The Blu Ray release of the cult classic film Wizards by Ralph Bakshi is coming out soon. To celebrate the films release the studio is delving into some history you may or may not know about the movie and its influence through the years, most notably the music from the film.
Here’s a history lesson for you
DELVE INTO RALPH BAKSHI’S CULT CLASSIC
LIKE NEVER BEFORE
The Fantastical Allegory Comes to Life for the First Time
On Blu-ray March 13
Wizard Tunes
Although Wizards received a limited theatrical release, it was still considered successful among a worldwide audience. So much so that audio clips from the film have been sampled by musicians past and present, in songs you’ve probably blasted in the car on your way to work. Take a look at this list of hit makers that have sampled Wizards and other memorable movie sound bites.
Artist: Toxik
Album: Think This
Movie: Wizards
Toxik is an American metal band from Peekskill, New York. They were known for making their heaviest of metal hits more innovative than your standard head-banging anthem, pushing them to the front of the “progressive metal” movement in the mid to late 80s. Their songs “Spontaneous” and “Time After Time,” for example, contain audio clips from Wizards.
Artist: Cypress Hill
Albums: IV and Skull & Bones
Movie: Wizards
Cypress Hill is an American hip-hop group from South Gate, California. They were also the first Cuban-American/Latino hip-hop group to have platinum and multi-platinum albums, selling over 18 million albums worldwide, earning critical acclaim for their first two groundbreaking albums.Always trying to stay fresh and groundbreaking, the guys did not shy away from sampling Wizards on both their fourth and fifth albums, 1998’s IV and 2000’s Skull & Bones.
Artist: Prince
Album: Batman (Soundtrack)
Movie: Batman
“Batdance” was actually a last-minute replacement for a brooding track titled “Dance with the Devil”, which Prince felt was too dark. The track is an amalgam of many musical ideas floating around at the same time. Elements from at least seven songs (some unreleased) were incorporated into “Batdance” as well as dialog samples from the film.
Artist: Rise Against
Album: Revolutions Per Minute
Movie: American Beauty
At the start of “Last Chance Blueprint,” American Beauty’s Jane (Thora Birch) is shouting to the rooftops. She is proud to be a freak. At the end, she and Ricky, her boyfriend and partner in freak-dom, can be heard plotting their escape to the beckoning lights of New York City. It is their “Last Chance” to be together on their own terms.
Artist: Jay-Z
Album: Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life
Movie: Carlito’s Way
Iconic rapper Jay-Z must be a fan of Carlito’s Way! Jay-Z has used samples of Carlito’s dialogue in a few of his tracks including “Intro/A Million and One Questions/Rhyme No More,” “Brooklyn’s Finest,” and on the album that propelled him to superstardom, Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life. Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, takes it a step further in the song “Allure,” where he references himself playing a lead role in a fictional movie called “Hovito’s Way.”
Artist: Guns N’ Roses
Album: Use Your Illusion II
Movie: Cool Hand Luke
“What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate” is a famed quotation from the 1967 film Cool Hand Luke which Guns N’ Roses liked so much, they put it at the top of their song “Civil War” off 1990’s Use Your Illusion II. Much later, in 2008, Axl Rose would use the same quote in his re-furbished GNR, in the song “Madagascar.”
Artist: Dust Brothers
Album: Fight Club (Soundtrack)
Movie: Fight Club
The Dust Brothers are the Los Angeles based, Grammy winning producers, “E.Z. Mike” and “King Gizmo,” famous for their sample-based music in the 1980’s and 1990’s. In 1998, the duo were approached by director David Fincher to assemble the score for the film Fight Club, most notably “This Is Your Life”, a song featuring actual lines from the film, including a monologue by Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt). This remains their only original release to date.
