Quentin Tarantino has written and directed among the most indelibly iconic film scenes in cinematic historical past. There’s the ear-slicing scene in Reservoir Canine. The gory gimp rape in Pulp Fiction. The Loopy 88 bloodbath in Kill Invoice. The fiendish flamethrower finale in As soon as Upon a Time in Hollywood…you identify it. But, by Tarantino’s personal admission, one unforgettable film second he authored presumably eclipses all else: The Sicilian Scene in Tony Scott’s True Romance, dropped at vivid life and elevated to godly heights by Christopher Walken and Dennis Hopper.
For the uninitiated, The Sicilian Scene incorporates a scintillating showdown between Hopper’s Clifford Worley and Walken’s Vincenzo Coccotti. Coccotti arrives at Clifford’s trailer in Detroit searching for Clifford’s son, Clarence, who inadvertently made off with Drexl Spivey’s suitcase filled with cocaine. After blasting Spivy and his henchmen to demise, Clarence and his bride, Alabama, plan on promoting the coke to a Hollywood film producer in Los Angeles.
Trying to get the cocaine again on behalf of his boss, Blue Lou Boyle, Coccotti’s confrontation with Clifford turns right into a full-fledged interrogation and a battle of wits. The shift in energy dynamics between the 2 through the scene is articulated by extraordinary dialogue, as solely Tarantino can do, as Coccotti checks Clifford’s will and his testomony relating to Clarence’s whereabouts.
When Coccotti tells Clifford that he can spot the 17 pantomimes a person has to betray his lies, Clifford turns the tables on Vincent by launching a historic diatribe in regards to the Sicilians being conquered by the Moors and altering their bloodline endlessly. The writing, the appearing, and the directing are merely past reproach, with Tarantino later admitting that he’s proudest of The Sicilian Scene than anything he has created. No less than, till he wrote the opening of Inglorious Basterds.
Imagine it or not, Tarantino was impressed to write down the scene after he overheard an identical real-life dialogue. As Tarantino tells it:
“I had heard that entire speech in regards to the Sicilians a very long time in the past, from a black man dwelling in my home. Someday I used to be speaking with a good friend who was Sicilian, and I simply began telling that speech. And I assumed: ‘Wow, that is a great scene, I gotta remember that’.“
Supporting the sentiment, Tarantino confessed on the 2002 DVD commentary that True Romance was his most autobiographical film. Within the commentary, he additionally expanded on his emotions about The Sicilian Scene, stopping silent for the primary time whereas watching the movie in complete awe and declaring:
“I think the case can be made that this scene is too good.”
Tarantino additionally really useful viewers take a look at Jack Cardiff’s 1946 film The Lengthy Ships to study extra in regards to the historic relationship between the Moors and Sicilians.
Now, as brilliantly written because the Sicilian Scene is, it might shock some to study that Hopper and Walken improvised two memorable traces on the spot. In accordance with Hopper, he ad-libbed the “you’re part eggplant” line, and that it prompted the intuitive response, “you’re a cantaloupe.” Every little thing else was written by Tarantino and uttered verbatim. Hopper additionally stated the entire scene was filmed in someday.
As Hopper places it:
“The only lines Christopher Walken and I improvised in our big scene were my line, ‘You’re part eggplant,’ and his line, ‘You’re a cantaloupe.’ The rest was written by Quentin. Was I worried about the racial overtones? Not really. Because it’s factual. The Moors did invade Sicily, and they did breed. Quentin writes like people speak. He doesn’t have to be PC.”
The sudden dose of levity breaks the stress and lightens the previous depth so properly that it’s arduous to think about the eggplant-cantaloupe traces had been improvised within the second whereas filming. But, not solely is it true, however Walken’s cantaloupe line is the one a part of the scene that Tarantino has claimed he dislikes. He additionally talked about how most films couldn’t survive such a terrific scene occurring as early within the story, earlier than the halfway level. Nonetheless, he stays as pleased with the scene as some other he has written, together with the films he’s directed.
