True Romance

Summary

“Guess you thought it was white boy day…”

It has been an exciting time for film collectors that also have an affinity for the work of the late great director Tony Scott. In the last couple years we have seen UHD releases of Beverly Hills Cop II, Top Gun, and Days of Thunder on UHD. Now, Arrow Video has released their excellent 4K UHD version of True Romance stateside. True Romance is unquestionably one of Tony Scott’s best films and is one of the best films of the Nineties. This release was originally a UK exclusive, and as a big fan of the film, I purchased it before the US edition was announced. I am happy that all fans of this film can bring home Arrow’s excellent edition without breaking the bank too badly.

Tony Scott’s films are perfectly suited to the 4K format and demand to be seen with the best video equipment possible. Scott was visually brilliant and painted beautiful pictures in his film work. True Romance is a unique film because it pairs Scott with a script by Quentin Tarantino. Tarantino is one of my all time favorite filmmakers, and it is interesting to watch his work interpreted by another visually accomplished director. The Arrow Video 4K UHD features some new supplements, alongside all of the excellent legacy content from the special edition DVD released a couple decades ago. It’s one of my favorite releases of this year.

In Detroit, video store employee Clarence Wooley (Christian Slater) sits at a bar talking to a female patron. He explains that he is going to see a Sonny Chiba marathon at a local theater that night. It’s his birthday, but she is not interested in joining him. At the theater, a pretty blonde woman sits down near Clarence. She spills some popcorn on him and flirts and then they proceed to watch the films together. Her name is Alabama (Patricia Arquette.) He takes her back to see the video store he works at and they make great conversation. They go back to his place and, to his surprise, they have sex. He tells her that he is falling for her, and, also to his surprise, she responds in kind. She makes a startling confession. Alabama is a call girl. His boss had set her up to sleep with him as a birthday gift. It is only her third night as a call girl under a violent pimp named Drexl Spivey (Gary Oldman.) Alabama explains that Drexl won’t let her go easily, and that she left all of her belongings at Drexl’s place. Drexl was recently in a drug deal where he killed some men and took a large amount of cocaine. Alabama and Clarence marry that night. The next morning, Clarence sees a vision of Elvis (Val Kilmer) who tells him that he needs to go see Drexl and get Alabama her things. Taking a pistol with him, Clarence visits Drexl to let him know that Alabama is no longer going to work for him. After a brutal fight and gunfight, Drexl and another thug are left dead. Clarence grabs a suitcase and heads back to his apartment. When he opens the suitcase, instead of Alabama’s things, it is filled with bags of cocaine. This surprise begins their cross country trip towards Los Angeles to offload the product while dodging the mob and police.

True Romance is a wonderful film. It is still as fresh and exciting as the day it was released. Tarantino is one of my favorite screenwriters, and this film showcases one of his most enjoyable scripts. I often have difficulty picking exactly which Tarantino film I love the most, because they are uniformly excellent. I have met several film lovers in my life that have claimed True Romance as their favorite Tarantino film, which I have always respected as an outside the box choice. It is not my personal favorite, but it is a film that I have returned to time and again and always found new things to admire about it.

Whereas the film Natural Born Killers, which was directed by Oliver Stone, was disavowed by Tarantino as misrepresentative of his vision, Tarantino has always claimed his admiration of Tony Scott’s interpretation of True Romance. If True Romance had been made by Tarantino, it most certainly would have been a very different film. For example, the ending of the picture was altered by Tony Scott and goes in a different direction than Tarantino’s original ending. For myself, I prefer Tony Scott’s ending. This is just one of the reasons that I find True Romance so fascinating to watch. I am a tremendous fan of both filmmakers, so I enjoy viewing Tony Scott’s style on top of Tarantino’s script and trying my best to determine which elements come from whom.

The film has one of the most stacked casts of any film from that era – maybe of any film ever made. Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette are both perfectly cast as the star crossed lovers Clarence and Alabama. Patricia is a very good actress and absolutely lovable in her role. Gary Oldman is unforgettable in the small but crucial role of Drexl. Drexl is one of my favorite side characters in any film. His scene ranks as one of my favorites. He would have the best scene in the film, if it weren’t for an incredible interaction between Christopher Walken as an Italian gangster and Dennis Hopper as Clarence’s father that takes place halfway through the film. I think that people when they look back on True Romance, their minds wander to those two amazing scenes where the side actors take the main show. Other supporting players include Bronson Pinchot as a small time Hollywood player and drug peddler, Michael Rappaport as a struggling actor, Chris Penn and Tom Sizemore as policemen, Brad Pitt as a couch potato, the incredible James Gandolfini as a hitman, and many more. Every actor in the cast rises to the occasion.

