True Romance on VHS

The Dominator reviews

True RomanceDistributed by
Warner Home Video

• Cert: 18
• Running time: 114 minutes
• Year: 1995
• Cat.no: S013158
• Released: 8th September 1997
• Sound: Dolby Surround
• Widescreen: 2.35:1 (Panavision)
• Price: £12.99
• Extras: Original Theatrical Trailer
  

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  Director:

  Tony Scott

  (Crimson Tide, Top Gun, The Fan, The Last Boy Scout, Beverly Hills Cop 2, Days of Thunder, The Hunger)

Producer:

Samuel Hadida, Steve Perry, Bill Unger

Screenplay:

Quentin Tarantino

(Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs)

Music:

Hans Zimmer

(Crimson Tide)

Cast:

• Clarence Worley : Christian Slater (Broken Arrow, Interview with the Vampire, Pump Up The Volume, Heathers, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Untamed Heart, Young Guns 2, Murder in the First, Kuffs, Mobsters)
• Alabama Whitman : Patricia Arquette (Lost Highway, Beyond Rangoon, Ed Wood)
• Clifford Worley : Dennis Hopper (Easy Rider, Speed)
• Mentor : Val Kilmer (The Saint, Batman Forever)
• Drexl Spivey : Gary Oldman (Leon, The Fifth Element, Air Force One)
• Floyd : Brad Pitt (Seven, The Devil’s Own)
• Vincenzo Coccotti : Christopher Walken (Nick of Time, Things To Do In Denver When You’re Dead)
• Elliot Blitzer : Bronson Pinchot (Beverly Hills Cop 1 and 3, Blame It On The Bellboy, Perfect Strangers (TV))
• Big Don : Samuel L Jackson (Pulp Fiction, Long Kiss Goodnight)
• Dick Ritchie : Michael Rapaport (Mighty Aphrodite, Higher Learning)
• Lee Donowitz : Saul Rubinek (And The Band Played On, Death Wish 5)
• Virgil : James Gandolfini (Angie, Terminal Velocity)
• Nicky Dimes : Christopher Penn (Reservoir Dogs, Mobsters, Pale Rider, Mulholland Falls, Short Cuts, To Wong Foo Thanks For Everything Julie Newmar)
• Cody Nicholson : Tom Sizemore (Heat, Natural Born Killers)

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Thetitle, True Romance, gives little indication to what this film isabout. Clarence (Christian Slater) is a loner trying to enjoy hisbirthday, which he starts off in a bar trying to pick up a girl with thechat-up line that he’s “not a fag” but if he really had to fuck a guy, ifhis life depended on it…he’d fuck Elvis. She reciprocates, so at least they’vegot something in common. However, she doesn’t want to entertain his idea ofgoing to the cinema to watch three kung fu movies each starring Sonny Cheeba.

So, he takes himself there where he meets up with local call-girl Alabama,(Patricia Arquette), they hit it off, and then are destined to spendtheir life together, although first they’ve a few obstacles to overcome…

Alabama left all her clothes at her pimp’s house so Clarence has to get them.Alabama’s pimp, Drexl (a superb cameo from Gary Oldman) is less thanpleased to see him, especially when he tries to be clever – cue big fightscene between the two in which Clarence eventually makes his escape, but whenhe gets home he realises he’s been given the wrong bag. Instead of the onewith Alabama’s clothes, he’s got the one with half-a-million dollars worth ofpure, uncut cocaine.

He’s now got to find a way of getting rid of the cocaine as quick as possible,but while making a bit of money out of it. On his side he’s got his father,Dennis Hopper, his best friend Dick Ritchie – a struggling actor whosealways looking for his big break in Hollywood, his mentor (Val Kilmer),who shows up as Elvis from time to time just as Clarence needs his help, andwho also co-starred in Tony Scott’s Top Gun.

