What works so well about this scene is the way Dennis Hopper delivers it. At a point in the interrogation he realizes there's no way he's getting out of this alive, and they'll just torture him until he gives up his son, which he will never do. So with a chuckle he decides to deliver what Italian mobsters might consider the greatest insult possible.
John Petersen yes nobody talks about the ‘why he said it’, only the ‘how he said it’. In the face of inevitable death, to plant a lifelong seed that will eat your antagonist from inside for the rest of his life is genius.
It takes one to know one. Take a look at Brad's interview with Larry King after Hurricane Katrina. I believe it's the interview Brad has with building homes for the victims of HK. Just listen to how many times he sniffs in that interview.
If Chris Walken is remembered for one scene out of his career, I hope it's this scene...its the quintessential Chris Walken scene...I mean...with that lighting and that evil smile, he looks like the Angel Of Death waxing poetic...
Me as a kid browsing the neighborhood video store back in the day and randomly just choosing True Romance. Been a fan of Tarantino ever since. Can you imagine just stumbling on one of the best movies ever by accident.
I thought he was going to tell the story how he knew Harvey Weinstein sexually intimidated his gf at the time Mira Sorvino but did nothing about it because Harvey was funding his films. Maybe next time....
My boyfriend at the time said we should watch it & I just thought stupid love story, was so happy I listened to him. He also recommended “Love, Honour & Obey” again sounded like a love story it’s anything but, very cult movie if you have t seen it I highly recommend it as another brilliant film with a misleading title
I didn’t even know Tarantino wrote the script till years after watching it. He took nothing to do with production or making the movie that’s all down to Tony Scott. I’m sure I read in his book he sold this script for like $30,000 at most might even have been less
Gary oldman is one of the most versatile actors I’ve ever seen. I watched an interview with him & he says he heard 2 black guys talking outside his trailer & basically recruited them to help him get into that character. Must’ve thought it was white boy day 😂
@@lyndsaycrawford Yes, he is, though I just haven't watched many movies with him in it. The only ones I can think of are "There Will Be Blood" and "Lincoln".
Except, the Moors never ruled Italy or Sicily. They came and were thrown out after a few years. The Moors stayed in Spain and France for 800 years. Tarantino is kind of an idiot when it comes to history...hence his support of the genocide in Gaza.
Except, the Moors never ruled Italy or Sicily. They came and were thrown out after a few years. The Moors stayed in Spain and France for 800 years. Tarantino is kind of an idiot when it comes to history...hence his support of the genocide in Gaza. Sorry...Tarantino is kid's stuff.
Except, the Moors never ruled Italy or Sicily. They came and were thrown out after a few years. The Moors stayed in Spain and France for 800 years. Tarantino is kind of an idiot when it comes to history...hence his support of the genocide in Gaza.
Christopher Walken has played some scary people, but here he is terrifying with the stone cold look he's giving Hopper. And then Hopper says to him "so tell me am I lying?" and laughs. It's like he's looking into the eyes of the devil and laughing! So great.
That line is perfect. Makes him eat his own words by completely verifying Vincenzo is a human lie detector who can pick up every tell, as there is no tells or pantomimes to catch, brilliantly written.
@@obsoleteprofessor2034yeah he’s humiliated & absolutely fuming cos he didn’t catch one tell or pantomime & has no other response (well except “you’re a cantaloupe”)
“Can I have one of those Chesterfields now?” The moment Dennis Hopper knew there was no way out. And decided to go out with a bang. Both literally and figuratively. This scene....well, there’s really nothing needed to be said.
He also throws his human lie detector shit right back in his face. It’s very clever. “If that’s a fact, tell me am I lying” he asks the guy who just told him he can catch every tell a man has & he got nothing. He wanted a quick end & Don Vincenzo took the bait
He was never going to give up his son, and I thought he told that story because he knew he would probably kill him in a fit of rage, and also that would end his torture.
I LOVE how you put it. I use that phrase myself about music, movies and directors. I actually say Hitchcock is the best director. He's not my favorite, but he's the best. I say this about Elvis and the Beatles. Not my favorite band or singer, but the Beatles and Elvis are the best. God Father is the best movie ever. I'm to young, even at 43 to agree that it's Gone with the Wind, but the God father I will say all day long. My top 3 are Se7en, and then True Romance or Man on Fire, but it also depends on what I'm watching. If it's Man on Fire, then Man on Fire is better then True Romance, and vice-versa.
