True Romance

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True Romance

R

1993

1h 56m

Crime

Drama

Romance

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

93%

Tomatometer

60 Reviews

93%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

A comic-book nerd and Elvis fanatic Clarence (Christian Slater) and a prostitute named Alabama (Patricia Arquette) fall in love. Clarence breaks the news to her pimp and ends up killing him. He grabs a suitcase of cocaine on his way out thinking it is Alabama's clothing. The two hit the road for California hoping to sell the cocaine, but the mob is soon after them.

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Critics Consensus

Fueled by Quentin Tarantino's savvy screenplay and a gallery of oddball performances, Tony Scott's True Romance is a funny and violent action jaunt in the best sense.

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Budd Wilkins

Slant Magazine

Jul 22, 2022

The varying sensibilities of Quentin Tarantino and Tony Scott come together to fashion one of the cornerstone films of the early 1990s.

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Anton Bitel

Little White Lies

Jul 19, 2021

This is the realm of meta-cinema, where those who make movies, those who long to be in them and those who model their behaviour on them all come together to contrive between them a classic movie climax: a shoot-out...

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Mark Kermode

Observer (UK)

Nov 22, 2015

4/5

This is the best film Quentin Tarantino never made.

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Alistair Lawrence

Common Sense Media

Dec 10, 2023

While it might not have garnered the same critical praise as the Tarantino-helmed Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs, True Romance has a charm of its own, which makes it impossible not to love.

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

Jan 1, 2023

5/5

'...the perenially absorbing kinetic character collisions of True Romance are worth savouring...'

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James Kendrick

Q Network Film Desk

Jul 12, 2022

3/4

wildly improbable and delightfully unpredictable, even when charging through some very familiar territory

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Carlos

May 18, 2025

A stacked star studded roster of actors. A great story with great action. True Romance should be acknowledged more often on how great it is.

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Kevin E

@precisely_random 1 day ago

My favourite actor lineup of all time!

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Kathy V

@RT64332554 Oct 9, 2026

Really really great movie. Tarantino never disappoints. Good line up of actors. Again, Gary Oldman so good, didnt know it was him. The dreadlocks pimp.

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Janav S

@TheCoolJ92781 Oct 8, 2026

THE BEST movie Tarantino has ever written but not directed, and yet, you can still see his mark and craft in it. It feels more like a Bonnie and Clyde to me, and I feel like that's the direction they went with it. The bloody gore scenes remind us of Reservoir Dogs, in my opinion, as well as the future Inglourious Basterds. It is one of the greatest romance films in history, especially the MOST UNDERRATED score from Hans Zimmer ever.

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Ryan T

@RT91888008 Oct 7, 2026

Oh yeah. You know QT wrote this for sure!

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Sam T

@RT85636428 Sep 30, 2026

This really is Tarantino at his best (although directed by Tony Scott) before he got too self indulgent. The story is not realistic at all, but you watch this for the characters and the patented dialogue and action that only Tarantino, Scott and possibly Michael Bay could provide. Starting in Detroit, Christian Slater plays Clarence a self insert for Tarantino, a nerdy store clerk interested in Elvis Pressley (who serves as his conscience), movies and comic books and Patricia Arquette plays Alabama: a prostitute who falls in love with him (like I said not that realistic). After killing Alabama's pimp (Gary Oldman), Clarence accidentally comes into a lot of cocaine that he plans on selling off in LA when he takes a road trip with Alabama to sunny California. Of course it's not as easy as he anticipates. There's a great scene with Clarence's dad (played by the late great Dennis Hopper) antagonizing a group of mobsters headed by Christopher Walken. A fun watch from start to end.

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Tony Scott

Director

Christian Slater

Clarence Worley

Patricia Arquette

Alabama Whitman

Dennis Hopper

Clifford Worley

Val Kilmer

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True Romance: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

A comic-book nerd and Elvis fanatic Clarence (Christian Slater) and a prostitute named Alabama (Patricia Arquette) fall in love. Clarence breaks the news to her pimp and ends up killing him. He grabs a suitcase of cocaine on his way out thinking it is Alabama's clothing. The two hit the road for California hoping to sell the cocaine, but the mob is soon after them.

Director: Tony Scott
Producer: Gary Barber, Samuel Hadida, Steve Perry, Bill Unger
Screenwriter: Quentin Tarantino
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: August Entertainment, Morgan Creek Productions
Rating: R
Genre: Crime, Drama, Romance
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 10, 1993, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): May 23, 2016
Runtime: 1h 56m
Sound Mix: Stereo, Dolby A, Surround, Dolby Digital, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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