True Romance (1993)

“If there’s one thing this last week has taught me, it’s better to have a gun and not need it than to need a gun and not have it.” – Clarence Worley

Number of Times Seen – Too many to count (1st time was at a video in 1994, March 2013)

Brief Synopsis – Clarence and Alabama meet one night in a movie theater and their whirlwind romance takes them across the country to LA with a stolen bag of drugs.

My Take on it – Ever since I saw this movie on video back in ’94, I have always loved it. I found the characters interesting and I really believed that the story could unfold the way it did.  Quentin Tarantino sold this script in order for him to be able to make Reservoir Dogs (1992).  Tony Scott directed it and apparently he didn’t like the ending Tarantino had written, so he changed around the editing and gave it a happier ending.

For over twenty years, I wanted to see the Tarantino cut and when I recently watched this movie, I actually saw both versions within days of each other.  As much as I like Tarantino’s way of storytelling, I liked Scott’s version better. Tarantino’s version used a lot of flashbacks (like he loves to do) and Scott told the story linearly. In Tarantino’s version, Alabama comes off as less sympathetic in the end instead of staying the sweet girl next door we see in the rest of the movie. He originally planned on writing a story about her and Mr. White from Reservoir Dogs, but once the ending was changed that never came to fruition.

As with most Tarantino scripted films, lots of big name actors show up; Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette, Christopher Walken, Dennis Hopper, Val Kilmer, Bronson Pinchot, Brad Pitt, Michael Rappaport, Saul Rubinek, GaryOldman, Chris Penn, James Gandolfini, Tom Sizemore and of course Samuel L. Jackson (in a small part).

Bottom Line – One of Tarantino’s best written movies. Definitely go see it if you love his movies. Highly Recommended!!!

Rating – Oscar Worthy (10/10)