I got to sit on Qantas with Dennis Hopper and actually talked with him about this film. He was thoroughly engaged saying he really wanted to do a Tony Scott film. And just chatted for a half hour. Big highlight to speak to a legend AND on my FAVORITE FILM SCENE. 😁
Definitely up there for me. Close maybe to number 1 behind the intro to inglorious basterdz. And no I am not a Tarantino fanboy but my god he can write
Except, the Moors never ruled Italy or Sicily. They came and were thrown out after a few years. The Moors stayed in Spain and France for 800 years. Tarantino is kind of an idiot when it comes to history...hence his support of the genocide in Gaza. Sorry...Tarantino is kid's stuff.
@@toncuz8291 So your logic is that a group of people who occupied and controlled Sicily, for around 200 years, is classified as "only a few years"? Have you studied maths or understand quantities??
@@TheDomLouis My lord...the idiocy never ends when people never study history. The Arabs were ATTACKING Italy for 200 years, not OCCUPYING Italy, except at MOST for 75 years in isolated areas. It was not nearly the EIGHT-HUNDRED years the Arabs OCCUPIED Spain and France. Tarantino's attempt to disparage southern Italians with his brand of racism is transparent. His Italian father left his Irish mother. And the greatest amount of actual negroid DNA, is within the Irish, British, German, Portoguese and Dutch ancestors, after 500 years of race-mixing with their slaves. Only an idiot thinks there was ever a "negro" invasion of Euopre.
Tarantino is one of the only directors who can get away with calling this scene "almost too good" without anyone suspecting he says it to give credit to himself. His passion for movies and moviemaking is just so strong he analyzes the scene as objectively and insightful as he would any other without considering that he was actually the one creating the magic to begin with.
Except, the Moors never ruled Italy or Sicily. They came and were thrown out after a few years. The Moors stayed in Spain and France for 800 years. Tarantino is kind of an idiot when it comes to history...hence his support of the genocide in Gaza. Sorry...Tarantino is kid's stuff.
Dennis Hopper and Christopher Walken were fantastic in this scene. Two great actors - (RIP Dennis Hopper). But also the silent looks of the gangsters in it are also perfect too. 👍😊
This is one of the best movies, and this scene is Platinum for the delivery of Tarantino's genis by two of my favourite actors ever. Can't get enough of this
@@Zapata20 how come the oldest skeletal remains ever found came from an african person? Even white scholars ( who love to skip over African history anytime they get a chance) admit this. Also, 2 white people, or light skinned people cant have a darker child. But 2 dark/ african people can have lighter skinned kids, or albino, Humans originate from dark black humans, it's not a big deal.
When I was on my OB/GYN rotation in med school, nearly 20 years ago, my attending in the clinic, an African-American doc, was explaining about the importance of sickle-cell testing in our patient population, which was also heavily African-American. At the end of his spiel, he gave me wry smile and said, "now, YOU don't have to worry about that." I responded, "No, I don't, because I've already been tested, and I know I'm a carrier." He drew back in surprise, looked back and forth between his notes and my face a few times with a puzzled expression, and, finally, asked, "you mean you're one of US?" "Yeah, I guess I must be," I deadpanned. After a brief pause, I explained, "actually, in my case, it was from my mom's Sicilian ancestry." As soon as I said the word "Sicilian," he let out an involuntary chuckle. "Aha, Sicilian! Have you ever seen 'Goodfellas'?" I hadn't yet, but I told him I knew I should. "You have to see it--there's this scene with Dennis Hopper ..." When I finally saw "Goodfellas" and realized that there was no Dennis Hopper, I was confused. It wasn't until I caught this scene on some "Top 10 best acted scenes" video on RU-vid that I realized "True Romance" was the movie my attending meant to cite, and this was the scene. I still think of Dr. Julian every time I see it.
Dr. Vinista. Hope you get this message... That was one of the dopest stories of human kind relating to another ostensibly distant ethnic relative. We are ALL MUCH CLOSER than we would be led to believe we are not. Loved it !!
Even in african-american populations in the U.S it's less prevalent than 10%. In North Africa ( Syria, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia ) where you'd think it could be carried from because of closer proximity, it's not very common. In Italy and Sicily in particular it's far below 1% of the population. It IS very common in sub-sharan Africa but most of the people there never made it north to the Mediterranean. However the gene is also present in India and many places where Malaria is common. It's anyone's guess why you would carry the gene but definitely interesting.
It's satisfying to hear you, Quentin, appreciate your good work being executed by good acting, OK, GREAT work and GREAT acting. One of my favorite movies and favorite scenes as well.
I’d argue that Inglorious Basterds is his closest movie to Pulp Fiction as being perfect. Wether it be Brad’s speech to his soldiers, bar scene, Waltz speech in the beginning and the ending with ‘I think this just might be my masterpiece.’
