True Love Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

True Love Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 18, 2024

Nancy Savoca's "True Love" (1989) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include exclusve new audio commentary by Nancy Savoca and producer Richard Guay; new program with music supervisor Jeffrey Kimball; new program with editor Tim Squyres; vintage trailer; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

You can change your mind, you know.

If you eliminate all humor and melodrama plus the cursing that repeatedly blends the two in Nancy Savoca’s directorial debut True Love, you will be left with a simple message, which is that a healthy marriage requires ongoing compromises from both partners. The cogency of this message cannot be questioned. In fact, the message is true for any relationship.

Donna (Annabella Sciorra) and Michael (Ron Eldard) are set to get married in a couple of days, and both are having second thoughts about the other’s ability to compromise. Donna has seen and heard enough to conclude that Michael is still an immature boy. He wants to be as spontaneous with his buddies as he has been in the past, drink at will, and do all other silly things boys love to do while having a good time. Donna knows that he truly loves her, but she expects more from him. She wants Michael to stop being a cute boy and become a grown-up man.

Michael has also seen and heard enough to conclude that Donna will become like all the other married women in the neighborhood. You know what this means, right? He loses his freedom, she is always right, and he is always wrong. If they have a child or two, and they likely will have more, she would not stop reminding him that he must also work harder to provide for the family. She would even tell him how to dress up, when to eat and drink, and how to behave before their relatives and friends. To be married is to give up too much. A grown-up man must stand his ground.

But despite their reservations and a nasty quarrel with just hours left before the wedding ceremony, Donna and Michael agree to give marriage a chance. For a few hours, while surrounded by their families and friends, they look and feel genuinely happy. However, as drinks are poured and the music gets louder, their fears of committing to a relationship that may not work return with a vengeance.

The greatest strength of True Love is its sincerity, which is practically unavoidable because it is a key element of Italian-American culture that all films about Italian-Americans emphasize. But because True Love is set in a corner of the Bronx dominated by Italian-Americans, this sincerity quickly becomes the foundation of its story, too.

Sadly, Savoca’s direction is very uneven. As a result, much of the clumsiness, frustration, passion, and joy that are channeled through True Love quickly begin to look oddly artificial. Indeed, instead of bringing the viewer into the unique environment where Donna and Michael exist and making it easy to understand their reluctance to alter their way of life, Savoca places a barrier in front of it that effectively transforms True Love into a spectacle. Obviously, Savoca’s inexperience is responsible for this unfortunate development, but there are several segments where it feels like the cast is willingly going overboard with different material as well.

Another area where Savoca’s inexperience does obvious damage is the management of the secondary characters. A few are quite good but wasted. For example, one of Donna’s closest friends secretly dreams of being in her shoes and at the right time lets another dreamer take her out on a date, but the static between the two, which is supposed to produce some charming moments, is very awkward. This is not the kind of awkward that materializes between two people who see a reason, or reasons, to spend time together, but need extra time to become comfortable. Also, Vincent Pastore looks wonderful but is rushed through instantly forgettable material.

Savoca’s director of photography was Lisa Rinzler, who a few years later went on to lense Menace II Society and Dead Presidents.

True Love Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, True Love arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

True Love must have been remastered fairly recently because it has a wonderful, very healthy organic appearance on Blu-ray. In fact, I would say that it looks a little bit better than the recently remastered Fletch and Fletch Lives. Delineation, clarity, and depth, for instance, range from good to very good, though grain exposure can be improved, and if it is, all three will benefit. The density levels of the visuals is good, too. Color balance is convincing. All primaries supporting nuance are healthy and properly set. In a few areas, saturation can be improved, and some darker areas can have better nuances, but I did not see any anomalies. Image stability is very good. There are no large and distracting cuts, damage marks, warped or torn frames to report. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

True Love Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

Several big radio and club hits from the 1980s can be heard throughout the film. Clarity and sharpness is good, but occasionally the sound can be a bit thin. I suspect that this is how the original soundtrack was finalized. However, I also think that some small yet meaningful enhancement can be made to improve fullness and roundness of the music. The dialog is always clear and easy to follow.

True Love Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interview with Music Supervisor Jeffrey Kimball - in this new program, music supervisor Jeffrey Kimball recalls how he became involved with True Love and comments on its characters and the music that was used in it. There are some particularly interesting comments about Ame Lorain's hit "Whole Wide World", which is used in the film. In English, not subtitled. (24 min).

• Interview with Production Designer Lester Cohen - in this new program, production designer Lester Cohen discusses his early impressions of Nancy Savoca and his contribution to True Love. In English, not subtitled. (18 min).

• Interview with Editor Tim Squyres - in this new program, editor Tim Squyres comments on his work as an assistant editor and sound editor on True Love. There are some particularly interesting comments about the incorporation (and elimination) of organic sounds and noises throughout the film, as well as the particular work that was done to have as much clear dialog as possible during mass scenes. In English, not subtitled. (14 min).

• Interview with Editor John Tintori and Script Supervisor Mary Cybulski - in this new program, editor John Tintori and script supervisor Mary Cybulski recall their involvement with True Love and discuss their relationships with Nancy Savoca and comment on her directing methods. In English, not subtitled. (42 min).

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by Nancy Savoca and producer Richard Guay.

• Trailer - present here is a remastered original trailer for True Love. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

True Love Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

True Love should have come much later in Nancy Savoca's career. It has a lot of fine characters that could have produced the charming melodrama the opening fifteen or so minutes promise, but Savoca has a hard time managing them. As a result, much of the clumsiness, frustration, passion, and joy that are channeled through True Love quickly begin to look oddly artificial. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from a very good organic master and offers a nice selection of exclusive new bonus features. RECOMMENDED to the fans.