When I saw True Romance was next, my first thought was “this is an inarguable classic.” We’ve got Tony Scott at his peak directing a script by Quentin Tarantino, packed with a cast so All-Star, Sam Jackson, James Gandolfini, Val Kilmer and Brad Pitt are merely cameos. Highlights include Gary Oldman as a white pimp who acts black and a verbal duel between Dennis Hopper and Christopher Walken that may be the greatest scene of the 90s. Turns out, time has not been kind to True Romance. It’s now even more obvious as the adolescent fantasy of a young man, and no amount of cool dialogue, guns or sunglasses can cover up the ugliness of that.
While a lot of the story hasn’t aged well, most of the dialogue still pops and the actors are having a blast, perhaps none more than Tom Sizemore. It was a portrait of Los Angeles that I was hoping to find when I moved out there, and now I appreciate how many popular filming locations were used. The big day however, is that Hopper/Walken scene, which was pre-lit to cover Hopper first. During rehearsal, the actor confessed it usually took him a few takes to warm up, while Walken believes his best stuff is early and that he grows stale later in the day. 1st Assistant Director Janes Skotchdopole – who would win an Oscar as a Producer on Birdman – agreed with Tony Scott that it was worth it to tear down the prelight and turn onto Walken first. The crew got it done in less than two hours and the actors delivered a scene that’s even better than the Pacino/DeNiro diner scene in Heat.
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