Quentin Tarantino is a mastermind. Enough said. And his soundtracks are as masterful as they get. He has the capability to place songs in a scene as if they were written for the film and you cannot imagine any other piece fitting more soundly. He does this throughout all his films and I wanted to highlight some of my favorite examples of his artful use of music.
One of his most iconic scenes appears in his first film Reservoir Dogs. “Stuck in the Middle with You” comes on the radio and Mr. Blonde shuffles along to the tune as he cuts off a cops ear. It’s a perfect example of what Quentin does best: horror and humor. The combination of the upbeat tune and the gory act blends beautifully to create an unforgettable scene. It’s sadistic. It’s cruel. And it’s amazing.
Another scene that is hard to forget is the opening of Kill Bill Volume 1. After the beaten Bride is shot by Bill; Nancy Sinatra’s “Bang Bang” lulls over the credits. It seems as if the song is telling the story of the whole movie. The last line is solemnly sung, “My baby shot me down.” The film came out decades after the songs release but it’s hard to believe that it wasn’t made for the film. Now I cannot hear that song without linking it to the film and that scene. It’s one that stays with you.
Django Unchained rightfully opens to the tune of “Django” by Luis Bacalov as Django is shackled and marched across the desert. Similar to Kill Bill, this opening song seems to tell the story of the whole film. Bacalov belts out, “Django, now your love has gone away. Once you loved her, now you lost her.” This is the ultimate battle throughout the film. Django lost his wife is on the search to find her. If this song was not made for the movie then this movie was made for this song.
The rise to the climax in Inglorious Basterds begins with Shoshanna preparing for the Nazi film premier. David Bowie’s “Cat People” comes on and nothing will stop her from killing every Nazi in sight. The song builds with her fierceness and brings the viewer into the beginning of the screening. The line, “I’ve been putting out fire with gasoline” perfectly fits her anger she’s kept all these years for the murder of her family. Now is her time for revenge and she burns the place to the ground.
I cannot think of any songs that could fit better in these films. Tarantino himself said that he asked workers to suggest other songs for the scene in Reservoir Dogs and everyone came to the unanimous decision that nothing would work better than Quentin’s choice of “Stuck in the Middle With You.”
The way Tarantino uses music in his films is an art form. One cannot go without the other. And I cannot imagine his films without these iconic moments of film and music.