View source for True Romance

{{Short description|1993 American romantic crime film by Tony Scott}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = True Romance
| image          = True_romance.jpg
| alt            = 
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Tony Scott]]
| writer         = [[Quentin Tarantino]]
| producer       = {{ubl|[[Samuel Hadida]]|Steve Perry|Bill Unger}}
| starring       = {{Plainlist|<!-- per poster -->
* [[Christian Slater]]
* [[Patricia Arquette]]
* [[Dennis Hopper]]
* [[Val Kilmer]]
* [[Gary Oldman]]
* [[Brad Pitt]]
* [[Christopher Walken]]
}}
| cinematography = [[Jeffrey L. Kimball]]
| editing        = {{ubl|[[Michael Tronick]]|[[Christian Wagner]]}}
| music          = [[Hans Zimmer]]
| studio         = {{ubl|[[Morgan Creek Productions]]|[[Davis Films]]}}
| distributor    = {{ubl|[[Warner Bros. Pictures|Warner Bros.]] (United States, Canada and United Kingdom)|August Entertainment (international)}}
| released       = {{Film date|1993|09|10}}
| runtime        = 118 minutes<!--Theatrical runtime: 118:35--><ref>{{cite web|title=''True Romance'' (18)|url=http://www.bbfc.co.uk/AFF064399/|publisher=[[British Board of Film Classification]]|date=1993-10-08|access-date=2012-11-16|archive-date=2020-12-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201211042237/https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/true-romance-film-qxnzzxq6vlgtnjm1nje1|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| country        = United States<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/18385/true-romance |title=True Romance (1993) – Overview |publisher=[[Turner Classic Movies]] |date=2015-03-05 |access-date=2017-01-05 |archive-date=2017-01-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170106012438/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/18385/True-Romance/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.americancinemathequecalendar.com/content/true-romance |title=True Romance |publisher=[[American Cinematheque]] |access-date=2017-01-05 |archive-date=2017-01-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170106010740/http://www.americancinemathequecalendar.com/content/true-romance |url-status=dead}}</ref>
| language       = English
| budget         = $12.5 million<ref name=Gross/>
| gross          = $12.6 million<ref name=Gross/>
}}
'''''True Romance'''''{{efn|The film was released in a re-edited format in the Philippines under the title '''''Breakaway'''''.<ref>{{cite news|last=Sulat|first=Bert B. Jr.|title=A truly twisted thriller|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Ja8mAAAAIBAJ&sjid=FAsEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6562%2C1846635|newspaper=[[Manila Standard]]|date=June 13, 1995|page=21|quote=Next from Tarantino were scripts that led to ''True Romance'' (recently shown here in a chopped-up edition and retitled ''Breakaway'')...|archive-date=June 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230619191030/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Ja8mAAAAIBAJ&sjid=FAsEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6562,1846635|url-status=live}}</ref>}} is a 1993 American [[romance film|romantic]] [[crime drama film]] directed by [[Tony Scott]] and written by [[Quentin Tarantino]]. It stars [[Christian Slater]] and [[Patricia Arquette]], with [[Dennis Hopper]], [[Val Kilmer]], [[Gary Oldman]], [[Brad Pitt]], and [[Christopher Walken]] in supporting roles. Slater and Arquette portray newlyweds who head to California with a stolen suitcase of drugs, with the [[Sicilian Mafia|Mafia]] in close pursuit and their future very uncertain.

