Most Wanted
Email here for additions & corrections.

Il Grido
(Antonioni, 1957)

The Fortune
(Nichols, 1975)

-30-
(Webb, 1959)

Betrayal
(Jones, 1983)

Play It As It Lays
(Perry, 1972)

The Outfit
(Flynn, 1973)

Alex in Wonderland
(Mazursky, 1969)

The Legend of Lylah Clare
(Aldrich, 1968)

In The Cool of the Day
(Stevens, 1963)

That Cold Day in the Park
(Altman, 1969)

The Fox
(Rydell, 1967)

Thumb Trippin'
(Masters, 1972)

Midas Run
(Kjellin, 1969)

At Long Last Love
(Bogdanovich, 1973)

Brewster McCloud
(Altman, 1972)

Outcast of the Islands
(Reed, 1951)

Mike's Murder
(Bridges, 1984)

Reader Submissions

1930's-1950's
The Moon's Our Home
(Seiter, 1936)
Sh! The Octopus
(McGann, 1937)
The Mating Season
(Leisen, 1951)
Bad for Each Other
(Rapper, 1953)
The Phenix City Story
(Karlson, 1955)
Run of the Arrow
(Fuller, 1956)
House of Secrets
(Green, 1956)
Saint Joan
(Preminger, 1957)
Macabre
(Castle, 1958)
The Fiend Who Walked the West
(G. Douglas, 1958
Five Gates to Hell
(Clavell, 1959)
1960's
Key Witness
(Karlson, 1960)
Summer and Smoke
(Glenville, 1961)
The Chapman Report
(Cukor,1962)
Bachelor Flat
(Tashlin, 1962) [on Hulu]
The L Shaped Room
(Forbes, 1963)
The Chalk Garden
(Neame, 1964)
A Thousand Clowns
(Coe, 1965)
You're a Big Boy Now
(Coppola, 1966)
The Whisperers
(Forbes, 1967)
Dark of the Sun
(Cardiff, 1968)
Skidoo
(Preminger, 1968)
Last Summer
(Perry, 1969)
The Comic
(C. Reiner, 1969)
1970-1974
The Revolutionary
(Williams, 1970)
The Landlord
(Ashby, 1970)
Diary of a Mad Housewife
(Perry, 1970)
Tropic of Cancer
(Strick, 1970)
I Never Sang for My Father
(Cates, 1970)
Sometimes a Great Notion
(Newman, 1971)
Marriage of a Young Stockbroker
(Turman, 1971)
'Doc'
(Perry, 1971)
The Music Lovers
(Russell, 1971)
Drive, He Said
(Nicholson, 1971)
The Steagle
(Sylbert, 1971)
The Last Movie
(Hopper, 1971)
Made For Each Other
(Bean, 1971)
The Day the Clown Cried
(Lewis, 1972)
Hickey & Boggs
(Culp, 1972)
The Carey Treatment
(Edwards, 1972)
Pete 'n' Tillie
(Ritt, 1972)
Slither
(Zieff, 1973)
Love and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing
(Pakula, 1973)
Man on a Swing
(Perry, 1974)
Open Season
(Collinson, 1974)
The Tamarind Seed
(Edwards, 1974)
Law and Disorder
(Passer, 1974)
Homebodies
(Yust, 1974)
Stardust
(Apted, 1974)
Celine and Julie Go Boating
(Rivette, 1974)
1975-1979
Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins
(Richards, 1975
At Long Last Love
(Bogdanovich, 1975)
Hearts of the West
(Zieff, 1975)
Welcome to L.A.
(Rudolph, 1976)
W.C. Fields and Me
(Hiller, 1976)
Citizens Band
(Demme, 1977)
Twilight's Last Gleaming
(Aldrich, 1977)
Looking for Mr. Goodbar
(Brooks, 1977)
Girlfriends
(Weill, 1978)
Movie Movie
(Donen, 1978)
The Medusa Touch
(Gold, 1978)
American Hot Wax
(Mutrux, 1978)
Hot Stuff
(DeLuise, 1979)
Scavenger Hunt
(Schultz , 1979)
Players
(Harvey, 1979)
Rich Kids
(Young, 1979)
Nightwing
(Hiller, 1979)
Screams of a Winter's Night
(Wilson, 1979
When You Comin' Back Red Ryder?
(Katselas, 1979
1980's
Resurrection
(Petrie, 1980)
The Awakening
(Newell, 1980)
Simon
(Brickman, 1980)
God's Angry Man
(Herzog, 1980)
Fast-Walking
(Harris, 1982)
Twice Upon a Time
(Korty & Swenson, 1983)
Trouble in Mind
(Rudolph, 1985)
When the Wind Blows
(Murikami, 1986)
Housekeeping
(Forsyth, 1987)
The Glass Menagerie
(Newman, 1987)
Patty Hearst
(Schrader, 1988)
Running on Empty
(Lumet, 1988)
Drowning by Numbers
(Greenaway, 1988)
Haunted Summer
(Passer, 1988)
The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years
(Spheeris, 1988)
1990's
Men Don't Leave
(Brickman, 1990)
Old Times
(Curtis, 1991)
Prospero's Books
(Greenaway, 1991)
City of Hope
(Sayles, 1991)
The Baby of Macon
(Greenaway, 1993)
King of the Hill
(Soderbergh, 1993)
Dadetown
(Hexter, 1995)
SubUrbia
(Linklater, 1997)

Upcoming

June 11

Tetro

June 12

Call of the Wild 3D

Food, Inc.