I think. It’s django unchained! That’s beyond brilliant I don’t even mean the same deep philosophy goes into is as some of his movies but it’s extremely entertaining
Except, the Moors never ruled Italy or Sicily. They came and were thrown out after a few years. The Moors stayed in Spain and France for 800 years. Tarantino is kind of an idiot when it comes to history...hence his support of the genocide in Gaza. Sorry...Tarantino is kid's stuff.
@@toncuz8291 The scene is about a wiley ex-cop who goads a mafia boss into killing him quick to save his son, not a history lesson. Apparently you missed that and the whole point of the scene.
@@PureNRG2 True...Except, Tarantino's largest audience...the teenage boy...believes this crap. I've studied history for 40 years and revisionism is always an annoying cancer. Tarantino has always tried to normalize his psychosis.
@@toncuz8291 If teenagers are learning history from pulp fiction movies, there’s a larger problem than a script writer taking license with history to create a masterful scene.
My Great Granfather came to the US in the bottom of a refurbished cattle boat at age 19 in 1902. He made his way to the coal mines of WVa , saved the money to send for my Great Grandmother's passage. They raised nine children All of them graduated and my 7 Great uncles ALL served proudly in WWII. Poppy (As we affectionately called him ) aborhed the association that "all Italians" are "Mafia" associated . To my point, W. O P. Stood for With Out Papers. This was so infuriating to him to be referred to as A "W.O.P" because of all He had been through Legally receiving his citizenship! Just wanted to put this out there. RIP and Love You Poppy!!!😘
Thats the medigan for you my nono came here during the ww2 he wouldnt fight for mussalini what self respecting sicilian would so he fled with his family to america where he changed are last name to russo due to the circumstances and what said was an inability of the medigan to pronounce and properly spell are real last name godbless and salut'e
Wop doesn’t mean without papers. I’m also sicilian, and my nonno immigrated illegally. But that’s besides the point. Wop is a bastardization or the word “guappo” which is a Sicilian term for a ruffian. Sicilians would affectionately call each other this as a joke, but white Americans took it and turned it into a racial slur, shortening it to “wop”.
@Thinking Clearly Two mussolini was product of northern italy who looked down aupon most southern italians (even tho all bloodblines below rome are the true ethnic italians except for umbria )especialy calabrese and sicilians at one point his gov made sure that food was scarce in those regions my grandfather imigrated for a better quality of life much of his family did fight backnas aswell as grandmothers but theres only some much peoplevin italy could do to fight against a facist regime
@Thinking Clearly Two first of all are you italian decent ? Or are you medigan trying to preach right or wrong about my culture ?? My grandfather any many other southern italians left to create and establish a better life because of povertyb the lack of jobs and the. economy which is still pretty bad to this day sicily and calabria are the poorest regions in italy and the reason why there is organized crime one reason behind this is because northern italy stole most of the wealth from southern italy during the unification and never re invested in the more ethnic regions of italy after all southern italians are the true ethnic italians any how
I actually told Dennis this was the best scene in a movie ever. It captures so many emotions.... you can give a course just deconstructing the scene. Both actors played this to utter perfection and no one else could've pulled it off...
Whats about the opening scene in Inglourious Basterds or when the Basterds are in the tavern with Major Hellstrom? Those are two equally golden scenes in the same movie.
Tom Wilson Interesting another shitty person calling Tarantino racist. He definitely didn’t have Sam L Jackson be the protagonist who has an epiphany and saves the day at the end of Pulp Fiction by changing a white mans perspective on life. He definitely didn’t create Jackie Brown about an empowered independent smart black woman. He definitely did make Django Unchained about a slave who runs around in a flamboyant bright blue suit that displays prestige and opulence killing slave masters in order to save his enslaved wife that he was separated from so they can live happily ever after. And he definitely didn’t have Sam L Jackson play an intelligent black Major who dissects a murder of a black woman and her family and mercilessly punishes the four white people and a mexican that are responsible but not before he teaches a racist General a lesson. Yea a racist definitely made those films.
he is so right about the rest of the movie being good enough to survive this scene. true romance is a stone cold classic, and this is one of the the greatest scenes of all time.
Can we just also note the greatness of the supporting cast, with Tony effing Soprano and Vondas, two of the greatest villains in television, playing in the supporting ensemble. Masterclass
It's a double edged sword for me with Tarantino,he has an excruciating way of talking but then what he is actually saying is always pretty interesting...
I watched this in an old cinema in London when it came out. It hands down got the most uproarious reaction I’ve ever seen from a film. It’s so funny but the consequences are so obvious. Amazing stuff.
My dad's side is Sicilian and my mom's side is Neopolitan. My mom got a kick out of this scene and was cracking up. My dad had a look of sadness and finally said, "C'mon everyone invaded us."