''True Romance'' began life as an early script by Tarantino; he sold the screenplay in order to finance his debut feature film, ''[[Reservoir Dogs]]'' (1992). It is regarded by proponents as a cross-section of writer Tarantino and director Scott's respective trademarks, including a [[Southern California]] setting, pop cultural references, and stylized violence punctuated by [[slow motion]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mancini |first=Vince |date=2014-05-14 |title=You're So Cool: Looking Back On 'True Romance' 20 Years Later |url=https://uproxx.com/filmdrunk/youre-so-cool-20-years-of-true-romance/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507185540/https://uproxx.com/filmdrunk/youre-so-cool-20-years-of-true-romance/ |archive-date=2019-05-07 |access-date=2019-05-04 |website=[[Uproxx]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://consequenceofsound.net/2018/09/classic-film-review-true-romance/|title=Classic Film Review: True Romance Remains a Sweet, Distinctly Male Movie|date=2018-09-09|website=[[Consequence of Sound]]|access-date=2019-05-04|archive-date=2019-05-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507185540/https://consequenceofsound.net/2018/09/classic-film-review-true-romance/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Though initially a [[box-office failure]], the film's positive reviews, with critics praising the dialogue, characters, and offbeat style,<ref name="rotten" /> helped it earn a [[cult following]]. It has come to be considered one of Scott's best films.<ref name="empireonline1" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2012/08/the-essentials-the-5-best-tony-scott-films-106983/|title=The Essentials: The 5 Best Tony Scott Films|last=Lyttelton|first=Oliver|date=2012-08-20|website=[[IndieWire]]|access-date=2019-05-04|archive-date=2020-12-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201211042235/https://www.indiewire.com/2012/08/the-essentials-the-5-best-tony-scott-films-106983/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://filmschoolrejects.com/tony-scott-movies-ranked/|title=Celebrating the Films of Tony Scott|date=2018-06-22|website=[[Film School Rejects]]|access-date=2019-05-04|archive-date=2019-05-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507185542/https://filmschoolrejects.com/tony-scott-movies-ranked/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Plot==
At a Detroit theater showing [[kung fu film]]s, Alabama Whitman strikes up a conversation with [[Elvis Presley]] fanatic Clarence Worley. They later have sex at his [[Downtown Detroit|downtown]] apartment. Alabama tearfully confesses that she is a [[call girl]] hired by Clarence's boss as a birthday present but has fallen in love with him. The two get married the next day at City Hall. An apparition of Elvis convinces Clarence to kill Alabama's abusive [[Procuring (prostitution)|pimp]], Drexl Spivey. Going to the brothel where Alabama worked, he shoots and kills Drexl and takes a bag he assumes contains Alabama's belongings. Back at the apartment, he and Alabama discover it contains a large amount of cocaine that Drexl had stolen from two drug pushers that he had murdered.

The couple ask Clarence's estranged father Clifford, a retired police officer, for help. He tells Clarence the police assume Drexl's murder is a gang killing committed in revenge for the slain dealers. After the couple leave for Los Angeles, Clifford is interrogated by Vincenzo Coccotti, ''[[consigliere]]'' to mobster "Blue Lou Boyle", who had hired Drexl to steal and distribute the cocaine on his behalf. He reveals that the mob knows about Clarence's theft since they found his driver's license near Drexl's body. Clifford, realizing he will die anyway, mockingly defies Coccotti, who shoots him dead. One of his men then finds a Los Angeles address taped to Clifford's refrigerator.

In Los Angeles, Clarence and Alabama meet Clarence's aspiring actor friend, Dick Ritchie, who introduces him to actor and production assistant Elliot Blitzer. He reluctantly agrees to broker the sale of the drugs to his boss, [[film producer]] Lee Donowitz. While Clarence is out buying lunch, Coccotti's enforcer Virgil finds Alabama in their motel room and beats her for information. Alabama fights back, stabbing him with a corkscrew, putting nail polish remover in his eyes and using hairspray to set fire to Virgil's face before grabbing his [[sawed-off shotgun]] and shooting him to death in a maniacal rage. Clarence tends to Alabama's wounds, and they discuss their future together.

Elliot is pulled over for speeding and gets charged when the prostitute he is with hits him with a bag of cocaine and spills it on him. To stay out of jail, he agrees to wear a wire and record the drug deal between Clarence and Donowitz for police detectives Dimes and Nicholson. Coccotti's men learn where the deal will take place from Dick's stoner roommate Floyd. Clarence, Alabama, Dick, and Elliot go to Donowitz's suite at the [[Ambassador Hotel (Los Angeles)|Ambassador Hotel]] with the drugs. In the elevator, a suspicious Clarence threatens Elliot at gunpoint but is persuaded by Elliot's pleading for mercy.

Clarence fabricates a story for Donowitz that the drugs were given to him by a corrupt police officer, and he agrees to the sale. Clarence goes to the bathroom, and the vision of Elvis reassures him that things are going well. Meanwhile, Donowitz and his bodyguards are ambushed by the police and the mobsters. Elliot reveals himself to be an informant by asking the officers if he can leave, whereupon a shootout erupts. Dick throws the suitcase of drugs into the air, where it gets shredded by gunfire, and flees. Donowitz, his bodyguards, Elliot, the officers, and the mobsters are all killed, and Clarence is wounded. He and Alabama flee with Donowitz's money to Mexico, where Alabama gives birth to a son, whom they name Elvis.