Far past Tarantino’s self-congratulating pat on the again, critics and audiences have extolled the lasting virtues of the Sicilian Scene time after time. On what would have been his 76th birthday, IndieWire listed Hopper’s greatest performances and singled out True Romance, calling The Sicilian Scene:
“One of the most beautiful tete-a-tetes in contemporary cinema, wonderfully written and made utterly iconic by the two virtuoso actors.”
Certainly, the scene is so properly crafted and relentlessly enthralling from begin to end that even Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini as Coccotti’s henchman Virgil) can do nothing however watch, silently, along with his jaw dropped, within the background as Clifford and Coccotti match wits and wiles.
Talking of a pre-Sopranos Gandolfini, he was so impressed by watching the scene in real-time and witnessing Walken refuse earplugs through the shootout that he did the identical. Alas, Gandolfini rapidly regretted the choice after going deaf for the following three days.
Whereas on the subject, Hopper was involved that Walken was too near him through the shootout that the prop gun’s barrel would burn his brow. Tony Scott tried to calm Hopper down by demonstrating the sequence himself, making certain it was utterly secure. Nope. Scott put the prop gun to his brow, however when the clean was discharged, the gun barrel prolonged outward and wounded Scott on contact, inflicting a bloody wound on his brow that compelled him to rethink the prop and take one other strategy.
In fact, past Tarantino’s beautiful dialogue, what’s stated between the traces by the actors by their faces, eyes, props, and physique language speaks volumes and elevates the scene to unequalled heights. At its core, the scene represents Clifford’s unwillingness to rat on his son, it doesn’t matter what. To guard Clarence in any respect prices. When he is aware of that demise is imminent, Clifford doesn’t cower, however reasonably doubles down on his lie about Clarence’s whereabouts. Relatively than die a gradual, torturous demise by the hands of the mafia, Clifford essentially is aware of he should act in such a harsh method that Coccotti will mercifully kill him and achieve this rapidly.
Unable to behave violently and defend himself bodily, Clifford tells the Sicilian story figuring out that it’ll insult and infuriate Coccotti to no finish. As soon as Coccotti reveals he is aware of Clifford is mendacity, Clifford turns the tables with deliberate psychological head video games and places Coccotti on the defensive. The best way this energy dynamic is conveyed, subtly with top-tier nuance, by Hooper and Walken, is why the scene reaches the top of cinematic showdowns.
Discover how the scene begins with Coccotti standing over Clifford as if superior. The sequence begins with Coccotti looming over Clifford because the extra highly effective determine. This dynamic shifts as soon as Coccotti sits down throughout from Clifford. They’re now on equal footing. As soon as Clifford realizes he is not going to survive this change, he asks for a Chesterfield cigarette, which he beforehand refused. The viewers is aware of that Clifford has give up smoking for well being causes after conveyed such to Clarence earlier.
Calculating that he’ll die it doesn’t matter what, Clifford smokes one final cigarette earlier than delving into the Sicilian diatribe and the flagrant affront to Coccotti’s household lineage. How Hopper slaloms between prompt concern, uncertainty, final acceptance, carefree bravado, perverse glee, and again to sheer terror marks a tour-de-force efficiency for the ages. What he communicates between the traces of dialogue may by no means be written within the first place. Not even by Tarantino.
As for Walken, he too brilliantly shades Coccotti with radiant colours extending far past phrases. How he chews gum, fidgets along with his scarf, casually cracks and eats pistachios, and many others., immediately establishes the character. One early second within the showdown comes off so naturally that it should have occurred by happenstance. As Coccotti provides his intimidating lecture on who he’s and what Clarence has finished along with his narcotics, his seething menace is rapidly dashed by embarrassment.
As he says, “They would have got away with it, but your son, the f*ck head that he is, left his driver’s license in the dead guy’s hand,” Walken awkwardly laughs and inadvertently spits through the speech and tries to wipe it away with the again of his hand. In a second flat, Coccotti goes from horrifying to humiliated, with Walken’s in-the-moment response including a human second that might by no means be scripted. Hopper says within the DVD commentary, “It looks like Chris and I are living and not acting here.” Walken reciprocated, “I started out as a dancer and Hopper and I really partner well together.”
