Arrow’s new restoration and end digital presentation are far cleaner and more film-like in comparison to all of those previous presentations. There’s a very grainy texture to the image now that looks far cleaner and more natural, lending the picture that grittier look that I’m sure Scott and director of photography Jeffrey L. Kimball were going for but was nowhere to the same effect in prior releases. The original photography and grainy nature can limit the finer details at times so the image maybe doesn’t come off as sharp or well defined as one may expect for the format, but that film texture is there and it's rendered perfectly. Ebert, Roger (September 10, 1993). "True Romance". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on June 8, 2013 . Retrieved January 17, 2011. True Romance 4K Blu-ray (Limited Edition), archived from the original on July 13, 2023 , retrieved July 13, 2023 The title and plot are a play on the titles of romance comic books such as True Life Secrets, True Stories of Romance, Romance Tales, Untamed Love and Strange Love. [12] Lyttelton, Oliver (August 20, 2012). "The Essentials: The 5 Best Tony Scott Films". IndieWire. Archived from the original on December 11, 2020 . Retrieved May 4, 2019.

Arrow also ports over the select-scene commentaries originally recorded for the special edition DVD featuring Dennis Hopper (11-minutes), Val Kilmer (4-minutes), Brad Pitt (6-minutes) and Michael Rappaport (34-minutes), before adding newly recorded ones featuring Saul Rubinek (7-minutes) and Bronson Pinchot (16-minutes). As expected the edited segments only play over the participant’s respective scenes, so this leads to both Kilmer’s and Pitt’s being disappointingly short. Kilmer mentions (as it's notedelsewhere) that he was made up to look like Elvis and it was only later that it was decided for his face not be shown (which he was fine with) and Pitt talks about how he was up for a bigger role but turned it down because he didn’t understand the script at the time. He had enough interest, though, to play a smaller part and it sounds as though he was given free reign with it. aware of some differences in grain resolution in the Director's Version this time in terms of some of the "new" interpolated material, with these

True Romance is a prime example of a film that manages to fuse its disparate elements into a unified whole. At the time, it seemed like a shame that Tarantino didn’t direct the film, especially after the release of Pulp Fiction the following year. But with hindsight, it’s pretty clear that everything worked out for the best. Tony Scott put his own stamp on it in ways that Tarantino couldn’t have matched, and it’s arguably the finest film in his tragically abbreviated career. Quentin Tarantino's films tend to evoke widely disparate reactions, and in that regard, while Tarantino is "only" the screenwriter of True probably be downright easy to find two people who disagree more virulently than Ken and Lucas do, Ken confesses 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 4K UHD Blu-ray was released on June 28, 2022 by Arrow Video. [38] 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. [39] See also [ edit ] As mentioned above, True Romance has had previous Blu-ray releases around the globe. For those wanting a plot recap, Ken's True Romance Blu-ray review is a good place to start. Ken's it isn't a perfect presentation, but it does a hell of a job with this material, and it should make any fan pretty damn happy one of the best films of the late 20th century, and one whose perceived deficits may actually be positives, at least at times. If you tend moreTony Scott's 1993 adaptation of an early Tarantino script is an endlessly quotable, iconically memorable, all-star bona fide classic. For all of the idiosyncratic dialogue, quirky characters, and over-the-top violence, True Romance is indeed just that: a romance. The relationship between Clarence and Alabama is the engine that holds everything else together, and the chemistry between Slater and Arquette provides the fuel. Clarence is clearly a stand-in for Tarantino in terms of autobiographical details, but also as a form of wish fulfillment. He’s a pop culture nerd like Tarantino, but he’s better looking, tougher, and a far cooler customer. Alabama is wish fulfillment as well; she’s a male fantasy made flesh, conveniently dropped into the lap of Tarantino’s doppelganger. The two characters don’t feel authentic, yet fifteen minutes after their awkward meet-cute and the revelations that follow, their implausible relationship seems utterly believable. True Romance may be a fairy tale, but the love at its core feels real. Had Tarantino personally directed the film, it may not have worked as well as it does, and it certainly would have ended differently. Thankfully, Scott embraced the fantasy and fell in love with the characters, enough so that he changed Tarantino’s ending. He made the right call, and it’s one reason why the film endures. Brad Pitt's stoner character in True Romance, Floyd, was the inspiration for making the 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". [34] release and the stated original aspect ratio of 2.39:1 until I measured the screenshots for the UK Arrow release and noticed the variance. That Note: Screenshots are sourced from Arrow's 1080 release. Note that this edition does not include a 1080 disc, though breaking

Released last year in the UK and now making its way over to North America, Arrow Video presents their 4K UHD edition for Tony Scott’s True Romance, presenting both the theatrical and director’s cuts in the aspect ratio of about 2.39:1. The two versions are presented via seamless branching on a triple-layer discwith 2160p/24hz ultra high-definition encodes and Dolby Vision. They are both sourced from a recent 4K restoration conducted by Arrow and scanned from the 35mm original camera negative. Why has this film resonated so well over the years? I think it is a story well told with lead characters whom we really sympathize with and hope will get away in the end. Like I’ve said, it is filled with vivid and memorable supporting characters, the kind we don’t always get in the usual action thriller. But more than that, I think TRUE ROMANCE’s appeal lies in a couple of scenes which really give the audience a vicarious thrill when we see underdogs go up against fearsome monsters, and if they don’t prevail, at least really draw blood. I’m talking about when Slater’s Clarence confronts Oldman’s Drexel Spivey in the pimp’s den; when Arquette’s Alabama is confronted by Gandolfini’s Virgil in her motel room; and when Hopper’s Clifford is trapped by Walken’s Don Vincenzo. These scenes have a real power to them, they are brutal and truly painful to watch, but you can’t look away. Gandolfini’s beat down of Arquette might be one of the most cringe inducing sequences ever, worse than what Michael Madsen’s Vic Vega does to Marvin Nash in Tarantino’s RESERVOIR DOGS. That scene between Hopper and Walken, where both actors have never been better, is a masterpiece of verbal violence. The extras you get on the disc; deleted and extended scenes, commentaries (some of them new for this release, I think), pictures and trailers from the original release are all a welcome addition but mostly seen before. Two select scene commentaries: with Dennis Hopper, Val Kilmer, Brad Pitt & Michael Rapaport; and with Bronson Pinchot and Saul Rubinek (new)A concise example of QT-style dialogue — Scott Frank out of Elmore Leonard — occurs in Get Shorty, when some thugs in a barbershop pause to debate the proper usage of “i.e.” and “e.g.” In that instance the chat is obviously cute filler — killers discussing grammar ha ha. When Quentin Tarantino uses this kind of patter it’s always vital to the show at that particular moment — even if the speakers are debating something completely, hilariously obscene.