==Cast==
{{Cast listing|
* [[Christian Slater]] as Clarence Worley
* [[Patricia Arquette]] as Alabama Whitman-Worley
* [[Dennis Hopper]] as Clifford Worley
* [[Val Kilmer]] as [[Elvis Presley|Elvis]]
* [[Gary Oldman]] as Drexl Spivey
* [[Brad Pitt]] as Floyd, Dick's roommate
* [[Christopher Walken]] as Vincenzo Coccotti
* [[Bronson Pinchot]] as Elliot Blitzer
* [[Samuel L. Jackson]] as Don "Big Don"
* [[Michael Rapaport]] as Dick Ritchie
* [[Saul Rubinek]] as Lee Donowitz
* [[Conchata Ferrell]] as Mary Louise Ravencroft
* [[James Gandolfini]] as Virgil
* [[Anna Thomson]] as Lucy
* [[Victor Argo]] as Lenny
* Paul Bates as Marty
* [[Chris Penn]] as Detective Nicky Dimes
* [[Tom Sizemore]] as Detective Cody Nicholson
* [[Gregory Sporleder]] as burger stand customer
* [[Maria Pitillo]] as Kandi
* [[Frank Adonis]] as Frankie
* [[Kevin Corrigan]] as Marvin
* [[Paul Ben-Victor]] as Luca
* [[Michael Beach]] as Detective Wurlitzer
* [[Eric Allan Kramer]] as Boris
* Patrick John Hurley as Monty
* [[Laurence Mason]] as Floyd "D"
* [[Ed Lauter]] as Captain Quiggle (uncredited)
}}

Additionally, Arquette's son Enzo Rossi plays Elvis in the final scene of the film.

==Production==
The title and plot are a play on the titles of [[Romance comics|romance comic]] books such as ''True Life Secrets'', ''True Stories of Romance'', ''Romance Tales'', ''Untamed Love'' and ''Strange Love''.<ref>{{cite web |last=Smith |first=Edison |title=You're So Cool: True Romance; a Pop Culture Fairy Tale |url=https://vhsrevival.com/2021/02/19/youre-so-cool-true-romance-a-pop-culture-fairy-tale/ |website=VHS Revival |date=February 19, 2021 |access-date=May 23, 2023 |archive-date=May 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230523224559/https://vhsrevival.com/2021/02/19/youre-so-cool-true-romance-a-pop-culture-fairy-tale/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

The film was a breakthrough for Quentin Tarantino. Released after ''[[Reservoir Dogs]]'', it was his first screenplay for a major motion picture. He had hoped to direct the film, but lost interest in directing and sold the script. According to Tarantino's audio commentary on the DVD release, he was happy with the way it turned out. Apart from changing the nonlinear narrative he wrote to a more conventional linear structure, it was largely faithful to his original screenplay. He initially opposed director Tony Scott's decision to change the ending (which Scott maintained was of his own volition, not the studio's, saying "I just fell in love with these two characters and didn't want to see them die"). When seeing the completed film, he realized Scott's happy ending was more appropriate to the film as Scott directed it.<ref name=":0" /> The film's first act, as well as some fragments of dialogue, were repurposed from Tarantino's 1987 amateur film ''[[My Best Friend's Birthday]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last=Bey |first=Cameron |title=Quentin Tarantino's Unreleased Film: My Best Friend's Birthday |url=https://indiefilmhustle.com/quentin-tarantino-best-friends-birthday/ |website=Indie Film Hustle |access-date=23 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116213225/https://indiefilmhustle.com/quentin-tarantino/ |archive-date=November 16, 2020 |date=March 8, 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The film's score by [[Hans Zimmer]] is a theme based on [[Gassenhauer]] from [[Carl Orff]]'s ''[[Orff Schulwerk|Schulwerk]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last=Campbell |first=Christopher |title=The Legacy of Terrence Malick's 'Badlands' |url=https://filmschoolrejects.com/badlands/ |website=Film School Rejects |access-date=23 May 2023 |date=April 19, 2019 |archive-date=May 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230523224558/https://filmschoolrejects.com/badlands/ |url-status=live}}</ref> This theme, combined with a voiceover spoken by Arquette, is an homage to [[Terrence Malick]]'s 1973 crime film ''[[Badlands (film)|Badlands]]'', in which [[Sissy Spacek]] speaks the voiceover, and that also shares similar dramatic motifs.<ref>{{cite web |last=Guy |first=Marina |title=Intertextuality and thematic development. From Badlands to True Romance |url=https://curatingthecontemporary.org/2015/12/17/intertextuality-and-thematic-development-from-badlands-to-true-romance/ |website=Curating the Contemporary |access-date=23 May 2023 |date=December 17, 2015 |archive-date=September 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230927214835/https://curatingthecontemporary.org/2015/12/17/intertextuality-and-thematic-development-from-badlands-to-true-romance/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

