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True Romance - Unrated Director's Cut (Two-Disc Special Edition) Customer Reviews (40 - 42 of 48 Reviews)

Too much of a good thing
Subtley was never Tarantino's strong suit, but in this, his earliest effort, there isn't even a touch of it in evidence. True Romance is completley over-the-top. What hinders it most is first the self-indulgence in the screen play. The main character, a comic book shop clerk, Kung Fu and Sonny Chiba enthusiast and lover of movies 'with balls,' could literally be Tarantino himself, and when he falls in love with a beautiful girl who reciprocates fully and shares his interests, it makes you kind of suspicious. The other occasional hinderance is the overwhelming star power in the movie. Rarely do you see so many big-name actors competing for screen space, and it's downright surreal if you've seen some of their other famous performances. Take a secne where Christopher Walken, improbably playing a Sicilian Mafia Don, threatens a nice-guy ex-cop played by - Dennis Hopper. It doesn't seem so much like mobster vs. cop as Christopher Walken vs. Dennis Hopper, and you can't help but think that if Dennis Hopper were in his Frank Booth persona, boy, would things be different. Meanwhile, the guy who plays Tony Soprano is standing in background, attendant to Walken. Then you have Samuel L. Jackson and the guy who plays 'Nice Guy' Eddie in Reservoir Dogs in walk-on roles, Val Kilmer is in there somewhere and Brad Pitt has ten minutes as the immobile stoner roomate who spoils everything. Granted, it's only retrospectively that some of these people are famous, but it's still distracting.

These and other factors make it impossible to take True Romance seriously, but it's still extremely entertaining. It's more violent than Kill Bill pt. 1 and more shamelessly comic than Reservoir Dogs - if you thought the climax of Reservoir Dogs was violent, watch about three times as many people die in a scene worthy of a Shakespearian tragedy. Gary Oldman provides some of the funniest moments as the pimp who 'only wishes' he were black ("He musta thought it was white boy day!...It aint white boy day, is it?"), and the romance between the two main characters, while not entirely believable, is pretty hot.

Direction by veteran Tony Scott doesn't seem to help the movie particularly; I get the feeling it might have worked better if Tarantino had directed it himself, novice though he was.

A lot of this serves to fuel the charge that Tarantino is hopelessly immature, but all aesthetic ethics aside, it really shouldn't be missed.

You're So Cool!
"True Romance" is a personal favorite. Watching it for the first time a decade ago, was mind-blowing. Not since I was young and saw "Star Wars", has a movie so completely transported me, and given me such an overwhelming experience. The movie was my introduction to Quentin Tarantino's world, it's an amalgam of everything I love about his work. This is a touchstone of 90's cinema, a film geek essential. This movie contains classic scene after classic scene. The awesome grand finale is the best mexican standoff since "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly". I love this movie! Revisiting "True Romance" is like seeing old friends again. While the film itself is the usual Quentin Tarantino goofiness, the pace and the acting makes this film a must see. And the acting is incredible--most especially Christopher Walken and Dennis Hopper. Their final confrontation scene may be one of the most amazing dialogs between two great actors ever filmed. How the director gets performances like this out of all his actors amazes me. From James Gandolfini to Tom Sizemore to Brad Pitt to Hopper and Walken, and especially Gary Olman as Drexel, well they all deliver. Christopher Walken & Dennis Hopper share a brief moment in this movie, and it is, without a doubt, the best display of passive aggressive behaviour in any movie, ever. To be honest, I never liked Christian Slater, but he is okay in this movie. The Last scene in the Producer's Hotel Suite is also fantastic. How the hell does Tarantino write such masterpieces? Simply Superb Movie.

Stay True To Yourself
Directed with a slick style by Tony Scott (Top Gun, Spy Game), True Romance, boasts an all star cast, a cool soudtrack, and a great script from Quentin Tarantino. He would of course, go on to write and direct Resevior Dogs, and Pulp Fiction. I happen to think though, however, that the script for this film is Tarantino's best work in anything he's ever done. Period I know I'm probably in the minority with that opinion, but most of the the other films he's written/directed himself, have a samenees to them.

Clarence Worley (Christian Slater) likes comic books, Kung Fu Films, and Elvis. He leads a fairly normal life, that is, until he meets call girl Alabama (Patricia Arquette). After a spending a passionate night together, they declare their love for each other, and they decide to get hitched. Clarence is visited by the ghost of Elvis (Val Kilmer) who tells him that he should kill Alabama's pimp Drexel (Gary Oldman)... Dennis Hopper Michael Rappaport Christopher Walken and Brad Pitt also star in this quirky, sometimes dark, love story.

The 2 disc DVD director's cut is a must for fans of the film, over the movie only disc version, that still available.

Disc One has the unrated director's cut of the film. There are 3 audio commentary tracks. Each one offers a unique perspective on the same film and it's kind of fun to have these different takes on the same film. All of the tracks are decent and never lag (especialy Tarantino's who barely misses a beat) The director's storyboard track allows for a side by side comparison between the final film and how Scott laid everything out beforehand. DVD-ROM stuff includes the original script, production notes, and a web site archive with a few links

Disc Two has interviews with both cast and crew, some interesting on the set footage. Cast members offer audio reactions to specific scenes that they appear in as they watch them--this is really cool. Comments are from Hopper Kilmer Pitt and others There are a number of deleted scenes that can be viewed optional commentary from Scott. The best extra is the alternate ending. Rounding out the extras are the ususal trailers and photo galleries and such.

This 2 disc set comes highly recommended

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