{"id":2857,"date":"2014-12-05T10:03:37","date_gmt":"2014-12-05T16:03:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/?page_id=2857"},"modified":"2015-08-25T22:44:27","modified_gmt":"2015-08-26T03:44:27","slug":"country-music-in-the-movies","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/the-course\/country-experiences-reflection\/country-music-in-the-movies\/","title":{"rendered":"Country Music in the Movies"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Country music plays a role in the plot and soundtrack of a number of movies. Below, I have listed some of the movies whose country music connections seem (to me) particularly rich for analysis. You can borrow many of these films for free from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lib.utexas.edu\/\">the UT Library<\/a> or even screen them at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lib.utexas.edu\/about\/librarymap\/fal.html\">the Fine Arts Library location<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>[Note that you do not need to limit yourself to these particular movies.]<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas<\/em> (1982). Starring Dolly Parton, Burt Reynolds, and Charles Durning (who won an Oscar nomination).<\/li>\n<li><em>Blue Valley Songbird<\/em> (1999). Lifetime movie based on a song by Dolly Parton. Parton also stars in an unexpected ginger wig.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><iframe title=\"A Love That Will Never Grow Old(Brokeback Mountain MV)\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/UOfIKtrlBrw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Brokeback Mountain<\/em> (2005). Directed by Ang Lee (who won an Oscar). Starring Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Michelle Williams. Soundtrack includes songs by Willie Nelson and Emmylou Harris.<\/li>\n<li><em>Cars<\/em> (2006). Pixar&#8217;s racecar movie, featuring songs by country artists including Brad Paisley and Rascal Flatts.<\/li>\n<li><em>Coal Miner&#8217;s Daughter<\/em> (1980). Life of Loretta Lynn. Starring Sissy Spacey (who won an Oscar) and Tommy Lee Jones.<\/li>\n<li><em>Crazy Heart<\/em> (2009). Loosely based on the life of honky-tonker Hank Thompson. Starring Jeff Bridges (who won an Oscar) and Maggie Gyllenhaal (who won an Oscar nomination).<\/li>\n<li><em>The Gambler<\/em> (1980). Starring Kenny Rogers. First in a long series.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=89mQIfHYsyA<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Honeysuckle Rose<\/em> (1980). Starring Willie Nelson as a&#8230; country singer. Features the Oscar-nominated song &#8220;On the Road Again.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li><em>Honkytonk Man<\/em> (1982). Clint Eastwood directs and stars as a hard-livin&#8217; country singer. You know you want to see Eastwood singing.<\/li>\n<li><em>I&#8217;m Not There<\/em> (2007). Experimental look at the life of Bob Dylan. Several actors play Dylan, but Oscar-nominated Cate Blanchett is the standout.<\/li>\n<li><em>Nashville<\/em> (1975). Directed by Robert Altman. Starring a bajillion actors, but standouts include Henry Gibson, Lily Tomlin, and Lily Tomlin. Nominated for several Oscars including Best Picture.<\/li>\n<li><em>The Last Waltz<\/em> (1978). Documentary directed by Martin Scorsese about the final concert of important country rock group The Band.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=YZtgZ5fHOuU<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>O Brother, Where Art Thou?<\/em> (2000). Directors Joel and Ethan Coen update Homer&#8217;s <em>Odyssey<\/em> with bluegrass music. Starring George Clooney, John Turturo, and Tim Blake Nelson.<\/li>\n<li><em>Paint Your Wagon <\/em>(1969). Film version of the Broadway musical. Stars include Clint Eastwood and country rockers the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.<\/li>\n<li><em>Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid<\/em> (1973). Directed by Sam Peckinpah. Starring Kris Kristofferson and James Coburn. Bob Dylan also appears and contributed to the soundtrack.<\/li>\n<li><em>Pure Country<\/em> (1992). Starring George Strait as a country singer with complicated feelings about the limelight. Also starring Lesley Ann Warren.<\/li>\n<li><em>Ray<\/em> (2004). Life of Ray Charles, who recorded the first country music album to sell over a million copies. Starring Jamie Foxx (who won an Oscar) and Kerry Washington (in the thankless role of Ray&#8217;s wife).<\/li>\n<li><em>Rhinestone <\/em>(1984). Starring Dolly Parton and Sylvester Stallone. Won several Razzie awards, including Worst Song (&#8220;Drinkinstein&#8221;).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=8v1NSsFVfEA<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Robin Hood<\/em> (1973). Disney&#8217;s version of the story includes narration and songs by country megastar Roger Miller. &#8220;Love&#8221; (not performed by Miller) received an Oscar nomination.<\/li>\n<li><em>Shut Up and Sing<\/em> (2004). Documentary about the uproar over the Dixie Chicks&#8217; remarks about George W. Bush and the War on Terror.<\/li>\n<li><em>Songwriter<\/em> (1984). Buddy comedy starring Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, and Lesley Ann Warren.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><iframe title=\"&quot;Sound of Music&quot; goes live on NBC\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8POCwWyvdvw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>The Sound of Music<\/em> (2013). Live TV musical starring Carrie Underwood.<\/li>\n<li><em>Sweet Dreams<\/em> (1985). Life of Patsy Cline. Starring Jessica Lange (who won an Oscar nomination), Ed Harris, and John Goodman.<\/li>\n<li><em>Tender Mercies<\/em> (1983). Starring Robert Duvall, who won an Oscar for his role as a heavy-drinking honky tonker. Also nominated for Best Picture.<\/li>\n<li><em>Urban Cowboy<\/em> (1980). Iconic movie about the Houston honky tonk scene. Starring John Travolta and country performers such as Mickey Gilley, Charlie Daniels, and Bonnie Raitt.<\/li>\n<li><em>Walk the Line<\/em> (2005). Life of Johnny Cash. Starring Joaquin Phoenix (who won an Oscar nomination) and Reese Witherspoon (who won an Oscar). Notable that the actors sing the songs themselves.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Country music plays a role in the plot and soundtrack of a number of movies. Below, I have listed some of the movies whose country music connections seem (to me) particularly rich for analysis. You can borrow many of these &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/the-course\/country-experiences-reflection\/country-music-in-the-movies\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":0,"parent":2164,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2857","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2857"}],"version-history":[{"count":37,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2857\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5015,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2857\/revisions\/5015"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}