The great thing about having a new Quentin Tarantino film, apart from having a new Quentin Tarantino film, is you get to see Quentin Tarantino do the press rounds.
A recent good one is an interview with Ali Plumb at BBC Radio 1, where Tarantino was asked: “What track are you most proud of making famous?”
Tarantino’s answer: The O-Ren Ishii theme that we hear as she enters the House of Blue Leaves with her entourage, which, according to Tarantino, has become the quintessential “people-walking-in-slow-motion badassery” soundtrack.
Turns out the theme by Tomoyasu Hotei had already previously been used in another yakuza film, New Battles Without Honor and Humanity (2000), a remake of Kinji Fukasaku’s original 1974 version.
“The fact that this was in this one Japanese movie, only few people saw it,” Tarantino said, “The only reason I saw it is that it was a remake of another Japanese movie that I was a fan of.”
“I didn’t love the remake but that piece of music was amazing.”
Tarantino is amazed how the theme has since permeated various nooks of pop culture, from Team America to Shrek 3.
Watch the interview below.
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