Imagine That

Moon

Sex Positive

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3

Youssou N'Dour: I Bring What I Love

June 16

Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg

June 19

$9.99

Dead Snow

The Proposal

Whatever Works

Year One

June 24

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

June 26

Cheri

Fireflies in the Garden

The Hurt Locker

My Sister's Keeper

The Stoning of Soraya M. 

Surveillance 

July 1

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

Public Enemies

July 3

The Girl from Monaco

I Hate Valentine's Day

July 10

Bruno

I Love You, Beth Cooper

Soul Power

July 15

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

July 17

(500) Days of Summer

All the Boys Love Mandy Lane

July 24

All Good Things

The Answer Man

G-Force

In the Loop

Orphan

The Ugly Truth

July 29

Adam

July 31

The Cove

Funny People

Lorna's Silence

They Came from Upstairs

August 7

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

Julie & Julia

Paper Heart

Shorts

When in Rome

August 14

A Perfect Getaway

Bandslam

District 9

The Goods: The Don Ready Story

I Sell the Dead

Ponyo

Pool Boys

Spread

Taking Woodstock

The Time Traveler's Wife

August 21

Five Minutes of Heaven

Goose on the Loose!

Inglorious Bastards

It Might Get Loud

Post Grad

World's Greatest Dad

August 28

The Boat that Rocked

Final Destination: Death Trip

H2

September 4

All About Steve

Amreeka

Black Dynamite

Carriers

Citizen Game

Extract

Pandorum

Shanghai

September 9

9

September 11

The Red Canvas

Tyler Perrys: I Can Do It All Myself

Whiteout

September 17

The Burning Plain

September 18

Armored

Brand New Day

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Jennifer's Body

Splice

September 25

Fame

The Invention of Lying

Surrogates

October 2

A Serious Man

More Than a Game

Sorority Row

Toy Story/Toy Story 2

Been Here Before But...

In honor of the not-quite-15th anniversary of True Romance (it opened on 9.10.93 in the States, and 10.15.93 in Great Britain), Maxim has spoken to the principals -- director Tony Scott, screenwriter Quentin Tarantino, stars Christian,Slater, Patricia Arquette, Gary Oldman, James Gandolfini, Dennis Hopper, et. al. -- and assembled some good material.



Scott: "When I was directing The Last Boy Scout, my assistant was hanging out with this quirky guy named Quentin Tarantino, and he'd d be around the set. She said, 'You gotta read his script.' I said, 'Yeah, right.'

Tarantino: "When you're a nobody, it's murder to get anyone to read your scripts. So my thing was making the first page fantastic, with dialogue that grabbed you right away. The original True Romance script started with a long discussion about cunnilingus. Most people said the script was racist and that the grotesque violence would make people sick. I told Tony, 'Read the first three pages. If you don't like it, throw it away.'"

Scott: "He gave me two scripts: True Romance, which was his first script, and Reservoir Dogs. I'm a terrible reader, but I read them both on a flight to Europe. By the time I landed, I wanted to make both of them into movies. When I told Quentin, he said, 'You can only do one.'"

Precisely<< previous | next >>Third Go-Round?

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on May 29, 2008 at 2:01 AM

comment #1

vansmith Author Profile Page says ...

this was the seminal movie of the 90's, this was the jumpoff, more than pulp fiction. this one took film away from unrealistic sly, bruce and arnold stuff and put crime back on the streets with real lowlifes. slater was great as the regular white boy turned hero, he and the chick were overly mushy i thought to balance out the bad guys. i was given this script as a gift. tarantino's 'nigger' obsession was new to see on film.which i heard was traced back to his mother who use to date black guys..

Posted by vansmith Author Profile Page at May 29, 2008 2:57 AM

comment #2

Deschain Author Profile Page says ...

So I guess Roger Avary wasn't available for the interview? Ok, after the tragic accident he might not be the best chat in town but only a tiny hint from the guys that he had something to do with True Romance would have given the article more seriousness. But as it is now... pure fluff and self-praise.

Oh JW... it's Maxim not Empire.

Posted by Deschain Author Profile Page at May 29, 2008 3:28 AM

comment #3

Ogami Itto Author Profile Page says ...

Oh JW... it's Maxim not Empire.

Yep. Why am I not surpised?

