Time for another Two Movies One Moment look back, and this week, we’ve got some heavy metal axe music to share, with some proper hands in the air rock gods geee-tar shredding moments. There’s been lots of great guitar strumming in movies, from Purple Rain to Back to the Future and many more, but here are two that will Melt. Your. Face.
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
Director: George Miller
Stars: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult
Summary: Mad Max (Tom Hardy) joins forces with Furiosa (Charlize Theron) as she desperately tries to outrun Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne) who is dead set on capturing her and his five brides who Furiosa has helped escape.
That Moment: Mad Max: Fury Road pulls out all the stops. There are no moments of peace in this movie; it’s all action, all the time. And nothing says action like a high speed chase. Throughout the film Max and Furiosa are trying to outrun Immortan Joe and his cavalcade of men but, unfortunately for Max and Furiosa, they aren’t easily shaken. Part of this cavalcade is an incredibly epic truck that features a huge drum section and a hoist that supports a guitar player whose guitar shoots fire out the end. At one point well into the movie, after innumerable near misses and outrageous near-death moments, Immortan Joe is nearly upon Max and Furiosa and the war music emitting from the truck is becoming more and more intense. As the truck is rammed left and right, the guitar player is tossed around like a rag doll but it doesn’t stop him from playing the most epic rock war ballad to ever be seen on the silver screen. Flames continue to erupt from the end of the guitar throughout the whole segment. It’s almost too much awesome to take in all at once and it’s certainly the best guitar moment of all time.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DcqnkzGEFQ?rel=0&controls=0&showinfo=0&w=920&h=415]
Crossroads (1986)
Director: Walter Hill
Stars: Ralph Macchio, Joe Seneca, Jami Gertz
Summary: Eugene Martone (Ralph Macchio) is a young guitarist who dreams of making it big as a Blues musician. He hears of a legendary lost Blues song by Robert Johnson and sets out to find it, intrigued by the tale of him selling his soul to the devil at the crossroads. Long the way he meets a Blues singer named Willie Brown (Joe Seneca) who says the only way to know Blues ot live it and to find the song he must and its origin, is to travel the road to the Mississippi Delta, but little does Eugene know that the Devil is real and he’s not so willing to break contracts he’s already made.
That Moment: A man named Legba (Joe Morton), who is the Devil’s (Robert Judd) assistant, made the deal with Willie when he was young, and no matter how bad Willie’s life turned out, he still owes his soul. But, Legba has an idea, which could break Willie’s contract, but since we’re dealing with the Devil, probably won’t. The Devil is sneaky like that. Legba transports them to a small music hall filled with a foot-stomping, howling audience dancing and listening to Jack Butler (Steve Vai), a blisteringly good electric guitar player who is wildly entertaining the crowd. The challenge is for Willie to have a guitar duel with Butler for his soul, but Willie doesn’t play guitar, so in steps Eugene, who plugs in and takes the challenges. Butler and Eugene go at it, one solo after another, each one picking up in speed and difficulty until it looks like Eugene has no chance to win. But Eugene has a trick of up sleeve, a card he waits to play until the very end. He’s classically trained and so switches the music style and begins a fiery solo that lights up the crowd and sends poor Butler back to the Devil. Rock on, Karate Kid.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMAkr_Z74E8?rel=0&controls=0&showinfo=0&w=920&h=425]
What are your favorite guitar moments in movies? Let us know in the comments below.