged yet ultimately sympathetic characters. Each of them get a great sequence with Gary Oldman and James Gandolfini respectively that really shows this off, and both of those guys play very intimidating and unnerving antagonists here.

I honestly loved the hell out of this. The romantic crime thriller is kind of an odd direction to go, and this pulls it off in a very creative and entertaining way.

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Mr_Monty_Burns t1_iy2ey7u wrote

The Sicilian scene is one of if not my favorite scenes ever.

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AnyTomato8562 t1_iy2lhhg wrote

100% spot on!

Cuz you’re all…Eggplant.

And your a cantelope!

If I remember some of those lines were ad lib by Hopper and Walken.

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loebsale1 t1_iy333hd wrote

Imo its one of the best examples on how to film a perfect scene. I enjoy the movie cause its fun and full of adrenaline but I love that scene.

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tread52 t1_iy3tsup wrote

From my knowledge Terentino sold the rights to this in order to fund pulp fiction.

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nur5e t1_iy7nebt wrote

And powerful because it is true.

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New_Insect_Overlords t1_iy2giyo wrote

Best Brad Pitt role

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RodLUFC t1_iy2jirk wrote

Ha. I always say this! "All I got is fucking Floyd!"

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ArchDucky t1_iy4556d wrote

Which is saying something because hes never been bad in anything.

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loverofonion t1_iy2wsbd wrote

Gary Oldman's Drexl Spivey was brilliant. Always makes me want to shoot him in the head and steal his food.

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blutwl t1_iy3yiio wrote

Wtf is a Drexl?

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loverofonion t1_iy7ifw2 wrote

Drexl is a proper noun and is the name of Gary Oldman's character in a movie called True Romance.

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blutwl t1_iy7mdki wrote

"Wtf is a Drexl" is a line spoken by Clarence played by Christian Slater in a movie called True Romance

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loverofonion t1_iy7zn34 wrote

Ha, I didn't know that, I thought you were being a cock. My apologies 😂

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MartyZorro t1_iy2wpx9 wrote

Val Kilmer as Inner Voice Elvis. Straight up bonkers.

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Newone1255 t1_iy2xctt wrote

I’ve always liked you Clarence, always have always will 🤘

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Cake-Over t1_iy31ec0 wrote

Gandolfini's boyish smile and glance up towards the ceiling right after he punches Alabama was terrifying.

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ArchDucky t1_iy45odl wrote

Fun Fact : After Steve Carrell was forced out of The Office, NBC approached James Gandolfini too take over as lead. HBO found out about the offer and paid James three million dollars not to do it. They didn't want the legacy of Sopranos to be tainted by him appearing in a comedy.

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coldliketherockies t1_iy4rqd4 wrote

Yet he did the Mexican. Enough said. Surviving Christmas (shudder)

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Saint_Gut-Free t1_iy5dooe wrote

The Mexican was an R dark comedy and HBO knew no one wold see Surviving Christmas.

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jsanders4289 t1_iy31lxo wrote

The scene with Dennis Hopper and Christopher Walken is one of the best movie monologues I’ve seen in a movie.

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Savethecat1 t1_iy2g4bt wrote

My second favorite movie after Jaws. Such a well written movie. So many amazing scenes.

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[deleted] t1_iy34djo wrote

[removed]

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Fthewigg t1_iy3odfl wrote

It’s funny. I don’t particularly like Slater, Penn or Arquette and I dislike Rapaport and Pinchot. They were all great in this.

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313Wolverine t1_iy2hhef wrote

You write all of this and do not mention Dennis Hopper's monologue which is probably one of the best in all of film? Please watch it again.

Also, Brad Pitt was the dude on the couch.

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generalfrumph t1_iy2ie4t wrote

Yes, the interaction between Hopper and Walken is, in my opinion, one of the best.

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Eliju t1_iy3n2lp wrote

And even a quick appearance by Samuel L Jackson. Such an amazing cast all around. And Gary Oldman. “He must have thought it was white boy day. It ain’t white boy day is it?”

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Bros555 t1_iy3dh9z wrote

One of my favorite movies ever. I don’t think I could ever tire of it

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Lritz_Fang t1_iy2i8l5 wrote

Rambling structure? True Romance has a straight forward structure.

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PaddyFever t1_iy2kylx wrote

I fucking love this movie.

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NAGDABBITALL t1_iy2j3vw wrote

Sadly, Gary Oldman just announced he will retire. Hope it doesn't happen.

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oscarx-ray t1_iy2xcw2 wrote

If he does, we have been blessed with one of the best in every conceivable role. We can't stand back at his retirement and lament that he didn't give us... EVERYTHING

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QuinnySpurs t1_iy3hbjf wrote

Including ‘the role of a lifetime’ in Tiptoes…

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RodLUFC t1_iy2jew7 wrote

One of my favourites. Seen it too many times!

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ViskerRatio t1_iy2ndrb wrote

True Romance, Natural Born Killers and From Dusk to Dawn are all non-Tarantino Tarantino films - and they're all awesome, eminently rewatchable films. In contrast, I find most actual Tarantino films to be merely watchable.

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mdmnl t1_iy2qw7p wrote

From wiki "The film's score by Hans Zimmer is a theme based on Gassenhauer from Carl Orff's Schulwerk. This theme, combined with a voiceover spoken by Arquette, is an homage to Terrence Malick's 1973 crime film Badlands"

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senseven t1_iy6sflo wrote

This is one of the scores I send people who ask me what I mean I like film scores. The other one is the long version of the Back to the Future overture and the other one is Jurassic Parks main theme.

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jezzac_2000 t1_iy37zt7 wrote

True Romance is worth a watch if only for the epic Dennis Hopper/Chris Walken scene.

