The_Film_That_Changed_My_Life

8 Edgar Wright
Wright: The thing that I think is really amazing in An American Werewolf
in London—I think it has to take its place in being one of the most influential
films—is the use of music in the film. It’s got a jukebox soundtrack. You’ve
got Easy Rider. You’ve got American Graffiti, Mean Streets. And before you
get to Reservoir Dogs in the early ’90s, An American Werewolf in London has
to stand out as one of the great soundtrack films ever.
And also probably the best—the film with the best soundtrack that never
had a soundtrack LP. There’s no soundtrack album for An American Werewolf
in London for reasons that John Landis will go into very entertaining detail
about. But the whole postmodern sort of conceit was taking all the songs with
“Moon” in the title and making that your soundtrack. And using different versions
of “Blue Moon.” To have Bobby Vinton’s “Blue Moon” scored over the
foggy moors as your hero shows up, in the beginning of the film, in a truck
full of lambs to the slaughter—it’s just amazing!
It’s got one of the best cuts to the end credits, when the Marcels’ doowop
version of “Blue Moon” kicks in. It’s so brilliantly edited; it’s something
about the cut to the end credits that always gets me so excited.
I had An American Werewolf in London taped straight from right off
the TV, and then I made an audiotape of all the songs, because there was
no soundtrack LP. And because it was coming off the film, usually you had
bits of the sound just before. So I sometimes had sound effects. It’s funny
because I had the Marcels’ version of “Blue Moon” taken straight off the
VHS—it always was preceded by Jenny Agutter crying.
This is going to sound so geeky; I’m really revealing myself right now.
But even when I saw it in 2007 with John Landis and it got to that end scene
with Jenny Agutter crying, I knew exactly when the music was going to cut
in because I knew she goes [imitates her whimper, then the intro to the Marcels’
song]. I know this film by heart.
When he was filming the movie, Landis talked about really wanting
people to see it in London because of the Piccadilly Circus sequence,
where the werewolf runs wild in the busy part of town. What was it like
for you, a native, to see that?
Wright: The next time I went to London after having seen An American
Werewolf in London, my school friend and I, we went on a school trip to