Kubrick always maintained close control over every aspect of his films, especially soundtrack. It’s a jarring musical transition between two well-known songs placed in a new setting. But as the fires die down and the screen runs black, Keith Richards lays into that guitar intro and the Stones kick up a ruckus. The marines march out of the city of Hue singing the theme to the Mickey Mouse Club, a fairly obvious jab at the Disney-fication of the war. What is it with the Stones and war movies? The Stones don’t pop up until the end credits, but “Paint It, Black” brings the film to a particularly bleak end. Stanley Kubrick, Full Metal Jacket (1987) It’s a long setpiece, but especially with Jagger’s hymn to resignation and revelry, it plays out like a self-contained short story. The song plays out as they greet each other in the church parking lot, ride to the cemetery, and lay their friend to rest. But Kasdan punctuates it with a wry joke: JoBeth Williams rises from the pew to play the deceased’s favorite song, which turns out to be not some solemn hymn, but the Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” Immediately the cast break into private smiles of recognition, suggesting a shared bond between them all. The film opens with a lengthy funeral scene for a character we’ve never met the gravity of the situation feels unwarranted, as Kevin Kline does a bad job of breaking down at the podium. It’s easy to scoff at Kasdan’s ode to old friends getting older, but it’s worth remembering that The Big Chill codified nostalgia in such a way as to distinguish Boomers from their parents (and make them the scourge of Gen X). And Jagger’s cries of frustration echo Coppola’s creative turmoil, as he famously had no idea how to end the film. Only Willard himself sits out the song, suggesting that he has lost his humanity and wholly become his mission. As a portable radio blasts American military radio, the crew dance, sing, drop acid, and-most bizarrely-waterski. But the Stones’ biggest hit plays during a moment of almost banal recreation, which is made all the more precious for the horrors it interrupts. Coppola portrays the war as surreal, nonsensical, existentially baffling, as Willard (Martin Sheen) faces one dreamlike interlude after another during his upriver journey to assassinate Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando). Here are some of the best, presented in chronological order: six directors, six films, and six Stones songs that provide commentary on the story or in some cases even tell the story, all while expanding our perception of the Stones themselves.įrancis Ford Coppola, Apocalypse Now (1979)Īpocalypse Now is not only the best Vietnam movie, but also the strangest. Stones songs pop up usually as a nod to nostalgia, exploiting our shared points of rock-historical reference, but a handful of directors have signaled new or at the very least very deep interpretations of the Stones’ music, whether it’s an instantly recognizable hit or a deep-album cut. That only makes the use of the music in film all the more noteworthy. They don’t need a biopic-at least not yet. ![]() Perhaps it’s because they’re still going strong after nearly 50 years. In general, however, the Stones’ story-despite the copious sex, drugs, rock, riots, sex and drugs-has yet to translate to the big screen. The band has made concert films like Gimme Shelter and Shine a Light Jagger takes some acting gigs here and there and doomed guitarist Brian Jones was the subject of the obscure biopic, Stoned. ![]() Jagger hasn’t gotten his own Across the Universe or Velvet Goldmine. ![]() There’s isn’t an I’m Not There for the Rolling Stones.
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