On May 24th, the world heard the tragic news of the passing of Tina Turner, the absolute Queen of Rock & Roll, after a hard-fought battle against cancer. Her death leaves a gap in music that can never be filled, but the silver lining is that throughout her six decades in the business, she has been incredibly prolific. People around the world have hours and hours of amazing music to listen to in her iconic albums. But what a lot of people probably don't know is that they can also find her legendary songs in movies.
Tina might not have been a movie star, but she was certainly talented in front of a camera. She has dabbled in acting, but most importantly, has graciously lent her compositions for some soundtracks, and her voice to sing other people's songs in different movies.
6 Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
Not only is Tina Turner's music an essential part of the third installment of the Mad Max franchise, but the amazing singer is also the star of the movie. Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome is set in post-apocalyptic Australia. There, Max Rockatansky, the legendary character played by Mel Gibson, meets Aunty Entity, portrayed by none other than Tina. She employs him to kill the bodyguard in charge of protecting Master, a man who is hoarding the only source of energy available at the time. He initially accepts, but ultimately refuses to kill him, which earns him the wrath of Aunty Entity.
Banished from the town, Max ends up lost in the desert where a tribe rescues him, believing him to be their long-awaited savior. With them, Max returns to the town to fight Aunty Entity and restore balance to what's left of society.
Tina Turner's powerful presence certainly brings a new element to this movie. As does her music. She brought two great songs to the soundtrack of this movie: "One of the Living", which plays over the opening titles, and "We Don't Need Another Hero."
Both the songs and the role meant a lot to her, especially given what she was going through at that time. "I brought my real-life experiences to Mad Max," she said. "I had gone through some dangerous and destructive periods, especially during my first marriage and that messy divorce. So, for “Mad Max,” my sense of independence, self-reliance and hard work ethic made their way into that role and into songs that I sang, like "We Don’t Need Another Hero," for the soundtrack."
5 What's Love Got To Do With It
Of course Tina's music would play a key role in this movie. What's Love Got To Do With It is a biopic from 1993 based on the singer's life. Specifically, on her autobiography I, Tina, which she wrote in 1986. It stars Angela Bassett as Tina and Laurence Fishburne, who plays her abusive husband Ike Turner.
The movie delves into her tumultuous relationship with Ike and everything she suffered before she could finally be free from him, something Tina was not happy to see on the screen.
Unsurprisingly, What's Love Got To Do With It features an array of Tina's music, especially her greatest hits and iconic songs. Among others, the soundtrack includes, of course, the title track "What's Love Got To Do With It," her legendary cover of "Proud Mary," and the song "Private Dancer." These songs serve as the backdrop to key moments of the plot and perfectly frame the highs and lows of the singer's life.
At the time both Ike and Tina Turner were slightly uncomfortable with the movie, claiming there had been some inaccuracies. Tina was particularly conflicted about the fact that, while the movie also portrays her as a survivor and highlights her incredible journey toward independence and self-discovery, she was still too "victimized" for her liking. "I tried to explain it to Disney [for the movie]," she said back then. "O.K. so if I was a victim, fine. Maybe I was a victim for a short while. But give me credit for thinking the whole time I was there. See, I do have pride. I've got to get somebody else to say, 'Yes, Tina, I do understand, and there are no buts.'"
Even so, the film was a staggering success, with both Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne receiving Academy Award nominations, and Angela getting a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress.
4 GoldenEye
Having Tina Turner collaborate on the soundtrack for the James Bond movie GoldenEye was a fantastic decision. She worked with Bono and The Edge on the theme song. The U2 musicians composed it, and she performed it. Undoubtedly, their songwriting skills and her perfect voice are a great combination.
This movie starts in 1986, MI6 agents James Bond (this time played by Pierce Brosnan) and Alec Trevelyan (Sean Bean) infiltrate a Soviet chemical weapons facility by the name of Arkangel. While Alec is caught and assumed killed by Colonel Arkady Grigorovich Ourumov, the facility's commanding officer, Bond destroys the site and escapes.
Nine years later, on another assignment, Bond finds he needs to tie some loose ends from that old, tragic case. He will find out the truth about the alleged death of his partner and what has happened in his enemies' headquarters since the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Tina Turner's smooth and sensual low-register voice is perfect for this kind of suspense and mystery action movie, and it would have been so nice to get her in more of these soundtracks.
3 Tommy
Tommy is a very special movie, based on The Who's iconic album of the same name. Tommy is a rock opera album, so the 1975 movie is a very peculiar satirical fantasy operetta movie featuring a star-studded cast consisting of the band members themselves (with Roger Daltrey playing the main character), Ann-Margret, Oliver Reed, Eric Clapton, Elton John, Jack Nicholson, and of course, our dear Tina Turner.
Tommy is a "psychosomatically deaf, mute, and blind" boy who goes on to become a pinball champion and, later, a religious leader. It all starts when his parents, at their wit's end after having tried everything to improve Tommy's heath, become distracted and allow him to wander off. That's when he has a vision of himself that leads him to a junkyard pinball machine. His innate talents for the game bring him and his family immediate success, but everything has a price.
The soundtrack of this movie includes, of course, the whole original album played by the band, plus songs from the stars in the cast. Tina, for her part, was asked to perform the iconic song "Acid Queen," which was also the name of her character.
2 Taking Off
This 1971 movie features a small yet significant appearance by Tina Turner. The story follows a couple, Larry and Lynn Tyne, with a troublemaker teenage daughter, Jeannie, who keeps sneaking out of the house and worrying them non-stop. One time, they receive a call telling them that Jeannie had been placed under arrest, but when they go to pick her up they find a friend of hers there, who had given them a false name to avoid getting in trouble. Having driven 300 miles to get there, they stop at a hotel, tired and upset. But a big surprise was waiting for them there: Ike and Tina Turner were playing their song "Goodbye So Long."
It might not have been a huge part of the film, not even important for the plot, but it was a great treat for the fans.
1 Tina
Any hardcore Tina Turner fan needs to watch this HBO documentary. Tina is pretty much an authorized biography that the singer is super proud of, and for the viewers, it's a great combination of amazing music and a compelling, true story. At around the same time the documentary came out, Tina put out a memoir called Happiness Becomes You, and she advised fans to keep it close when watching the movie. It delves more thoroughly on the specific things she's learned that changed her life, and it's a great companion to Tina.
"The most valuable lessons I’ve learned are how to transform any negative situation into a positive one, and even how to change things that feel unchangeable. Now, in Happiness Becomes You, I share how everyone can do it, too," she shared. "In a way, this book is like a parallel, behind-the-scenes story to the new HBO documentary, called Tina, about my life and career. I’m so excited about the film, and hope it inspires viewers to never give up on their quest for happiness."
The movie also helped her deal with her complicated feelings about her biopic, especially when the song "What's Love Got To Do With It" appeared in it. "Hearing the song in the documentary TINA was one of the most touching moments for me in the movie. It reminded me how far I've come."
We will always have her incredible music to remember the Queen of Rock & Roll by, but maybe some people didn't know she was also a star on the screen. Her legacy will live on in many, many ways, and no one can ever take that away from her. We send our deepest condolences to her family.
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