John Denver in the movies

In the space of a month or so I’ve seen three films which feature songs by country singer John Denver, who died in 1997, aged 53, in a plane crash.

In Whisper of the Heart, a Studio Ghibli film from 1995, various renditions of Take me Home, Country Road permeate the film, in a similar manner to the song The Long Goodbye pervading Robert Altman’s film of the same name. Though it doesn’t feature Denver’s original song, the film starts with Olivia Newton-John’s version from 1973. Characters in the film write new lyrics for the tune, including Concrete Roads, amusingly describing Tama New Town (the largest housing development in Japan, built in the 1960s), and sung by Japanese actress Yōko Honna.

Okja (2017), directed by Bong Joon-ho (Parasite, The Host, Memories of Murder) is Babe meets King Kong in an action adventure satire that attacks capitalism and the meat industry. The ever-apologetic English terrorists, members of the Animal Liberation Front, must be Jon Ronson’s creation; he gets a co-writer credit along with director Joon-ho. Annie’s Song comes on as Okja (a cross between a pig, hippo and elephant) is escaping in a shopping mall – the terrorists stop the tranquillisers with umbrellas, and trip up the keystone cop-like security guards with marbles. There are moments of tenderness and humour amid the chaos.

A rogue transmission is intercepted in Alien Covenant, again from 2017 – a year in which Denver’s songs appeared in seven Hollywood films (also the hilarious Logan Lucky, excellent Free Fire, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, The Long Haul and Kingsman: The Golden Circle). This was nothing to do with a resurgence of interest in the singer, but just his estate switching to a new rights management company, Kobalt Music Group, which focusses of licensing music to Hollywood.

Anyway, the transmission is of a woman humming a tune.
“That's fuckin’ John Denver. That’s Take Me Home, Country Roads.”
“You’ve got to be kidding.”
“Oh, no. I’d never kid about John Denver.”

The song was also used to creepy effect on several trailers for the film.

Lots of John Denver’s wonderful and whimsical songs have appeared in films over the years. He has also acted in various films and TV shows, notably the 1977 film Oh, God! with George Burns.

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