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BisonWeapon t1_iy3u928 wrote

My favorite all time movie hands down

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TrenterD t1_iy3a0j6 wrote

One thing I love about this movie is the change of scenery. It starts in this godawful snowy winter in Detroit, and then ends up Los Angeles. It gives a sense of scope.

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mmxtechnology t1_iy3e3a3 wrote

When I ever discuss romance movies with others I always tell them this is my favorite and try not to tell them much about it. It's gotten a few people to go Wtf and turned on a few to QT. Such a masterpiece.

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caligari209 t1_iy3eezq wrote

I agree with you OP, it's a great movie. However I think it's a bit disrespectful to always call this movie "a Tarantino movie".

Sure, you can tell he worked on the script, but what about the work of the great director Tony Scott ! He isn't just a yes man that did nothing on that movie !

That man is so underrated it always break my heart.

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TheMadIrishman327 t1_iy3qg7u wrote

Didn’t QT dislike this film?

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caligari209 t1_iy5f1tt wrote

I don't think so. As far as I know he loves Tony Scott (and every movie fan should).

But Tarantino himself says that he would have made a very different movie with the same script.

At the time he had nothing to do with the shooting, he didn't even set foot once on the set. It's all Tony Scott's work, except for the great script and casting and music. Good recipe !

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karma3000 t1_iy5yvlm wrote

He disliked Natural Born Killers which also came out around the same time. He wrote it then Oliver Stone as director butchered it.

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UCanArtifUWant2 t1_iy3ggsq wrote

This movie is like a Who's Who of the 90s! An awesome flick ! Five Stars! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

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blutwl t1_iy3ybyq wrote

I think Christian Slater can deliver any line very convincingly. That whole "you say I love you and if I said I love you back..." line is, to me, such a hard line to pull off but he's so smooth.

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ronearc t1_iy4j5z5 wrote

The scene between Dennis Hopper and Christopher Walken is one of the best scenes in cinema history, for my money.

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oscarx-ray t1_iy2x5b8 wrote

Can we have a discussion about the use of "rambling" to describe Tarrantino's scripts? I absolutely understand where OP is coming from, but I'd argue that there isn't a wasted word in his dialogue. Every inch of it is deliberate, and direct, and building to a point whilst (stylistically) sounding like a naturalistic conversation. Yes, it's a bit - on the nose - at times, but it's deliberate and not rambling.

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Fthewigg t1_iy3ovja wrote

He rolled over on his mommy’s, daddy’s, two-panty granny and the fucking King of Siami.

You can bring in the state militia, LA Thunderbirds, ghost of Steve-fucking-McQueen and ten Roman gladiators…

I love these lines dearly, but yeah, there are “wasted words” in this movie.

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oscarx-ray t1_iy2x7y5 wrote

Not a dig at you at all, OP, genuinely - I absolutely get your point, but would like to discuss it is all.

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Andre1075 t1_iy3207q wrote

"I'd argue that there isn't a wasted word in his dialogue"

Looks like we got another Tarantino fanboy lol

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Pretorian24 t1_iy3atcr wrote

I really love the musical score too.

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fikustree t1_iy3n52n wrote

Originally Christian Slater’s character did die at the end. I think they changed it because of test audiences but the original was on the DVD special features.

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SKULL1138 t1_iy3wia0 wrote

One of my absolute favourite’s also. The score, the performances, the crazy standard of big actors in small parts, it’s a peach.

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Kunama_Namadgi t1_iy2lriv wrote

It’s a good one. “I’d rather have a gun and not need it than need a gun and not have it” great life advice.

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Shemoose t1_iy3ch1w wrote

I love this alternative love story. Lots of blood and gore

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CleverName4269 t1_iy3u5yy wrote

True Romance has always been my favorite Tarantino movie. It has him all over it. And the casting is amazing.

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corpus-luteum t1_iy3zyj5 wrote

Top film. One of those treasures that I go back to every now and then.

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zippyboy t1_iy5u4a5 wrote

Wait till you see Killing Zoe....and another non-Taratino, Tarantino film.

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karma3000 t1_iy5yyi8 wrote

I need to rewatch this.

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mobjam20 t1_iy659mu wrote

There are 3 or 4 commentary tracks on the recent Bluray and UHD releases if you ever want to take a deeper dive.

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Mipo64 t1_iy4znzu wrote

Love the movie/hate Slater's wannabe Jack Nicholson voice...

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Shhhhhhhhill t1_iy2l893 wrote

I would have loved to see that movie with a Tarantino music score. The steel drum theme was a bit overpowering.

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An_Ick_Dote t1_iy2psa6 wrote

Put some respect on Hans Zimmers name. Plus it kinda fits with how the lovers are child-like in their infatuation, it's childish sounds and melodies juxtapositing the chaos they create.

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blutwl t1_iy3z5yb wrote

I quite enjoy the fact that even in the tense situations, there was happy steel drum music. For me the movie worked a bit better knowing they'll get out of the situation and driving off to the sunset and just waiting to see how this happens rather than being uncertain as to if they can get out alive. The music allowed me to do this

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SlumLordGibbons t1_iy3v98n wrote

I hadn't watched it for 10, maybe 15 years. Went back to re-watch it this year after having a hard time finding it and found the plot to be just insufferable. Such a bogus story line and everyone's favorite Sicilian scene is about as racist as it gets. Its not funny and was hard to watch.

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lmJustNewBootGoofin t1_iy51pr3 wrote

yeah we'll get downvoted because you can't say anything bad about tarantino here but true romance is just a teenage boy's wet dream turned into a movie and the "best scene" to most people who like it is just yet another racist tarantino bit.

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