True Romance

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, Michael Rapaport, Kevin Corrigan, James Gandolfini, Michael Beach, Victor Argo, Samuel L. Jackson, Tom Sizemore, Chris Penn, and Christopher Walken in supporting roles. Slater and Arquette portray newlyweds on the run from the Mafia after stealing a shipment of drugs. 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, grossing on $12.6 million on a budget of $12.5 million, 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.