The movie was cut by the United States [[Motion Picture Association|MPAA]] for an R rating for its wide theatrical release. The majority of the confrontation between Alabama and Virgil was cut, as well as the ending shootout scene. There was also an alternative edit where Detective Nicky Dimes is shot not by Alabama, but by Toothpick Vic, one of the mafia hitmen. This edit was the official 1993 rental VHS release, but subsequently all DVD and most Blu-ray releases are of the original unrated director's cut.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wurm |first=Gerald |title=True Romance (Comparison: R-Rated – Unrated) |url=https://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=746477 |access-date=2023-07-13 |website=Movie-Censorship.com |archive-date=July 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230713031708/https://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=746477 |url-status=live}}</ref> The 2022 4K release from Arrow, however, has both cuts of the film.

[[Christian Slater]] admitted to have been romantically involved with his co-star [[Patricia Arquette]] while shooting, even if only for a short time. The protracted nude love scene they had together was, Slater said, "really special. I lost sight of the crew being around. It was the first time nothing on the outside really mattered."<ref>{{Google books|6TetDwAAQBAJ|Christian Slater-Back from the Edge, p. 79|page=79}}</ref>

==Soundtrack==
{{Main|True Romance (soundtrack)}}

==Reception==
===Box office===
Although a critical success, ''True Romance'' was a box office failure. The film earned $4 million during its opening weekend, ranking in third place behind ''[[The Fugitive (1993 film)|The Fugitive]]'' and ''[[Undercover Blues]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-atlanta-constitution-fugitive-keep/125016583/ |title='Fugitive' keeps ahead of the pack |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230520160036/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-atlanta-constitution-fugitive-keep/125016583/ |date=September 13, 1993 |access-date=May 20, 2023 |archive-date=May 20, 2023 |page=17 |newspaper=[[The Atlanta Constitution]] |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |url-status=live}} {{Open access}}</ref> It was given a domestic release and earned $12.3 million<ref name="Gross">{{cite web |title=True Romance (1993) |url=http://www.the-numbers.com/movie/True-Romance#tab=summary |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012062703/http://www.the-numbers.com/movie/True-Romance#tab=summary |archive-date=2013-10-12 |access-date=2011-08-18 |website=[[The Numbers (website)|The Numbers]]}}</ref> on a $12.5 million budget. Despite this, the film developed a [[cult following]] over the years.<ref name=":0">{{cite magazine|last=Spitz|first=Marc|title=True Romance: 15 Years Later|url=http://www.maxim.com/movies/true-romance-15-years-later|magazine=[[Maxim (magazine)|Maxim]]|date=25 April 2008 |access-date=23 April 2013|archive-date=12 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130212125617/http://www.maxim.com/movies/true-romance-15-years-later|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Roberts |first=Amy |date=2017-02-17 |title=You Need To Rewatch These '90s Cult Classics |url=https://www.bustle.com/p/18-cult-classics-every-90s-kid-should-rewatch-immediately-38959 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180924033621/https://www.bustle.com/p/18-cult-classics-every-90s-kid-should-rewatch-immediately-38959 |archive-date=2018-09-24 |access-date=2018-09-23 |magazine=[[Bustle (magazine)|Bustle]]}}</ref>

===Critical response===
On the [[review aggregator]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film holds an approval rating of 93% based on 61 reviews, with an average rating of 7.6/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Fueled by Quentin Tarantino's savvy screenplay and a gallery of oddball performances, Tony Scott's ''True Romance'' is a funny and violent action jaunt in the best sense."<ref name="rotten">{{cite web | url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/true_romance | title=True Romance | website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] | access-date=January 24, 2025}}</ref> [[Metacritic]], which uses a [[Weighted arithmetic mean|weighted average]], assigned the film a score of 59 out of 100 based on 19 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/true-romance/|title=True Romance|website=[[Metacritic]]|access-date=2020-09-18}}</ref> Audiences polled by [[CinemaScore]] gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.<ref name="CinemaScore">{{cite web |url=https://www.cinemascore.com |title=CinemaScore |publisher=[[CinemaScore]] |access-date=2020-12-11 |archive-date=2018-01-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180102130540/https://www.cinemascore.com/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