As soon as Clifford lights his Chesterfield, Tony Scott correctly performs “The Flower Duet” from the tragic French opera Lakme over the fraught two-hander. The melancholic piano riff is timed completely and wells up as Clifford realizes demise abounds, as if a requiem. As he goes into the Sicilian speech, the look on Coccotti’s face as he slowly understands the gamesmanship at play is one other second that heightens the scene unbiased of dialogue. From how Walken whispers Coccotti’s correction of Clifford’s pronunciation of Sicilian to how Hopper lights and drags Clifford’s last smoke with relish and resignation, the actors dramatically improve the moodiness of the music and sound design within the scene.
As Clifford asks, “If that’s a fact. Now tell me, am I lying?” Coccotti is shocked, bemused, insulted, and impressed by Clifford’s ballsiness abruptly, and wears such a sheepish look that it signifies he is aware of that Clifford has outwitted him whereas at his most susceptible. The blushing grin and compelled snicker of amusement Coccotti bursts into as he seems to be again at his goons portrays how he hides his damage and insecurities. The unstated energy shifts within the scene transcend the web page, due to the pitch-perfect performances by Hopper and Walken that may reside on endlessly.
Following his denuded pleasure, Coccotti overcompensates and shoots Clifford within the brow, marking his first homicide since 1984. There’s a quick second when Clifford is aware of he’s about to be shot, the place he winces in rueful terror for a break up second, earlier than resigning to his destiny with ease and luxury, that once more marks a pure performative second that no phrases may as powerfully articulate.
Ultimately, Clifford sacrificed his life to guard Clarence and Alabama, sustaining his dignity all through his violent demise. In need of harming or killing Coccoti, Clifford did the following smartest thing by injuring his prideful heritage and getting below his pores and skin like no different. Clifford could also be gone immediately, however Coccotti shall be haunted by the reality about his lineage for the remainder of his life.
Now, for a fast phrase on the late, nice Tony Scott, arguably probably the most entertaining director this aspect of Spielberg. Hopper revealed within the DVD commentary that Scott lit the trailer set to shoot Walken’s aspect of the scene first. Nonetheless, when Walken informed Scott he was uncomfortable performing first, he requested to have Hooper’s half filmed as a substitute.
Relatively than forcing Walken to do the scene after greater than two hours of establishing the lighting and digicam blocking, Scott agreed to change the setup and requested Hopper if it was okay. Hopper fortunately agreed to carry out his a part of the scene first, even when the director aspect of him was aggravated for having to attend one other two hours to arrange the shot. The purpose right here is that, with out Scott accommodating the inventive course of of those two all-time nice actors, together with having the persistence to let the cameras roll and permit them to improvise an already brilliantly written sequence, The Sicilian Scene won’t have ascended to such heavenly heights. That it was Scott’s first time working with Hopper and Walken makes the choice much more spectacular.
As for Tarantino’s developed view, he maintains that The Sicilian Scene is his second-favorite movie sequence that he has ever written behind the Inglorious Basterds intro, retrospectively declaring:
“It was in my very first script, True Romance, it was the whole Sicilian speech. That was the one to beat.”
But, regardless of lifting the dialog from actual life, Tarantino was considerably embarrassed by how severely Walken handled the fabric by memorizing the three-page speech word-for-word.
“I almost got embarrassed the first time I saw the scene,” stated Tarantino. “It was almost intimidating that such a terrific actor would take my work so seriously.”
In fact, to far lesser outcomes, Tarantino gifted Walken a five-minute monologue in Pulp Fiction throughout Butch’s gold watch dream sequence, seemingly a direct results of how properly Walken carried out The Sicilian Scene in True Romance. Whereas a real argument could be made that such a scene may by no means be finished in Hollywood at this time attributable to its content material, The Sicilian Scene stays one of many all-time greatest two-man tradeoffs ever captured on digicam. It’s not simply Quentin Tarantino’s most well-written scene, it’s arguably the best hour by Christopher Walken and the dearly departed Dennis Hopper and Tony Scott.
