By DONNA BALANCIA – The Hateful Eight, Quentin Tarantino’s winter western may have a cool look, but its soundtrack is hot.
And despite the star-studded Christmas picture having to overcome production issues — including whether or not it would get released — Tarantino’s music department never missed a beat.
Ennio Morricone scores The Hateful Eight, an epic shot in Ultra Panavision 70-mm film. It stars Kurt Russell, Samuel Jackson, Bruce Dern and Tim Roth.
The soundtrack includes songs by The Voodoos, Link Wray, The Rondells, Bob Dylan, and Muddy Waters.
Tarantino is a clear-headed artist who sticks to his guns and is known for his excellent taste in music. He takes pride in his musical selections, and has a knack for bringing to the public forefront long-buried sounds from appealing artists.
Tarantino single-handedly brought a mid-90s resurgence to the surf guitar music of Dick Dale, featuring the 1960s hit “Miserlou” on Pulp Fiction. (Dick Dale plays NYE at Whisky – info here)
Known as The King of the Surf Guitar, Dale told CaliforniaRocker.com how Tarantino approached him after a performance.
“He said, ‘I listened to your music and I want to create a masterpiece of a movie that complements the masterpiece of music you created,’” Dale told CaliforniaRocker.com in an interview.
The movie, of course, is the 1994 feature film Pulp Fiction. The film would breathe life into the careers of several of its participants besides Dale, most notably actor John Travolta.
“Quentin told me he had had doors slammed in his face,” Dale recalled. “And he was very humble. And because he was humble, I took a liking to him. He said, ‘I have John Travolta,’ and I said ‘OK, sure, go for it.’”
Dale said when the film was completed, Tarantino sent a limo for Dale to come to a special screening.
We’ll have to wait and see who gets the limo ride for The Hateful Eight.