Phil Villarreal of the ''[[Arizona Daily Star]]'' called it "one of the most dynamic action films of the 1990s".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/ent_movies/70272.php |last=Villarreal |first=Phil |title=Review: True Romance |newspaper=[[Arizona Daily Star]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050420064710/http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/ent_movies/70272.php |archive-date=April 20, 2005}}</ref> [[Peter Travers]] of ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' gave it three stars, saying "it's Tarantino's gutter poetry that detonates ''True Romance''. This movie is dynamite."<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/true-romance-19930910 |title=True Romance: Movie Review |last=Travers |first=Peter |date=10 September 1993 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |access-date=16 January 2012 |archive-date=27 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150227041038/http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/true-romance-19930910 |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Roger Ebert]] gave the film a positive review remarking that "the energy and style of the movie are exhilarating", and that "the supporting cast is superb, a roll call of actors at home in these violent waters: [[Christopher Walken]], [[Dennis Hopper]], and [[Brad Pitt]], for example".<ref>{{cite news |last=Ebert |first=Roger |author-link=Roger Ebert |date=10 September 1993 |title=True Romance |newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |via=[[RogerEbert.com]] |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/true-romance-1993 |url-status=live |access-date=2011-01-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130608111630/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/true-romance-1993 |archive-date=2013-06-08}}</ref> A negative review by ''[[The Washington Post]]''{{-'}}s Richard Harrington claimed the film was "stylistically visceral" yet "aesthetically corrupt".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/trueromancerharrington_a0ab89.htm |title=True Romance |last=Harrington |first=Richard |date=10 September 1993 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=2011-01-17 |archive-date=2012-11-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104160704/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/trueromancerharrington_a0ab89.htm |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Janet Maslin]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote, "''True Romance'', a vibrant, grisly, gleefully amoral road movie directed by Tony Scott and dominated by the machismo of Quentin Tarantino (who wrote this screenplay before he directed ''Reservoir Dogs''), is sure to offend a good-sized segment of the moviegoing population".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/09/10/movies/reviews-film-desperadoes-young-at-heart-with-gun-in-hand.html |title=True Romance: Desperadoes, Young at Heart With Gun in Hand |last=Maslin |first=Janet |author-link=Janet Maslin |date=10 September 1993 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=2011-01-17 |archive-date=2012-04-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120416081007/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9F0CE3D9123AF933A2575AC0A965958260 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Legacy==
''[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]]'' ranked ''True Romance'' the 83rd greatest film of all time in 2017, writing: "Tony Scott's handling of Quentin Tarantino's script came off like the cinematic equivalent of cocaine-flavoured bubble-gum: a bright, flavoursome confection that had an intoxicatingly violent kick. It also drew some tremendous big names to its supporting cast."<ref name="empireonline1">{{cite magazine |date=June 23, 2017 |title=Empire's 500 Greatest Movies Of All Time |magazine=[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]] |url=http://www.empireonline.com/500/67.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924011847/http://www.empireonline.com/500/67.asp |archive-date=September 24, 2015 |access-date=March 16, 2018}}</ref>

The Hopper/Walken scene, colloquially named "The Sicilian scene", was praised by Oliver Lyttelton of ''[[IndieWire]]'', who called it "one of the most beautiful [[wikt:tête-à-tête#Noun|tête-à-tête]]s in contemporary cinema, wonderfully written and made utterly iconic by the two [[virtuoso]] actors".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lyttelton |first=Oliver |date=May 17, 2012 |title=The 10 Best Dennis Hopper Performances, On What Would Have Been His 76th Birthday |website=[[IndieWire]] |url=https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/the-10-best-dennis-hopper-performances-252094/ |url-status=live |access-date=December 5, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305072410/http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/the-10-best-dennis-hopper-performances-on-what-would-have-been-his-76th-birthday-20120517?page=2 |archive-date=2016-03-05}}</ref> Tarantino himself has named it as one of his proudest moments. "I had heard that whole speech about the Sicilians a long time ago, from a black guy living in my house. One day I was talking with a friend who was Sicilian and I just started telling that speech. And I thought: 'Wow, that is a great scene, I gotta remember that'."<ref>''True Romance'' Unrated Director's Cut DVD commentary</ref>

