Jim Jarmusch's 'Mystery Train', a three-chapter anthology of pulp fiction, explores the musical heart of Memphis through the stories of diverse characters. Set in the 1980s, the film features an eclectic cast of musicians, actors, and international guests who find themselves intertwined with the spirit of Elvis Presley. The soundtrack blends Lurie's bluesy compositions with classic soul and rock tracks, paying homage to the city's rich musical heritage.
—a three-chapter anthology of pre-Tarantino pulp fiction—marked Lurie’s last time scoring for Jarmusch. Set in Memphis , it’s certainly the most musical of Jarmusch’s ’80s indie operas. The filmmaker once again gathers an ensemble cast of cult musicians, offbeat character actors, and international special guests to play lost souls wandering around this crazy land.
The Bar-Kays aren’t the only Stax Records alumni on the soundtrack. Screwball soul great Rufus Thomas, who has a brief cameo as a light-seeking cigar smoker, appears again vocally, when Johnny plays “The Memphis Train” on a dive-bar jukebox. Later on, the jukebox aptly hits Johnny with Otis Redding’s “Pain In My Heart,” the Allen Touissant-penned title track from Redding’s debut 1964 album, recorded for Stax’s Volt Records.
By including these soul stars of color, Jarmusch lets it be known, in his Elvis-centric film, that Presley wasn’t the only Memphis resident who turned out iconic bangers. And considering that the original “Mystery Train” by Junior Parker plays over the end credits, Jarmusch acknowledges what so many historians, critics, and Black folk have been saying for years: If it wasn’t for these talents, we wouldn’t be talking about Presley in the first place.
By making a movie about a questionably beloved American icon, set in a town that wide-eyed tourists treat with wonder and awe but that its struggling residents would love to escape, Jarmusch threw one last, dark-humored jab at Reagan-era America before entering the ’90s.
Mystery Train Jim Jarmusch Elvis Presley Memphis Music
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