Cohen’s Cinematic Appeal

In 1969, Franco Zeffirelli invited Cohen to Italy to discuss scoring his film Brother Sun, Sister Moon . The collaboration did not advance, but in 1971 German director Rainer Fassbinder used Cohen’s songs for Beware the Holy Whore . A few years later, Robert Altman chose to use four songs from Cohen’s first album for the soundtrack of McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971), for which Cohen also wrote some new material that Altman did not use. Since then, Cohen’s songs have been used in over 300 films and TV episodes. Roger Young’s Kiss the Sky (1998) includes eight Cohen songs on the soundtrack, and the film echoes themes that run throughout Cohen’s work. Sarah Polley’s Take This Waltz (2011) was inspired by Cohen’s song. “Hallelujah” has been used prominently in numerous films and television episodes, including Shrek , The West Wing , and Saturday Night Live . Cohen was also directly involved in the production of several films, including I Am a Hotel (1983), which features the surreal interactions of several sets of lovers at a hotel. This chapter explores the relationship of Cohen’s music and lyrics to these films and assess their role in his career.