Tina Turner’s Work in Film in Retrospect
Music legend Tina Turner has passed away at the age of 83 and she leaves behind a body of work with films that include some truly excellent movies. Tina Turner recently died in Switzerland. Though she is mostly known for her music, Turner’s work was integrated into several memorable films which her fans hold dear to their hearts.
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Turner ruled in a wicked place in 1985’s critically acclaimed science fiction action picture, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome where she played opposite Mel Gibson. It was the third film in the Mad Max series and made $36 million at the domestic box-office. For that film, Turner had created a song, “We Don’t Need Another Hero” which made it up to No. 2 on the song charts. Turner received rave reviews for her performance in the picture. Roger Ebert awarded the film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome a coveted four-star rating which helped make it one of the best reviewed Mad Max films for years until 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road was made and cleaned up technical achievements at the Oscars. In 1993’s What’s Love Got to Do With It, Angela Bassett played Tina Turner and gave an arguably Oscar-worthy performance. Perhaps, Turner’s greatest inspiration was in her own life story and her relationship with Ike Turner which taught viewers of the 1993 film some very important details about the struggles in Tina Turner’s personal life. The title of the movie is also key lyrics from a tremendously popular song by Turner. Angela Bassett was nominated for the Academy Award for playing Turner but lost out to Holly Hunter for The Piano. What’s Love Got to Do With It made $39 million domestically and scored a great “A” CinemaScore grade. It earned three-and-a-half stars from Roger Ebert. In 1993, Turner appeared in a cameo in the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie, Last Action Hero. In 1995, Turner’s song “GoldenEye” was featured prominently in the James Bond film also titled GoldenEye. That Bond picture was a big hit and the song was one of the best which were showcased in Bond films of the 1990’s. GoldenEye, the film, made $106 million domestically at the box-office. It got a “thumbs up” from Roger Ebert. Though Turner’s contributions to the film world were limited, she still left a stamp on cinema. She was also the focus of an immensely successful Broadway musical called Tina: The Tina Turner Musical. Turner had recently been dealing with kidney disease before her death and was a true fighter. Some of her most popular songs include “The Best” and “Proud Mary,” which she sang alongside ex-husband Ike. She was a “Queen of Rock ‘n Roll” and a true legend. As fans mourn her death, it is soothing to know that her inspiration in the world of film was strong and her music will live on for generations to come. Leave your thoughts on Tina Turner’s film legacy below in the comments section. Readers seeking to support this type of content can visit our Patreon Page and become one of FilmBook’s patrons. Readers seeking more movie news can visit our Movie News Page, our Movie News Twitter Page, and our Movie News Facebook Page. Want up-to-the-minute notifications? FilmBook staff members publish articles by Email, Feedly, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest, Reddit, Telegram, and Flipboard. This news was brought to our attention by Variety.
