Tag Archives: Movie

Bob Dylan, Film

Top 3 use of Bob Dylan songs in movies

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Bob Dylan is a pop culture icon.His songs (as either writer/composer or performer) are used in close to 400 movies and TV shows. Bob Dylan has been very liberal with his licensing (not like the Beatles or Tom Waits). The rules are, no cover songs, no performances, but scenes where the music of Bob Dylan is used in a way that enhances the action and/or mood. These are my three favorites.

Tell us about what you favorite Dylan cues in movies are (in the comments).

The best western ever made (some days I think it is the best film, period.) This is classic!

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1) Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid – Knockin on Heaven’s Door (starts about 1.50 in,but it is so good you should see it all):

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Bob Dylan, Music Calendar

Today: Masked and Anonymous was released 10 years ago

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“When I made the Bob Dylan movie, I wanted to make a Bob Dylan movie that was like a Bob Dylan song. One with a lot of layers, that had a lot of poetry, that had a lot of surrealism and was ambiguous and hard to figure out, like a puzzle.”

– Larry Charles

Masked and Anonymous is a 2003 comedy-drama film directed by Larry Charles, who is better known for his writing on successful TV sitcoms, Seinfeld and Mad About You and for executive producing episodes of The Tick and Dilbert. The film was written by Larry Charles and Bob Dylan, the latter under the pseudonym “Sergei Petrov”. It stars iconic rock legend Bob Dylan alongside a star-heavy cast, including John Goodman, Jeff Bridges, Penélope Cruz, Val Kilmer, Mickey Rourke, Jessica Lange,Luke Wilson, Angela Bassett, Bruce Dern, Cheech Marin, Ed Harris, Chris Penn, Steven Bauer, Giovanni Ribisi, and Michael Paul Chan.

The film received mixed reviews from critics.

Trailer:

It is such an underrated movie! …and with some fantastical musical numbers of course.

Bob Dylan – Drifters Escape:

Bob Dylan – Cold Irons Bound:

Bob Dylan – I Remember You:

Bob Dylan – Standing in the doorway (audio):

Bob Dylan – Diamond Joe:

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Seek it out, check it out, it’s a good experience!

– Hallgeir

Blues, Film, video of the day

Video of the day: St. Louis Blues by Bessie Smith

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I hate to see that evening sun go down
I hate to see that evening sun go down
‘Cause, my baby, he’s gone left this town

Released in 1929, St. Louis Blues is a short film featuring blues legend Bessie Smith and an all-African-American cast.  Songwriter W.C. Handy was the musical director of the film.  To my knowledge it is Bessie Smith’s only known film appearance.

Bessie Smith – St. Louis Blues (Smith’s performance):

The power and pure feeling  in her singing voice as she belts out the title track  of the movie St. Louis Blues is incredible.

Wikipedia:

“Saint Louis Blues” is a popular American song composed by W. C. Handy in the blues style. It remains a fundamental part of jazz musicians’ repertoire. It was also one of the first blues songs to succeed as a pop song. It has been performed by numerous musicians of all styles from Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith to Count Basie, Glenn Miller, Guy Lombardo, and the Boston Pops Orchestra. It has been called “the jazzman’s Hamlet“.  Published in September 1914 by Handy’s own company, it later gained such popularity that it inspired the dance step the “Foxtrot”.

The version with Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong on cornet was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1993.

The Movie, St. Louis Blues  (it’s a two-reel short).

Bessie Smith finds her gambler lover Jimmy messin’ with a pretty, younger woman.  He leaves and this makes Bessie to pour herself a drink and sing the title song.  It is a small but entertaining movie. Well worth your time.
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