Oldman's villain also garnered acclaim. [[MSN|MSN Movies]] wrote: "With just a few minutes of screen time, Gary Oldman crafts one of cinema's most memorable villains: the brutal, dreadlocked pimp Drexl Spivey. Even in a movie jammed with memorable cameos from screen luminaries [...] Oldman's scar-faced, dead-eyed, lethal gangster stood out."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Best of Gary Oldman |url=http://movies.msn.com/movies/gallery.aspx?gallery=26177&photo=c07ff50e-8326-4d4d-bff2-acb16b7702c9 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130610003302/http://movies.msn.com/movies/gallery.aspx?gallery=26177&photo=c07ff50e-8326-4d4d-bff2-acb16b7702c9 |archive-date=June 10, 2013 |access-date=December 17, 2012 |website=[[MSN]]}}</ref> Jason Serafino of ''[[Complex Networks#History|Complex]]'' magazine named Spivey as one of the top five coolest drug dealers in movie history, writing: "He's not in the film for a long time, but the few scant moments that Gary Oldman plays the psychopathic dealer Drexl Spivey make ''True Romance'' a classic&nbsp;... Oldman gave us a glimpse at one of cinema's most unfiltered sociopaths."<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Serafino |first=Jason |date=October 24, 2012 |title=The 25 Coolest Drug Dealers In Movies |magazine=[[Complex (magazine)|Complex]] |url=https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2012/10/25-coolest-drug-dealers-movies |url-status=live |access-date=December 21, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121227231924/http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2012/10/25-coolest-drug-dealers-movies/drexl-spivey |archive-date=2012-12-27}}</ref> ''[[Maxim (magazine)|Maxim]]'' journalist Thomas Freeman ranked Spivey as the greatest performance of Oldman's career.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.maxim.com/entertainment/gary-oldman-10-best-roles-ranked-2018-3|title=Gary Oldman Is Turning 60, So Revisit His 10 Best Roles of All Time|last=Freeman|first=Thomas|date=March 21, 2018|magazine=[[Maxim (magazine)|Maxim]]|access-date=July 5, 2019|archive-date=July 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190705161058/https://www.maxim.com/entertainment/gary-oldman-10-best-roles-ranked-2018-3|url-status=live}}</ref>

"[[Robbers (The 1975 song)|Robbers]]", a song by the English indie rock band [[the 1975]] from [[The 1975 (album)|their 2013 debut album]], was inspired by the film. Vocalist Matthew Healy explained: "I got really obsessed with the idea behind Patricia Arquette's character in ''True Romance'' when I was about eighteen. That craving for the bad boy in that film [is] so sexualized."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.clashmusic.com/videos/the-1975-robbers-explicit|title=The 1975 – Robbers (Explicit)|date=April 28, 2014|access-date=June 29, 2014|magazine=[[Clash (magazine)|Clash]]|first=Robin|last=Murray|archive-date=July 16, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140716005556/http://www.clashmusic.com/videos/the-1975-robbers-explicit|url-status=live}}</ref>

''[[True Romance (Charli XCX album)|True Romance]]'', the 2013 debut album from English pop star [[Charli XCX]], was named after the film.<ref>{{cite web |last=Larson |first=Jeremy |date=February 27, 2013 |title=Charli XCX announces debut album, True Romance |url=https://consequence.net/2013/02/charli-xcx-announces-debut-album-true-romance/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220207074121/https://consequence.net/2013/02/charli-xcx-announces-debut-album-true-romance/ |archive-date=February 7, 2022 |website=[[Consequence (publication)|Consequence]]}}</ref>

Brad Pitt's stoner character in ''True Romance'', Floyd, was the inspiration for making the film ''[[Pineapple Express (film)|Pineapple Express]]'', according to producer [[Judd Apatow]], who "thought it would be funny to make a movie in which you follow that character out of his apartment and watch him get chased by bad guys".<ref name="HighHopes">{{cite magazine |last=Svetkey |first=Benjamin |date=April 18, 2008 |title='Pineapple Express': High hopes for James Franco |url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20192513,00.html |url-status=dead |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081003044155/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20192513,00.html |archive-date=October 3, 2008 |access-date=July 15, 2008}}</ref>

