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ANYWAY. Yes, I know a lot of these are Q.T. films. Again, fuck you. He's got a great taste of music, he's a pop culture junkie, and he knows how to work music into his movies to envoke emotion. So whatever your opinion on his films - yeah, I really don't care.
I'm just talking about what the songs do for the movie and what the movie does for the songs.
Also, these are in no particular order.
As-featured in Kill Bill Vol. 1 (if you havent seen it, you should, it's a lot of fun. But don't bother with Vol. 2. Seriously, it's just disappointing.) I thought this was a perfect opening to this movie. It sets the tone for the very dark underlying theme, and is ultimately so tragic, even heartbreaking, when we see what we've just seen (I won't spoil it, but it's just great.) What I believe what this song does is it gets the audience on B******'s side... we have no idea who she is at the very beginning, but by the time this song is done playing, we're rooting for her. And you really need to be in order to enjoy the rest of the movie. The audience needs justification for rooting for a morally-ambiguous character (which are EVER-PRESENT in Q.T. films), and this song enables us to do just that.
Again, if you havent seen this movie, you really should. Especially if you're a Kinks fan. It's quirky - a laugh/cry kind of movie, that I suggest you watch alone. Be emotional. Also, you get to see Natalie Portman naked in the first 5 minutes, so I challange you to give me a reason NOT to see this movie.
ANYWAY. This song accompanies a funeral scene. Again, I won't ruin it for people that haven't seen it. The scene is set in slow motion, and makes references to a flashback to a different funeral. I swear, Wes Anderson was slicing onions right next to me when this scene came on the first time I watched this movie. It hits you so hard, and the song sounds so sad. This is waht I'm talking about when i say the movie, in context, can change the meaning of this song: listen to it alone and it sounds like a sweet and deep romantic love song. But with the movie: the chorus is dominant, especially the line "We are not two, we are one." It's the characters coming to terms with themselves, with eachother, and simply, how unfair life generally is. It's such a breathtakingly colorful scene too. Seriously, see the damn movie.
I didnt want to do any two songs from the same soundtrack, but if I did, it would be this movie. The soundtrack takes on a life of it's own, and this is the greatest soundtrack to any movie ever. Not just because the songs are great and they were recorded by some majorly talented people. But because the music is more important to what is going on than the fucking script. Seriously. It's that big of a deal. Most movies just have the music simply "accompany" what's going on. Nope. This one lets the music tell you what's going on. Perfect for setting the time, place, and over-all mood (95% of the songs in this movie are about DEATH. but all of them take on different views of it.)
Wonderful closing to the film. This song is about redemption, someone who is calling the angels down to get them because they know their time has come. It's about salvation. Which is what the movie is ultimately about. Simple, yes. Brilliant, also yes.
Need I really say more?
Song = Creepy. Forever.
Madsen = Batshitcrazyawesome. Forever.
The seen is M.W. and Butch the Boxer talking at a bar. This song is just barely audible in the background, you can really only hear it when neither of them are speaking.
This song not only is great for the time period, but it's kind of satirical about the scene itself. I doubt Q.T. just stuck it in there because he liked the song. It's a very tounge and cheek reference to the characters and the rest of the movie. "Let's stay together, whether times are good or bad..." playing in the background while two people sit uncomfortably and talk about a partnership that both characters resent, one of them is convinced the other one is going to screw them over, while the other one is, you guessed it, plotting to screw them over. HA! Gotcha.
Coming from my generation, we did NOT see this movie in the theater. I wasnt even close to being born yet when this movie came out. The movie, while great, is extremely dated. The hair, the clothes, the scene cuts, even the characters themselves... it's all very VERY 60's.
But let me say this: we all knew growing up who Simon and Garfunkel were... and even if we didnt, and some point in everyone's life, you're GOING to hear this song. One way or another. If you're like me, you heard this song hundreds of times before ever seeing the movie. And if you're like me, this song MADE this movie for you. Honest and truly, the movie ... it's really ok. It's a work of art, for what it is. I think it's great, truly, but really, it was the final scene with the two of them getting on the bus and staring forward - that's when the whole movie just blows up in your face. If you don't know what I'm talking about, re-watch the movie, or at least that final scene. The song starts playing, and these two young people with their whole lives ahead of them are sitting there and they're just so happy! Great big grins on their faces. Then the bus starts to move. They don't look at eachother. Their looking ahead to what their lives will be. They are SCARED SHITLESS. HOLY CRAP, WHAT DID WE JUST DO??? Fear and insecurity and uncertainty washes over them like sufuric acid.
------------------------------------ and that's how the movie freaking ENDS. The whole movie, up to that point, had been a quirky and subtle comedy, mostly about sexual frustration and not knowing what you're going to do with your life. And banging old ladies. Then all of a sudden, they hit you with emotion that's so pure, and it's coming from both of them simultaniously. GAH! Pure genius. Here it is: start at 2:20 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2V9-eplRl_c
About the Graduate, don't get me wrong, it's one of my favorite movies. I know I'm over-simplifying it with the above comments... but this list isn't abou the movies, it's about the roles that the songs played. And really, I didn't truly "get" the movie until the final scene, the final shot of the two of them. I agree about the profound impact the movie had, but again, if I was commenting on the movie I'd put it on imdb, not songmeanings.
The whole movie is about how the world changes so quickly that the older generation can no longer keep up. Every new generation comes along with more horror and hardships and challanges, and while those kinds of things were around when he was young, these new versions are so foreign, he simply can't cope, he can't deal with it, he can't keep up. He won't accept this new way. Even a hardened guy like him. He's smart, he's tough, he's wise. But he doesn't understand the world and what it's become - with people like Anton and Lewellen.
The title "No Country for Old Men" really says it all. It's ALL about vulnerability, like you say.
Oh, by the way... since you had such a hard time watching "No Country" and "Pulp Fiction," I must tell you.... never, ever, ever, ever see A Clockwork Orange. Never! Ok? I can't believe I'm saying that because I really love that movie... but You won't leave your house ever again, judging by what you've said about the other two.
If you want a good Psycho Thriller that's really not graphic at all: SLING BLADE. If you haven't seen it, you must! It's so so so good! Again, one of my alltime favorites.
And please do not post opinions of prolife/prochoice on any pages affiliated with me unless you want my opinion (and believe me, you don't.)