They walk in beauty like the night: Sofia Coppola, her heroines and their songs

Sofia Coppola is full of surprises when it comes to the music of her films. 

Exhibit A: she chose Air to score her first film The Virgin Suicides, one year after they had just released their debut album. Their Moon Safari was admittedly highly acclaimed, but still it was quite a bold move for a first-time director. 
Exhibit B: she managed to make indie genius Kevin Shields write music for Lost in Translation; Shields had disappeared completely from music since My Bloody Valentine released their seminal Loveless in 1991 and obviously his re-appearance came as quite a surprise at the time.
And finally, in what could be her most unexpected move, she chose the golden era of new wave and post-punk (Siouxsie, New Order, Bow Wow Wow, Cure) as an inspiration and guide for the candy-coloured style of Marie Antoinette; apparently it was also one of the main objections some critics had with that particular film. 
Her latest feature Somewhere is scored by her husband Thomas Mars (singer of Phoenix) and features again an eclectic and varied choice of tracks.

"Playground Love" - Air (The Virgin Suicides, 1999)
The unforgettable languous saxophone riff is ideal for the airy, hazily sensual atmosphere of the movie. Kirsten Dunst relishes the pleasures of teenage love before things turn bad. Really bad.



"Just Like Honey" - Jesus and Mary Chain (Lost in Translation, 2003)
Soundtrack to the famous ending scene which caused the cinephile crowd to incessantly argue throughtout internet about what exactly Bill Murray whispers to Scarlett Johansson; who knows if it will ever be revealed. The song also features the same legendary drum pattern to Ronettes' "Be My Baby".



"Hong Kong Garden" - Siouxsie and the Banshees (Marie Antoinette, 2006)
Kirsten Dunst as Marie Antoinette and the rest of French aristocracy party and dance carefree to Siouxsie's post-punk anthem from 1978.



"Cool" - Gwen Stefani (Somewhere, 2010)
Another movie, another Sofia Coppola heroine on a quest for maturity and self-knowledge: this time it's 12-year-old Elle Fanning playing the daughter of estranged movie star Stephen Dorff who unexpectedly finds himself responsible for her upbringing. In a wonderful sequence Elle is performing ice skating figures like a pro, accompanied by a contemporary pop tune by Gwen Stefani and her dad's realisation of his role as a father. 

BOOKS LAST READ

Philip Roth- Indignation (2008)
Jonathan Franzen - Freedom (2010)
Haruki Murakami - After Dark (2004)
Ewan McEwan - On Chesil Beach (2007)
Geoff Dyer - But Beautiful (1991) 
Ewan McEwan - Saturday (2005)
Simon Reynolds - Totally Wired (2010)

MOVIES LAST SEEN

We Own the Night (2007) - 8.0
All the King's Men (2006) - 7.0
Safe (2012) - 5.0
Simple Men (1992) - 8.0
Young Adult (2011) - 6.0
To Rome with Love (2012) - 6.0
Manhattan (1979) - 9.0
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) - 6.0
Juno (2007) - 7.0
Winter's Bone (2010) - 8.0
Deconstructing Harry (1997) - 7.0
Master and Commander: the Far Side of the World (2003) - 8.0
Another Woman (1988) - 8.0
Metropolitan (1990) - 7.0
The Pervert's Guide to Ideology (2012) - 7.0
The Master (2012) - 8.0  
Take Shelter (2011) - 8.0

MOVIES LAST SEEN

Melancholia (2011) - 9.0
Carnage (2011) - 5.0
Stormy Monday (1988) - 8.0
Last Night (2010) - 7.0
A Dangerous Method (2011) - 6.0
Capote (2005) - 7.0
127 Hours (2010) - 6.0
The Hustler (1961) - 9.0
Brothers (2009) - 7.0
The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967) - 6.0
Your Friends and Neighbors (1998) - 6.0
Macbeth (1971) - 7.0
Prometheus (2012) - 7.0
Shame (2011) - 8.0
Moonrise Kingdom (2012) - 7.0  
The Dark Knight Rises (2012) - 5.0
We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011) - 8.0
Husbands and Wives (1992) - 9.0
3 Women (1977) - 9.0
East of Eden (1955) - 8.0
Greenberg (2010) - 7.0
Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) - 9.0
Michael Clayton (2007) - 8.0
Malcolm X (1992) - 8.0

MOVIES LAST SEEN

Junebug (2005) - 7.0
The Fighter (2010) - 7.5
Margin Call (2011) - 7.0
Hanna (2011) - 6.0
In the Company of Men (1997) - 7.5
Bullitt (1968) - 8.5
Play It Again, Sam (1972) - 7.5
Boy A (2007) - 8.0
The Descendants (2011) - 7.0
Summer with Monica (1953) - 7.5
Julia (2008) - 6.5

Stuck in the 70's: Quentin Tarantino and songs

With a knack for some odd, little-known choices, Tarantino is a big music lover with an eclectic taste. The 70's are undoubtedly his favourite music era. These are the best examples of his perfect use of songs in his movies.

"Across 110th street" - Bobby Womack (Jackie Brown, 1997)

With a knack for some odd, little-known choices, it is obvious he is a big music lover with an eclectic taste. The 70's are undoubtedly his favourite music era.

Bobby Womack - Across 110th Street

This dark soul-funk epic plays throughout the opening sequence where we follow air hostess Jackie Brown (played by Pam Grier) as she's walking leaving an airport. 
The song sets perfectly the tone for the whole movie, a homage from Tarantino to the blaxploitation movies of the 70's. As a matter of fact, the song was also featured in the 1972 movie of the same name, whereas Pam Grier was a star of that subgenre at that time.




"Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon" - Urge Overkill (Pulp Fiction, 1994)

Urge Overkill - Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon

These one-hit wonders covered a Nel Diamond song and thanks to that scene they entered eternity.




"Stuck in the MIddle with You" - Stealers Wheel (Reservoir Dogs, 1992)

Stealers Wheel - Stuck in the Middle With You

I know nothing about the song or the band. This is the most famous scene about an ear in cinema history - with the exception of the opening sequence from Blue Velvet.



"Shura no Hana (Flower of Carnage)" - Meiko Kaji (Kill Bill vol.I, 2003)

Meiko Kaji - Shura no Hana ("Flower of Carnage")

Another song used in another film before Tarantino immortalised it (like "Across 110th Street"); this one was featured originally in the 1973 Japanese film Lady SnowBlood starring Meiko Kaji, who also sang the song's haunting melody. In Kill Bill it played right in the end of the epic final sword fight between The Bride and O-Ren Ishii (played by Uma Thurman and Lucy Liu respectively). I could not find a video from the scene with the song so here's a video of the anime scene in the middle of the movie. Tarantino brilliantly shows us here the tragic childhood story of O-Ren, making us sympathise with the villain.

MOVIES LAST SEEN

Bright Star (2010): 7.5
Bridesmaids (2011): 6.5
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011): 8.0
Bad Timing (1980): 7.0
The Iron Lady (2011): 6.5
The Virgin Spring (1960): 8.5
Moneyball (2011): 7.0
The Name of the Rose (1986): 8.5
Hard Candy (2005): 5.5
Flirting (1991): 7.5
Naked (1993): 9.0
Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011): 7.0
From Here to Eternity (1955): 8.5