There’s nothing I can say to eulogize the great Lou Reed that hasn’t already been said better elsewhere but I would like to note that, like many people, my life was profoundly changed by his music, which I had the good fortune to discover in my early teens. In tribute to his memory, here are my two favorite uses of Reed’s music in the movies.
In 1995, Lou Reed recorded a sly, sexy arrangement of “This Magic Moment,” originally made famous by The Drifters, for the Doc Pomus tribute album Till the Night is Gone. Two years later, David Lynch used the recording in his still-underrated Lost Highway to introduce Patricia Arquette’s Alice character, the seemingly angelic blonde doppelganger to the wicked brunette Renee (also played by Arquette). A lot of people have complained that Reed “can’t sing” but his vocal phrasing here is as flat-out amazing as his guitar playing.
In the year 2000, Vietnamese director Tran Anh Hung used The Velvet Underground’s immortal “Pale Blue Eyes” over the opening credits of his visually stunning The Vertical Ray of the Sun. Tran picked the perfect song to help convey the lazy Sunday morning feel that he wanted to evoke for his film’s memorable first scene.
White City Cinema 
October 29th, 2013 at 7:12 pm
Maybe it isn’t the best of movies but Pale Blue Eyes in Adventureland really hit home for me.
October 29th, 2013 at 7:28 pm
Thanks for chiming in, Adil. I haven’t yet seen Adventureland even though I tend to like both Mottola and Eisenberg. Will have to remedy that.
October 29th, 2013 at 8:19 pm
“Pale Blue Eyes” is lovely and I like your blog post. Thank you for putting this together.
October 29th, 2013 at 8:35 pm
Thanks, Bruce!
October 29th, 2013 at 8:28 pm
I do not know If this qualifies as a best of Lou Reed moment but 1996’s Trainspotting featured his song “Perfect Day”
October 29th, 2013 at 8:36 pm
Of course that counts, John. I haven’t seen that film since it was in the theater. Thanks for the reminder.
October 29th, 2013 at 8:55 pm
Thanks Mike, i haven’t heard this Lou Reed tune, this Magic Moment. Like plenty of people i was also pretty bummed out to hear Lou Reed had died. I’m also a pretty big fan of his.
October 29th, 2013 at 9:07 pm
Great to hear from you, Omar! What’s new and exciting with you? You’re not still at HWC, are you?
October 30th, 2013 at 11:12 am
By no means a great movie, but a highly watchable one, “True Believer” ends with a nice bit of visual/sonic rhythm…a prison door closes just as the drums hit on Reed’s “Busload of Faith.”
October 30th, 2013 at 5:03 pm
Very cool, Joel. I’ve never seen the film but I do love the song (and all of the New York album for that matter).
October 30th, 2013 at 7:19 pm
I love “Busload of Faith” and I concur about that whole album Michael S. just mentioned. Anyway, since Halloween is tomorrow, I just posted an entry on my site http://www.cinematiccoffee.com entitled “My Top 10 Favorite Horror Films of All-Time” Here is the link below.
http://cinematiccoffee.com/2013/10/30/my-top-10-favorite-horror-films-of-all-time/
October 30th, 2013 at 9:51 pm
Great list. Just commented.
October 30th, 2013 at 10:13 pm
I just responded to the comment you left on my site:) I love your thoughts and I love the choices you picked for your “Top 10 Favorite Horror Films of All-Time” I gave numbers 1-9 on your list * * * * stars (Out of * * * *). and I gave number 10 on your list * * * 1/2 stars (Out of * * * *). P.S. I am pretty sure you already know this, but did you know low-budget horror filmmaker William Castle was the producer of “Rosemary’s Baby” 🙂
October 30th, 2013 at 10:18 pm
P.S. my favorite William Castle films are The Tingler (1959) (* * * * out of
* * * *), When Strangers Marry (1944) (* * * * out of * * * *) and House on Haunted Hill (1959) (* * * 1/2 out of * * * *).
October 30th, 2013 at 10:31 pm
Great choices. I also love The Whistler. His autobiography, STEP RIGHT UP, is hilarious and amazing.
October 30th, 2013 at 10:53 pm
I have also read “Step Right Up” and I agree it is “hilarious and amazing” Anyway, I responded to your second comment on my site. I also love your questions as always too:)
May 30th, 2014 at 12:23 pm
lost highway is one of my favorites. I like it because it’s a horror that I can watch and not be too scared. Not like inland empire it took me six years to finish inland empire. I used to like lou reed when i was a teenager but someone told me he was a woman bashing ho bag and I never saw him the same ever since. )
May 30th, 2014 at 4:58 pm
INLAND EMPIRE is indeed terrifying. I remember there’s one close-up of Laura Dern where it looks like she has a clown’s face — that is one of the scariest images I’ve ever seen in a movie. TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME also has some truly terrifying moments.