Tony Scott shot the film with cinematographer Jeffrey L. Kimball, and thankfully it looks like a Tony Scott film. Scott was a true artist visually and this film finds Scott at the peak of his powers. The beautifully saturated sunset colors in his skies still look wonderful nearly thirty years later. The playful and upbeat score for the film was composed by Hans Zimmer. It’s a very good score which fits the film well.

I can’t recommend True Romance highly enough. This 4K UHD from Arrow is easily one of my favorite releases of this year (and last year in the UK.)

Video

Presented in Native 4K in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, True Romance has never looked better than in this UHD presentation. Fans of the picture will have a lot to be excited about. Fine detail is excellent with very well resolved grain. The colors pop off the screen thanks to the work of director Tony Scott with frequent collaborator cinematographer Jeffrey L. Kimball. The HDR brings out the very best of the film’s colorful palette, allowing the beautifully photographed skies to really pop out visually. Visually, I can’t imagine being disappointed by what Arrow has provided here. Stunning.

Audio

Arrow Video has presented a great sounding DTS-HD MA 5.1 track alongside a DTS-HD MA 2.0 track. The DTS-HD MA 5.1 track has a decent amount of surround activity and felt pretty immersive to me. While an Atmos track would be a great addition, I was impressed with the current presentation. The film’s dialogue comes through very clearly, and Hans Zimmer’s score has never sounded better. Fans will be pleased.

Supplements:

• Director’s Cut (UHD; 2:00:36) and Theatrical Cut (UHD; 1:58:14) are included.
• Feature Commentaries
  • Commentary by Tony Scott
  • Commentary by Quentin Tarantino
  • Commentary by Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette
  • Commentary by Tim Lucas – this is the only new commentary for this disc 
• Select Scenes Commentary
  • Dennis Hopper
  • Val Kilmer
  • Brad Pit
  • Michael Rapaport
  • Bronson Pinchot – new to this release
  • Saul Rubinek – new to this release
• New Interviews
  • You’re So Cool – an interview with costume designer Susan Becker.
  • Relentless Romance – an interview with co-editor Michael Tronick.
  • Amid the Chaos of the Day – an interview with composers Mark Mancina and John Van Tongeren.
  • A Hunger for Mayhem – Tony Scott biographer Larry Taylor discusses the career of the late great filmmaker.
  • Cadillac Man
• Deleted & Extended Scenes – with optional commentary from Tony Scott.
• Alternate Ending –  this is a very different ending and the ending that Tarantino originally wrote for the film. There ar optional commentaries by either Tony Scott or Quentin Tarantino.
• Electronic Press Kit
  • US Featurette 1
  • US Featurette 2
  • International Featurette
  • Behind the Scenes
  • Interview with Tony Scott
  • Interview with Christian Slater
  • Interview with Patricia Arquette
  • Interview with Dennis Hopper
  • Interview with Gary Oldman
• Trailers and TV Spots
• Image Galleries

Overall Scores:

Video – 5/5 

Audio – 4.5/5

Supplements – 5/5

Overall – 5/5

True Romance is an excellent film. Film lovers will find reason to return to the film time and again to see where the visionary talents of Quentin Tarantino and Tony Scott collide. The film is beautifully made and features one of the greatest casts ever assembled. There is not a false note in the film and the picture features two of Tarantino’s best written scenes. I love the way that Jeffrey Kimball’s cinematography looks, and Arrow’s UHD release brings Tony Scott’s film to vibrant life. Arrow’s UHD features a beautifully realized video transfer with excellent use of HDR, and the DTS-HD MA 5.1 track is of high quality. All of the excellent legacy features and commentaries have been ported over from the excellent special edition DVD released many years back, and Arrow has created a small bevy of new supplements as well. This is one of the best releases of this year (or last year in the UK) and should be bought without hesitation. This release earns our most enthusiastic and highest recommendation.