Bruce Springsteen’s Cinema
The mighty Bruce Springsteen is an American legend. He’s sort of like the musical equivalent of John Wayne or Clint Eastwood, a strong presence who delivers a quintessential view of the United States.
Springsteen has always been a huge cinephile, and many of his songs and albums have been inspired by movies. His 1995 album The Ghost of Tom Joad was inspired not only by John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath, but also by John Ford’s film of the same name. His haunting track Atlantic City was also based on Louis Malles’ film of the same name – with certain lyrics lifted directly from the screenplay. His iconic 1984 album Born in the USA was based on a script by Taxi Driver’s Paul Schrader, However Schrader made the film under the title Light of Day starring Michael J. Fox, and the title track was written and performed by Springsteen.
“The Boss” also wrote and received Oscar’s for his soundtrack work on Philadelphia and Dead Man Walking, while his songs were also the basis for the Peter Bogdonovich film Mask. However, copyright issues led to his recordings being dropped from the the Cher starring film, only to be replaced by “Springsteen light” Bob Seger. Also, don’t forget Springsteen’s wonderful cameo in John Cusack’s music inspired Rom-Com High Fidelity, a film based on Nick Hornby’s outstanding book. Springsteen also wrote and recorded a powerful title song for Darren Aronofsky’s 2008 film, The Wrestler.