On his tail are mafia man Vincenzo Coccotti (Christopher Walken) whoseshowdown scene with Hopper has to be seen to be believed, and hitman Virgil(James Gandolfini). The cast is rounded out with plenty of cameosfrom Brad Pitt as Dick’s flatmate, Bronson Pinchot as the manwho Clarence wants to set up a meet with the director of Vietnam films,Lee Donowitz (Saul Rubinek) whose just made the acclaimed, “ComingHome in a Bodybag” and is working on the sequel, “Bodybags 2”.Samuel L Jackson is one of Drexl’s right-hand men, and the two main copson the case are Christopher Penn and Tom Sizemore.

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The film is a tour-de-force from start to finish and the pace never lets upfor a second. This was something I was pleased to discover given that TonyScott, brother of Ridley Scott, is one of my favourite actiondirectors who always knows the best way of filling a Panavision frame.His films have never been short of finding major A-list stars to participate.The best-known one include the 1986 Tom Cruise-starrer Top Gun,1992’s Last Boy Scout with Bruce Willis, 1995’s submarine thrillerCrimson Tide with Gene Hackman and Denzel Washington,and this year’s The Fan with Robert De Niro and WesleySnipes.

True Romance goes one further with a cast to die for as listed abovewith a high number of cameos, the sort you’d expect to find in an Oliver Stonefilm.

The script was written a number of years ago by the then-unknown QuentinTarantino. It was one of his first scripts, and was ignored at the timeuntil he hit the big-time with Reservoir Dogs. Then, those in thefilm business began to snap up his old scripts including this one and that forNatural Born Killers which Oliver Stone rewrote to such a degree thatTarantino demanded his name was removed from the credits.

Tarantino’s tale doesn’t end there…

• In Reservoir Dogs, Christopher Penn played Nice Guy Eddie,and as Mr. White (Harvey Keitel) was interviewed by Joe, he was asked howAlabama was. Does this mean that in later life Clarence grows up to be Mr.White?
• Anyone who’s seen Terrence Malick’s Badlands will recognise thesimilar theme tune used in this film, as well as the intro and outro voice-oversfrom Patricia Arquette sounding like those done by Sissy Spacek in that film,and the basic premise of two unlikely characters teaming up for a lifetimeliving on the wild side of life.
• Tarantino also worked as a “script doctor”, making uncredited alterationsto the script on Tony Scott’s Crimson Tide.
• Tarantino also paid homage to another of Tony Scott’s films at a party scenein 1994’s Sleep With Me in which he played a wacky guest who discussedwith one of the main cast, at some length, the homosexual context within TopGun between the characters of Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer about how they eachenthused, “You can ride my tail… ANYTIME!”.

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The picture and sound quality of this release are second to none, which is adelight. Any of Tony Scott’s films should only be seen in widescreen as theregular pan-and-scan format does not do them justice, taking away half of thepicture, making them look cramped, giving the wrong impression of a badly-madefilm.

Colourful scenes are shown at their best in this version, the soundtrack andthe gunshots pump out of the speakers with great regularity, and whereasReservoir Dogs had a 4-way shootout at the end, True Romance‘sis more like a 24-way shootout. I can’t see how anyone made sense of thewhole thing in anything other than the correct widescreen ratio.

This version of the film is identical to the UK cinema release which, as faras I know, is also the same as the US R-rated version played in cinemas andout on video over there. However, an unrated director’s cut is available onNTSC Laserdisc in the US, which beefs up Alabama’s character a bit. She getsto exact her revenge on hitman Virgil far more strongly, hitting him on thehead with the toilet cistern’s lid, and later shooting him with the shotgun,far more times than the once each in this version. Also, and this is a slightspoiler, she becomes the cause of cop Chris Penn’s demise rather than one ofthe non-English-speaking henchmen to Lee Donowitz.

Overall, if you don’t have laserdisc player and have only seen this film inits full-screen format on video, you have missed out on the full impact ofone of the 1990’s greatest tributes to pop-culture. And, for a version thatwas only previously available in a 20quid box-set, just £12.99 securesyour guaranteed package of a solid two hours entertainment including theoriginal theatrical trailer.

Film : 5/5
Picture : 5/5
Sound : 5/5

Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 1997.

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