James Gandolfini landed his role of [[Tony Soprano]] on ''[[The Sopranos]]'' when he was invited to audition for the role after casting director Susan Fitzgerald saw a short clip of his performance in ''True Romance''. Gandolfini ultimately received the role ahead of several other actors, including [[Steven Van Zandt]] and [[Michael Rispoli]].<ref name="vanity">{{cite magazine|last=Biskind|first=Peter|author-link=Peter Biskind|date=March 31, 2007|title=An American Family|url=http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/04/sopranos200704?currentPage=1|magazine=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160115180637/http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2007/04/sopranos200704?currentPage=1|archive-date=January 15, 2016|access-date=August 19, 2012}}</ref>

In the trance song "Solarcoaster" by [[Solarstone]], a sample is used from the film. The sample includes the line spoken by Alabama, "That three words went through my mind endlessly. Repeating themselves like a broken record. You're so cool. You're so cool. You're so cool."<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.discogs.com/release/321575-Solar-Stone-Solarcoaster |title=Solar Stone – Solarcoaster |website=[[Discogs]] |date=2003 |access-date=}}</ref>

==Home media==
''True Romance'' was originally released by [[Warner Home Video]] on [[VHS]] on September 12, 1994. This release contains only the director's cut, however the theatrical cut was released on an R rated rental VHS.

The [[DVD]] was released on September 24, 2002, as a two-disc set.<ref>{{cite web |last=Indvik |first=Kurt |date=July 3, 2002 |title=Warner Bows First Premium Video Line |url=http://www.hive4media.com/news/html/product_article.cfm?article_id=3395 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020828195253/http://www.hive4media.com/news/html/product_article.cfm?article_id=3395 |archive-date=August 28, 2002 |access-date=September 13, 2019 |website=[[Hive4media.com|Hive4Media]]}}</ref> It was later released on [[Blu-ray]] on May 26, 2009.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/True-Romance-Blu-ray/4101/|title=True Romance Blu-ray|website=Blu-ray.com|access-date=2019-07-07|archive-date=2019-07-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190707171720/https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/True-Romance-Blu-ray/4101/|url-status=live}}</ref> Again, these releases only contain the director's cut, and the theatrical cut remained excluded.

The 4K UHD Blu-ray was released on June 28, 2022, by [[Arrow Video]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Hartman |first=Matthew |title=True Romance – 4K Ultra HD Blu-Ray (Limited Edition) |url=https://ultrahd.highdefdigest.com/104370/trueromance4kultrahdbluray.html |website=High-Def Digest |access-date=23 May 2023 |date=June 22, 2022 |archive-date=May 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230523224600/https://ultrahd.highdefdigest.com/104370/trueromance4kultrahdbluray.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Unlike the previous DVD and Blu-ray releases, this release contains the theatrical cut for the first time since the original VHS release, it also includes the director's cut from past DVD and Blu-ray releases.<ref>{{cite web |title=True Romance 4K Blu-ray (Limited Edition) |url=https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/True-Romance-4K-Blu-ray/314057/ |website=Blu-ray.com |access-date=2023-07-13 |archive-date=July 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230713031703/https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/True-Romance-4K-Blu-ray/314057/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Film}}
* [[Cinema of the United States]]
* [[List of American films of 1993]]
* [[List of hood films]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{IMDb title}}
* {{AFI film}}
* {{TCMDb title}}

{{Tony Scott}}
{{Quentin Tarantino}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1993 films]]
[[Category:1993 black comedy films]]
[[Category:1993 crime comedy films]]
[[Category:1993 romantic comedy films]]
[[Category:1990s American films]]
[[Category:1990s English-language films]]
[[Category:1990s road movies]]
[[Category:American black comedy films]]
[[Category:American crime comedy films]]
[[Category:American road movies]]
[[Category:American romantic comedy films]]
[[Category:A Band Apart films]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Elvis Presley]]
[[Category:English-language black comedy films]]
[[Category:English-language crime films]]
[[Category:English-language romance films]]
[[Category:Films about the American Mafia]]
[[Category:Films about cocaine]]
[[Category:Films about illegal drug trade in the United States]]
[[Category:Films directed by Tony Scott]]
[[Category:Films scored by Hans Zimmer]]
[[Category:Films set in Burbank, California]]
[[Category:Films set in Detroit]]
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[[Category:Films shot in Burbank, California]]
[[Category:Films shot in Detroit]]
[[Category:Films shot in Los Angeles]]
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[[Category:Films shot in Santa Monica, California]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Quentin Tarantino]]
[[Category:Morgan Creek Productions films]]
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