
Music and Sound in the Films of Dennis Hopper
Stephen Lee Naish(Author)
Routledge (Publisher)
1st Edition
Published on 14. September 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
80 pages
978-1-032-73768-3 (ISBN)
Description
Across his directorial films, American filmmaker Dennis Hopper used music and sound to propel the narrative, signpost the era in which the films were made, and delineate the characters' place within American culture. This book explores five of Hopper's films to show how this deep engagement with music to build character and setting continued throughout his career, as Hopper used folk, punk, hip-hop, and jazz to shape the worlds of his films in ways that influenced other filmmakers and foreshadowed the advent of the music video format.
The author traces Hopper's distinctive approach to the use of music through films from 1969 to 1990, including his innovative use of popular rock, pop, and folk in Easy Rider, his blending of diegetic performances of folk and Peruvian indigenous music in The Last Movie, his use of punk rock in Out of the Blue, incorporation of hip-hop and rap in Colors, and commissioning of a jazz/blues soundtrack by Miles Davis and John Lee Hooker for The Hot Spot. Uncovering the film soundtrack as a vital piece of the narrative, this concise and accessible book offers insights for academic readers in music and film studies, as well as all those interested in Hopper's work.
The author traces Hopper's distinctive approach to the use of music through films from 1969 to 1990, including his innovative use of popular rock, pop, and folk in Easy Rider, his blending of diegetic performances of folk and Peruvian indigenous music in The Last Movie, his use of punk rock in Out of the Blue, incorporation of hip-hop and rap in Colors, and commissioning of a jazz/blues soundtrack by Miles Davis and John Lee Hooker for The Hot Spot. Uncovering the film soundtrack as a vital piece of the narrative, this concise and accessible book offers insights for academic readers in music and film studies, as well as all those interested in Hopper's work.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Postgraduate and Undergraduate Advanced
Illustrations
10 s/w Photographien bzw. Rasterbilder, 10 s/w Abbildungen
10 Halftones, black and white; 10 Illustrations, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 140 mm
Thickness: 5 mm
Weight
131 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-032-73768-3 (9781032737683)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Stephen Lee Naish
Music and Sound in the Films of Dennis Hopper
E-Book
02/2024
1st Edition
Routledge
€31.49
Available for download

Stephen Lee Naish
Music and Sound in the Films of Dennis Hopper
Book
02/2024
1st Edition
Routledge
€73.10
Shipment within 10-20 days

Stephen Lee Naish
Music and Sound in the Films of Dennis Hopper
E-Book
02/2024
1st Edition
Routledge
€31.49
Available for download
Person
Stephen Lee Naish is a researcher and writer based in Ontario, Canada.
Content
Introduction: Dennis Hopper in Context 1. Keeping It Cool: Easy Rider,The Rock Music Compilation Soundtrack and The Slow Death of the Sixties 2. Never-ending Daydream: Diegetic Sound, Aural Assaults, and Folk Mosaics in The Last Movie and The American Dreamer 3. Kill All Hippies: Punk Rock Rebellion, Elvis Presley, and Hippie "Burn Out" in Out of the Blue 4. Rebel Without a Pause: Rap and Hip Hop's Gang Affiliation, Popularity, and Battle with Authority in Colors 5. Blue Notes: Jazz and Blues Music Hybridity, and (Mis)Representation of Black Voices in The Hot Spot Conclusion