True Romance

True Romance
Theatrical release poster
Directed byTony Scott
Written byQuentin Tarantino
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyJeffrey L. Kimball
Edited by
Music byHans Zimmer
Production
companies
Distributed by
  • Warner Bros. (United States, Canada and United Kingdom)
  • August Entertainment (international)
Release date
  • September 10, 1993 (1993-09-10)
Running time
118 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$12.5 million
Box office$12.6 million

True Romance is a 1993 American romantic crime film directed by Tony Scott and written by Quentin Tarantino. It features an ensemble cast led by Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette, with Dennis Hopper, Val Kilmer, Gary Oldman, Brad Pitt, and Christopher Walken in supporting roles. Slater and Arquette portray newlyweds who head to California with a stolen suitcase of drugs, with the Mafia in close pursuit and their future very uncertain.

True Romance began life as an early script by Tarantino; he sold the screenplay in order to finance his debut feature film, Reservoir Dogs (1992). It is regarded by proponents as a cross-section of writer Tarantino and director Scott's respective trademarks, including a Southern California setting, pop cultural references, and stylized violence punctuated by slow motion.

Though initially a box-office failure, the film's positive reviews, with critics praising the dialogue, characters, and offbeat style, helped it earn a cult following. It has come to be considered one of Scott's best films and one of the best American films of the 1990s.