My favourite movie scene of all time (hands down), and my all time favourite movie. But it must be the Director's cut. I never realised that Quentin was so enamoured with this as well.
What about Othello? When he says that Sidney Poitier movie is the only one dealing with Moors and Italian women, the first thing I thought of was Othello. I guess Italy and Sicily are technically distinct, but they're really not, right?
This is one of the best movies of all time, and this scene is the epitome of that amazing movie. It is because of the amazing writing, acting, directing, and production. It absolutely and totally uses the talents of everyone involved, and launches it forward into amazing.
@@Twlghtdwllr You are the idiot. Are you even a curious person? Do you have any concept of context? QT writes characters. And, Dennis Hopper's character knew two things. He wasn't going to give up his son and it would piss a Sicilian mobster off to point out that the Moors conquered Sicily and changed their appearance like the story said. I can't believe I have to explain this to you. Dude knew he was going to die so he figured to say fuck you and get it done as quick as possible. Do Moors look like NIgerians? No. But, it doesn't matter because that isn't the fucking point.
I graduated highschool in 95 and one of my best friends and i loved that movie. We use to quote it all the time. Its 2019 and we are still sending texts about this movie including this clip.....Great fuckin flick!
The Long Ships by Jack Cardiff is actually a pretty cool ol’ flick with Richard Widmark and Sydney Poitier. Rented it from the library a couple years ago, big fan of both those guys, and Cardiff could always shoot a picture like a painter. I believe Russ Tamblyn is in that one as well. I fondly recall a scene featuring a rather gnarly ancient public torture device, like an inclined razor slide. Also, some great stunt work in a scene where a giant gold bell is rolling down a cliff side, decimating the men working to relay it down the mountain. Good stuff. True Romance is no stinker, either. ;) (In case you don’t know, it’s fucking awesome.)
I'm always truly struck by how modest Tarantino is. When you look at his canon of work, to see that type of humility really makes you step back and say wow.
This entire film is absolutely stunning! This is the standout scene. The pimp scene, elevator scene and motel room scene are pretty fucking special too. That's not all either.
TR has soooo many great scenes, but undoubtedly this scene is the GOAT! For all the reasons QT describes. I first saw TR in my teens at a time when I didn’t pay much attention to the writers or directors, this scene and movie changed all that for me. Seriously one of the best movies ever.
@@merrygreco3122 I'm from Naples by my father, and Bari from my mother, and it doesn't bother me either. I had Mexicans friends and Greek friends that ball busted me, but it doesn't bother me at all. It's one of all time favorite scenes ever. I think most Italians with any kid of self respect find this scene as being pretty genius. It doesn't hurt that Christopher Walken SHOOTS Dennis Hopper at the end, but still. It's just a great scene. Plus with my Greek friends I would remind them that Hannabal from Carthage conquered Greece, but defeated by Rome.
I have to hand it to Tarantino , this scene blew me away when I first saw it. To watch Hopper go from cowering in fear to giving you that fuck you is the highest level. You can just see his character suddenly realizes he’s as good as dead , he then delivers about the biggest fuck you in movie history. Hooper plays it so naturally . He doesn’t over do the switch . But he makes it and hits and maintains the perfect note. Funny to hear Tarantino say he worried that the scene is too good for the movie because he’s right . It’s like putting a monster hit in the middle of a so so record album . I couldn’t even tell you what the movie is about and I saw it! Doesn’t matter. In the pantheon it achieves greatness. That’s good enough for me
I’m sure he realized from the start they would’ve killed him wether he told them everything or not. The character clearly isn’t a dummy and I’ve always saw it as Dennis Hopper infuriates Christopher Walken so the he kills him quick instead of torturing him. Also clearly you heard QT wrong. He was worried that it might ruin the rest of the movie but it’s a testament to the rest of the cast and Tony Scott that it didn’t ruin the rest. And honestly the Mexican standoff at the end of the movie was my favorite part
Movie being so so, really . This movie had other great scenes in it. The picking up her stuff from Drexel scene. The fight in the motel scene. The elevator scene. The business deal going wrong in the hotel scene . It's not a masterpiece, but one of my top ten movies easily. This isn't a so so movie. This is a great film.
I am SOOOO happy to hear this! I have said this may well be the greatest scene in all of movie-making history. Crazy too…one of my other scenes on the list? The black and white Rodney Dangerfield segments in Natural Born Killers…another Tarantino penned gem!
Tarantino is forever invited to the cookout. He's absolutely right about so-called "black people, african americans, coloreds, negros" in Sicily being Moors; Globally, and especially in the Americas. Shout outs to Walken and Hopper for coming with that heat too.
