Quentin Tarantino. The man. The legend. The name. Now he is legion, then he was just bubbling to the surface after the success of RESERVOIR DOGS, along came TRUE ROMANCE. This was his more conventional, less disjointed script, sold because it had his name and would have been his film. However Tony Scott jumped into helm it and the rest, as is the adage is that. The usual is there. Pop culture, witty verbose dialogue, violence and of course, music. Clarence Worley (Christian Slater) is a geek of the mid order. He loves movies and is sitting in a Sonny Chiba triple bill when Alabama Whitman (Patricia Arquette) walks into his life. She is a character right from B movies and the romance , he loves Elvis and is a slice of cool, 90s style. After a murder of a psychopathic pimp, the knight and his maiden. Within 24 hours, they’re married, on the run and dodging the mafia. These are to be expected in a Tarantino script but interestingly, I like that mise en scene of the high concept artist Tony Scott and what that brings to this romance, so true.

The real question that floats here is of course, what have Arrow brought to this? 4K restorations of both the Theatrical Cut and the Director’s Cut from the original camera negative. That is a nice thing. The UHD could be said to have enhanced some of the razzmatazz of miser Scott’s aesthetics. It does indeed. It could be said to make the film anew, it doesn’t. what it really does it freshen the harshness of the VHS and DVD versions that have floated around and are on the shelf of every Tom and Dick. I will not be bowed by it mind, I will simply be impressed enough to enjoy the film again. I expect you will also have this feeling. A refreshed visual experience that still is not as earth shaking as the bumf screams!

On the extras, I would like to start with the box. Jesus wept the day he saw the box artwork. I know I did. It is awful. That picture is almost like a 15 year old, did an art project over the film, with all the cretinous feel of a sycophant. Thankfully the booklet is a saving grace. As is the very heard commentaries. Much else that is new is for shit.

LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY CONTENTS

• New 4K restorations of both the Theatrical Cut and the Director’s Cut from the original camera negatives by Arrow Films
• Limited Edition packaging with reversible sleeve featuring newly commissioned artwork by Sara Deck
• 60-page perfect-bound collectors’ booklet featuring new writing on the film by Kim Morgan and Nicholas Clement, a 2008 Maxim oral history featuring interviews with cast and crew, and Edgar Wright’s 2012 eulogy for Tony Scott
• Double-sided poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sara Deck
• Six double-sided, postcard-sized lobby card reproductions
• High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation of both cuts
• Original uncompressed stereo audio and DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• Audio commentary by director Tony Scott
• Audio commentary by writer Quentin Tarantino
• Audio commentary by stars Christian Slater & Patricia Arquette
• Audio commentary by critic Tim Lucas
• Select scene commentaries by stars Dennis Hopper, Val Kilmer, Brad Pitt and Michael Rapaport
• Brand new select scene commentary by star Saul Rubinek
• New interview with costume designer Susan Becker
• New interview with co-editor Michael Tronick
• New interview with co-composers Mark Mancina and John Van Tongeren
• New interview with Larry Taylor, author of Tony Scott: A Filmmaker on Fire
• New interview with Daniel Storm, co-founder of the annual True Romance Fest and owner of the original Cadillac
• Deleted scenes with optional commentary by Tony Scott
• Alternate ending with optional commentaries by Tony Scott and Quentin Tarantino
• Electronic press kit featurettes, behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with Tony Scott, Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette, Dennis Hopper and Gary Oldman
• Trailers and TV spots
• Image galleries