Music and Sound in the Films of Dennis Hopper

American filmmaker Dennis Hopper used music and sound to shape the worlds of his films, influencing other filmmakers and foreshadowing the advent of the music video format. This book explores five of his films to show how this deep engagement with music continued throughout his career, using folk, punk, hip-hop, and jazz to build character and setting.

Format: Hardback
Length: 80 pages
Publication date: 16 February 2024
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

American director Dennis Hopper utilized music and sound throughout his directorial films to propel the narrative, establish the era in which the films were made, and depict the characters' place within American culture. This book delves into five of Hopper's films to showcase how his profound engagement with music to build character and setting persisted throughout his career. Hopper employed various genres such as folk, punk, hip-hop, and jazz to shape the worlds of his films, influencing other filmmakers and foreshadowing the emergence of the music video format.

The author explores Hopper's distinctive approach to the use of music in films from 1969 to 1990, including his innovative integration of popular rock, pop, and folk in Easy Rider, his seamless blending of diegetic performances of folk and Peruvian indigenous music in The Last Movie, his utilization of punk rock in Out of the Blue, the incorporation of hip-hop and rap in Colors, and the commissioning of a jazz/blues soundtrack by Miles Davis and John Lee Hooker for The Hot Spot. By examining the film soundtrack as a crucial component of the narrative, this concise and accessible book provides valuable insights for academic readers in music and film studies, as well as enthusiasts of Hopper's work.

Weight: 212g
Dimension: 222 x 145 x 11 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032737690