True Romance

Have to give this 10/10 because it's still my Number one film now after having first seen it nearly twenty years ago. I love every second of it. From the dialogue to the stellar cast and everything in between. It just feels like my movie and I think it always will be.

After reading some of the other reviews on this film I felt compelled to write a review. True Romance is my favourite film of all time. True Romance was not a film that got dusted off in the midst of Tarantino fever and is not attempting to be "Tarantino'esq" in its direction. Actually this was the first script that he ever wrote. It was penned whilst he was working in a video and comic store in Amsterdam. He rented the apartment above- anybody who has seen this film will know the parallels with Clarence Worley. Tarantino was actually trying to get his work taken on at the time by some film companies and he requested Scott because he loved his early work. It is true that later on Tarantino kicked up a fuss because they altered the ending and he criticised Scott for making it too Hollywood. Clarence dies in the original script! Anyway Scott agreed to make both endings and let Tarantino watch them, Tarantino then conceded he preferred the new version. The film wasn't trying to be Tarantino-esq that part was just the authors input on the film which is not common when people are making films like Harry Potter as the author has no knowledge of film but it is very common when working with screenwriters! This film is the most romantic film i have ever seen, brilliant characters, amazing sound track, brilliant acting & the cast alone informs us that this is one of the best films ever made. Brad Pitt was asked to be a lead character in the film but was working on another at the time. Pitt wanted to be involved so badly that he flew in for a days shooting just to do 6 lines as room mate Floydd. "and some cleaning products" was ad-libbed! Just see this film.

"True Romance" is one of those few movies that has it all: Action, romance, drama and brilliant acting. Not to mention TR has an all-star cast, but many contribute their finest work in this film. Oldman, Arquette and Slater arguably give their best performances. Christopher Walken's scene is nothing short of pure brilliance. I loved him in "The Dead Zone" and "The Deer Hunter" as well as his brief appearance in "Pulp". I was happy with the ending, and I'm glad it ended the way it did. We've come to not expect that type of ending anymore. This along with numerous other reasons too long to explain here is why I truly believe "True Romance" is one of the greatest films ever made. Period.

This film is about a guy who falls in love with a hooker and marries her. What a lovely story, taking this poor miscreant off the streets and showing her that he is willing to take care of her. Of course, you know everything is going to go without a hitch. Not really, from a crazed white pimp who thinks he is black to mob types to undercover cops this couple is going to have a really hard time getting to the honeymoon. The film has lots of violence, some sex, and inexplicably Bronson Pinchot who at the time was still most known as the lovable Balki from the television show "Perfect Strangers". Well here he plays a guy who gets caught by the cops with some white powder on his nose and it is not from a doughnut. The film's best sequence to me though was the Christopher Walken and Dennis Hopper one. Great scene, I love how Hopper's character basically realizes what is going to happen to him so he does his best to insult Walken's character as a parting shot. Just wish both of them were in the movie a bit more, especially Walken who disappears from the film after this scene. I could have done without the Elvis ghost scenes, but aside from that I have a rather positive image of this movie despite the fact it is not something I typically care for.

Cynical, seen-it-all-before smart ass that I am, I can't but help love 'True Romance'! On paper it looks like a sure fire recipe for disaster. A typically hip pop-culture saturated Quentin Tarantino script directed by schlockmeister Tony Scott, the man responsible for rancid Simpson/Bruckheimer "blockbusters" like 'Top Gun' and 'Days Of Thunder'. But some how it really works! The movie is especially helped by a dynamite cast, one of the most impressive in many years. Possibly only Julian Schnabel's underrated biopic 'Basquiat' can rival its mixture of star power and cult faves. Slater, Arquette, Walken, Hopper, Oldman, Kilmer, Penn, Sizemore, Jackson, Rapaport, Gandolfini, Argo, Corrigan, etc.etc. These are many of the finest actors working today. Add them to an electric story of love on the run, jam packed with amusing, highly quotable dialogue and plenty of action and laughs, and you have yourself a genuinely entertaining update of a classic 70s drive-in movie. 'True Romance' is a wild ride not to be missed!