Posted by Ogami Itto Author Profile Page at May 29, 2008 6:06 AM

comment #4

Michael Author Profile Page says ...

15 years...damn...one of the first dates my now-wife and I attended. An unreal cast.

Posted by Michael Author Profile Page at May 29, 2008 7:45 AM

comment #5

D.Z. Author Profile Page says ...

van: "this one took film away from unrealistic sly, bruce and arnold stuff and put crime back on the streets with real lowlifes."

If that clip Jeff posted last year is any indication of the rest of the film, it's just as unrealistic. Especially since I seriously doubt a girl who looked like Arquette would be into Burt Reynolds, Phil Spector and Mickey Rourke-or would even know who any of them were, for that matter.

Posted by D.Z. Author Profile Page at May 29, 2008 8:35 AM

comment #6

Movie fan09 Author Profile Page says ...


I think one of the reasons why people hate Quentin so much is because when he came around, people kept thinking that there would be all these great new films coming out, when in reality, nothing this groundbreaking came out besides pulp fiction, and then jackie brown and that was it.

I sure wish there was a chat room on this site..

Posted by Movie fan09 Author Profile Page at May 29, 2008 8:47 AM

comment #7

Michael Author Profile Page says ...

D.Z., fair point. On the commentary trace, he actually addressses this. He had written the first draft of it in the late '80's...hence the Mickey Rourke reference; Reynolds was on the downslope but still...Phil Spector who knows, but it could happen. All the refs were just left in the final draft.

Posted by Michael Author Profile Page at May 29, 2008 8:49 AM

comment #8

Zimmergirl Author Profile Page says ...

"If that clip Jeff posted last year is any indication of the rest of the film, it's just as unrealistic. Especially since I seriously doubt a girl who looked like Arquette would be into Burt Reynolds, Phil Spector and Mickey Rourke-or would even know who any of them were, for that matter."

THANK YOU, good god. It so seemed like poor old Quentin writing his dream girl for all to see. Then again, doesn't she also pretend to be everything he ever wanted cause she's being paid to? I don't remember it that well. Finally, there are girls (Diablo Cody) who may be into that stuff but they probably wouldn't be desperate hookers on the make...

Posted by Zimmergirl Author Profile Page at May 29, 2008 9:08 AM

comment #9

Richardson Author Profile Page says ...

"this one took film away from unrealistic sly, bruce and arnold stuff and put crime back on the streets with real lowlifes."

I like 'True Romance', but I wouldn't say it's "realistic". Even Tarantino says it takes place in a movie-world.

But the violence is more realistic than those other movies, and that was an important milestone in the development of the '90's style.

Posted by Richardson Author Profile Page at May 29, 2008 9:16 AM

comment #10

Gabriel Author Profile Page says ...

"Then again, doesn't she also pretend to be everything he ever wanted cause she's being paid to?"

Yes.

Posted by Gabriel Author Profile Page at May 29, 2008 9:21 AM

comment #11

actionman Author Profile Page says ...

One of my all-time favorite films and Tony Scott's best work. Bradd Pitt is fucking hilarious. The scene with Walken and Hopper in the trailer is one of cinema's finest.

Posted by actionman Author Profile Page at May 29, 2008 9:29 AM

comment #12

Mjs Author Profile Page says ...

This movie is not meant to be realistic in any way. It's Quentin's wet dream. A guy that loves kung fu movies, comic books, and Elvis. All Quentin. He gets a pretty whore to fall in love with him and follow him to the ends of the earth. I guarantee you, when Quentin was a nerdy youth in school, that would've been his wet dream.

Posted by Mjs Author Profile Page at May 29, 2008 9:29 AM

comment #13

dangovich Author Profile Page says ...

It's definitely a comic book geek's fantasy. But you won't see many movies with better supporting performances. Pitt, Hopper, Saul Rubinek, etc. I love how Hopper's face clouds over for a moment before Blue Lou shoots him.

Posted by dangovich Author Profile Page at May 29, 2008 9:57 AM

comment #14

VoiceOfReason Author Profile Page says ...

Damn. That article just made my day. Thanks for the link Jeff.

Posted by VoiceOfReason Author Profile Page at May 29, 2008 10:42 AM

comment #15

D.Z. Author Profile Page says ...

Blood: "I think one of the reasons why people hate Quentin so much is because when he came around, people kept thinking that there would be all these great new films coming out, when in reality, nothing this groundbreaking came out besides pulp fiction,"

I think I hate Quentin because Pulp Fiction wasn't, in fact, groundbreaking. Seven and Memento were the better crime films.

Posted by D.Z. Author Profile Page at May 29, 2008 4:44 PM

comment #16

BurmaShave Author Profile Page says ...

BADLANDS.

Posted by BurmaShave Author Profile Page at May 29, 2008 8:15 PM

comment #17

/3rtfu11 Author Profile Page says ...

Wild At Heart

Posted by /3rtfu11 Author Profile Page at May 29, 2008 9:11 PM

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