Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

True Romance 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 11, 2022

The vagaries of licensing and/or releasing in various territories has meant that I've sometimes received Blu-rays meant for the UK and Region B before they're brought out for us on "this side of the pond". That's exactly what happened with Arrow's release of True Romance, which debuted in the UK last year. I typically just insert a link like True Romance Blu-ray review to let readers matriculate over to whatever review might be relevant, but in this case, I'm simply going to repeat some aspects of that review here, for convenience sake, while adding the perhaps salient point that Arrow's UK PR firm never sent the UK 4K UHD version for review purposes, so I'm coming to the film in that format for the first time. The linked review is however still a good resource for additional (1080) screenshots of both the director's and theatrical cuts.

Quentin Tarantino's films tend to evoke widely disparate reactions, and in that regard, while Tarantino is "only" the screenwriter of True Romance, one need only contrast the opinions of, say, my colleague Ken Brown, who reviewed the old Warner Brothers Home Entertainment Blu-ray of the film (a Region A release) way back in 2009, with Tim Lucas, whom Arrow has added to this new release as a commentator (joining the previously released commentaries by director Tony Scott, Tarantino himself, and stars Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette, also included on this release). While it would probably be downright easy to find two people who disagree more virulently than Ken and Lucas do, Ken confesses he's been a diehard Tarantino fan since his teen years, but still found True Romance a bit of a slog and not at the level of some other Tarantino films actually helmed by Tarantino. Lucas on the other hand wastes little time in his commentary proclaiming True Romance one of the best films of the late 20th century, and one whose perceived deficits may actually be positives, at least at times. If you tend more toward Lucas' frame of mind, this release from Arrow should be a welcome addition to your library, as it boasts excellent technical merits and Arrow's usual supply of outstanding supplements.

As mentioned above, True Romance has had previous Blu-ray releases around the globe. For those wanting a plot recap, Ken's True Romance Blu-ray review is a good place to start. Ken's review is also a good resource for screenshot comparisons, as well as seeing how supplements stack up between the releases. As I have been known to say, "different reviewers means different opinions", and so scores may therefore differ.

True Romance 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots are sourced from Arrow's 1080 release. Note that this edition does not include a 1080 disc, though breaking their recent tradition, Arrow does include both 1080 and 2160 discs in a couple of the alternate packaging offerings, which I've provided links to in the supplements section.

True Romance is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Arrow Video with a 2160p transfer in 2.35:1. Unless I've once again mixed up insert booklets (which I admittedly did a while back with Arrow's 4K release of RoboCop), both of the Limited Edition versions from Arrow (in 1080 or 2160) contain the same insert booklet, which provides the following verbiage on the transfer:

True Romance is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1 [sic] with stereo 2.0 and 5.1 sound. The film is presented in both the original Theatrical and Director's Cut versions.

The original 35m negative and 35mm intermediary elements were scanned in 4K resolution at Illuminate Labs, Hollywood. The film was restored and graded in 4K HDR/Dolby Vision at Silver Salt Restoration, London.

The stereo and 5.1 mixes were sourced from the original sound mix masters.

All original materials supplied for this restoration were made available by Revolution via Park Circus.

As I mentioned in the original review of the UK version, I frankly didn't notice the (relatively slight) difference in aspect ratio between the old Warner 1080 release and the stated original aspect ratio of 2.39:1 until I measured the screenshots for the UK Arrow release and noticed the variance. That possible stumbling point aside, this is another really impressive 4K effort from Arrow, one which noticeably if subtly at times ups the fine detail ante, especially in some of the more sun drenched outdoor moments where close-ups are employed. But HDR and/or Dolby Vision also aid some of the darker material, with at least marginal improvements in shadow definition. The grading did strike me as just slightly cooler looking at times in this version, notably (again) in some of the darker moments, which tend to highlight blues and greens a bit more prominently to my eyes than in the 1080 version. Grain resolves really nicely throughout, though it can attain a slightly chunky and yellow appearance in passing. I was a bit more aware of some differences in grain resolution in the Director's Version this time in terms of some of the "new" interpolated material, with these passing moments' grittiness probably only increased in the 4K UHD rendering, but, again, I really didn't see anything I'd term as problematic.

