True Romance (1993)

In Detroit, loner Clarence marries a call girl named Alabama, steals cocaine from her pimp, and tries to sell it in Hollywood. Meanwhile, the owners of the cocaine, the mob, track them down and try to reclaim it.

Director:

Tony Scott

Writer:

Quentin Tarantino

Stars:

Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette, Dennis Hopper

1 win & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Christian Slater	...	Clarence Worley
Patricia Arquette	...	Alabama Whitman
Dennis Hopper	...	Clifford Worley
Val Kilmer	...	Mentor
Gary Oldman	...	Drexl Spivey
Brad Pitt	...	Floyd - Dick's Roommate
Christopher Walken	...	Vincenzo Coccotti
Bronson Pinchot	...	Elliot Blitzer
Samuel L. Jackson	...	Big Don
Michael Rapaport	...	Dick Ritchie
Saul Rubinek	...	Lee Donowitz
Conchata Ferrell	...	Mary Louise Ravencroft
James Gandolfini	...	Virgil
Anna Levine	...	Lucy (as Anna Thomson)
Victor Argo	...	Lenny

Storyline

In Detroit, Clarence Worley goes to the movie theater alone on the day of his birthday to watch some movies. The gorgeous Alabama Whitman accidentally drops her popcorn on Clarence and they watch the movie together. Later they go to a diner for pie, and end up having a one night stand. In the morning, Alabama confesses that she is a call-girl hired to spend the night with him, but she has fallen in love with him. In the morning they get married and Clarence goes to the club where she worked to bring her some clothes. However, her pimp Drexl Spivey and his partner beat up Clarence and he reacts by killing them both. Clarence asks for Alabama's suitcase with her clothes and the other girls mistakenly give another one with cocaine. When Clarence discovers the mistake, he decides to travel with Alabama to the house of his friend, the aspiring actor Dick Ritchie, to sell the drug and travel to Mexico. He visits his father Clifford Worley and gives his address to him. But the Sicilian Mafia...

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Plot Keywords:

drugs | cocaine | pimp | aspiring actor | los angeles california | 

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Taglines:

Not since Bonnie and Clyde have two people been so good at being bad.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence and language, and for sexuality and drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA France

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

10 September 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

True Romance

Filming Locations:

The Vista Theatre - 4473 Sunset Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$13,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$12,281,500 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Morgan Creek Productions, Davis-Films, August Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min 121 min (unrated director's cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Quentin Tarantino himself has named the Sicilian scene 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'."

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Goofs

When Nicky Dimes and Nicholson are in talking to their boss, Dimes says something like "So they brought the suspect to me and Nicholson and we go to work on him". Sizemore interjects "...Nicholson and I". Neither is correct, which would seem to be the ironic point. The correct form would be, "So they brought the suspect to Nicholson and me..."

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Quotes

[first lines]
Clarence Worley: In Jailhouse Rock he was everything rockabilly's about. I mean, he is rockabilly. Mean, surly, nasty, rude. In that movie he couldn't give a fuck about nothing except rockin' and rollin', living fast, dying young and leaving a good-looking corpse.

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Connections

Referenced in Lammbock (2001)

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Soundtracks

Graceland
Performed by Charlie Sexton
Courtesy of MCA Records

User Reviews

Tony Scott vs Quentin Tarantino. The winner? Us!

Cynical, seen-it-all-before smart ass that I am, I can't but help love 'True Romance'! On paper it looks like a sure fire recipe for disaster. A typically hip pop-culture saturated Quentin Tarantino script directed by schlockmeister Tony Scott, the man responsible for rancid Simpson/Bruckheimer "blockbusters" like 'Top Gun' and 'Days Of Thunder'. But some how it really works! The movie is especially helped by a dynamite cast, one of the most impressive in many years. Possibly only Julian Schnabel's underrated biopic 'Basquiat' can rival its mixture of star power and cult faves. Slater, Arquette, Walken, Hopper, Oldman, Kilmer, Penn, Sizemore, Jackson, Rapaport, Gandolfini, Argo, Corrigan, etc.etc. These are many of the finest actors working today. Add them to an electric story of love on the run, jam packed with amusing, highly quotable dialogue and plenty of action and laughs, and you have yourself a genuinely entertaining update of a classic 70s drive-in movie. 'True Romance' is a wild ride not to be missed!