It’s been called a “must see” film and “one of the best ever made”. But people feel True Romance “should be acknowledged more often [for] how great it is”.
The 1993 film was written by Quentin Tarantino and directed by Tony Scott. It stars Christian Slater And Patricia Arquette as the two lead characters, though the supporting cast is astonishingly good, including Christopher Walken, Dennis Hopper, Gary Oldman, Samuel L Jackson, James Gandolfini, Brad Pitt and Val Kilkmer. The cast has been described as “one of the greatest ensembles of acting royalty”.
It tells the story of a pop-culture enthusiast (Slater) who steals cocaine from his partner’s pimp, prompting the mobsters who own the drugs to pursue the couple, who have gone on the run. The film has a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and 7.9 on IMDB.
Many people consider True Romance among the greatest gangster films ever made and say it is under-acknowledged. One viewer said: “Quite possibly my favourite film of all time. This film has everything: great dialogue, superb score/soundtrack, cinematography, story, humour, action, thrills and most importantly great characters portrayed with a cast of some of my favourite actors.”
Another said it’s “a wild ride from start to finish” and “packed with memorable scenes and a stellar supporting cast”. And another said it is “an extremely underrated film which does not get the attention like other films of that era”.
Professional critics have been equally bowled over by the film. Budd Wilkins in Slant Magazine says it is “one of the cornerstone films of the early 1990s” while legendary UK film critic Mark Kermode says it is “the best film Quentin Tarantino never made”.
Richard Corliss in Time Magazine says it is “violent to a fault, glam to the max”, while Variety says it “provides some amazing encounters, bravura acting turns and gruesome carnage”. Peter Travers in Rolling Stone says simply: “This movie is dynamite.”
Tarantino has reportedly stated that True Romance was his “best screenplay ever”, which is high praise indeed for the man behind Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill and Inglorious Basterds. However, despite how loved it is by viewers and critics alike, it reportedly only made around $12m at the box office when it was released in 1993.
Tarantino, of course, went on to become one of the most venerated directors in the history of cinema and James Gandolfini reportedly landed his role of Tony Soprano on The Sopranos when he was invited to audition for the role after a casting director saw a short clip of his performance in this film.
True Romance is available to stream free on Amazon Prime Video and Now TV with a subscription. It is also available to buy or rent on YouTube, Apple TV, Sky Store and Google Play Movie from £3.49.