True Romance 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Ken also wasn't overly enthused about the Warner Brothers audio presentation on that now long ago Blu-ray release, even if relatively speaking the audio was evidently better than the video. I found nothing major to complain about with regard to this disc's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 tracks. I spent most of my time on the surround track, but toggling between tracks I noticed no major differences in general amplitude and fidelity. The surround track very noticeably opens up the glut of source cues, while also providing good immersive opportunities for an onslaught of both ambient environmental effects as well as a number of other effects which include everything from rubber being laid on the streets of Los Angeles by a certain purple Cadillac to overwhelming eruptions of gunfire. Dialogue is delivered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

True Romance 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Director's Cut (UHD; 2:00:36) and Theatrical Cut (UHD; 1:58:14) are included.


• Feature Commentaries

  Commentary by Tony Scott

  
  

  Commentary by Quentin Tarantino

  
  

  Commentary by Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette

  
  

  Commentary by Tim Lucas is new to this edition and features unabashed fan Lucas proclaiming the virtues of the film.

• Select Scenes Commentary

  Dennis Hopper (2002) (HD; 11:16)

  
  

  Val Kilmer (2002) (HD; 4:06)

  
  

  Brad Pit (2002) (HD; 5:47)

  
  

  Michael Rapaport (2002) (HD; 34:38)

  
  

  Bronson Pinchot (2021) (HD; 16:25)

  
  

  Saul Rubinek (2021) (HD; 6:56)

• New Interviews

  You're So Cool (HD; 10:05) is an interview with costume designer Susan Becker.

  
  

  Relentless Romance (HD; 12:50) is an interview with co-editor Michael Tronick.

  
  

  Amid the Chaos of the Day (HD; 11:59) is an interview with composers Mark Mancina and John Van Tongeren.

  
  

  A Hunger for Mayhem (HD; 7:51) is an overview of Tony Scott's life and work featuring interviews with Scott biographer Larry Taylor.

  
  

  Cadillac Man (HD; 7:51) is a fun piece featuring Dan Storm, a superfan who ended up with the iconic purple Cadillac from the film, who started a whole festival celebrating the film which has attracted participants from all around the globe.

• Deleted & Extended Scenes (HD; 29:15) offer optional commentary from Tony Scott.


• Alternate Ending (HD; 6:23) offers optional commentary by either Tony Scott or Quentin Tarantino. Tim Lucas also addresses the "ending issue" in his commentary.


• Electronic Press Kit

  US Featurette 1 (HD; 5:35)

  
  

  US Featurette 2 (HD; 5:38)

  
  

  International Featurette (HD; 7:46)

  
  

  Behind the Scenes (HD; 15:17)

  
  

  Interview with Tony Scott (HD; 4:17)

  
  

  Interview with Christian Slater (HD; 1:50)

  
  

  Interview with Patricia Arquette (HD; 1:58)

  
  

  Interview with Dennis Hopper (HD; 1:46)

  
  

  Interview with Gary Oldman (HD; 2:58)

• Trailers and TV Spots

  US Theatrical Trailer (HD; 2:17)

  
  

  US TV Spots (HD; 1:04)

  
  

  International Trailer (HD; 2:27)

• Image Galleries

  Production Stills (HD)

  
  

  Poster & Video Art (HD)

Arrow's UK PR firm only sent a check disc for purposes of the UK review, and so I wasn't privy to the exceptional packaging and non-disc swag that Arrow has included with this release. A 60 page perfect bound collectors' booklet featuring new writing by Kim Morgan and Nicholas Clement along with a lgut of other interesting information and data is included, as is a double sided poster featuring original and newly commissioned artowrk by Sara Deck. Six double sided postcard sized lobby card reproductions are housed in the keepcase. For those interested in various packaging options, Arrow has really gone the extra mile with this domestic offering, with the following variant versions (note some are 1080 and/or 4K UHD only, while some have both resolutions included):

True Romance

True Romance 4K

True Romance 4K