Is the Schoolly D track "Signifying Rapper" THAT essential to the movie?
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Bad Lieutenant
Zombie55 — 11 years ago(March 30, 2015 02:42 PM)
Just wondering, in your own humble opinion, is the "Signifying Rapper" song by Schoolly D, which was omitted from many video and all DVD releases of the film following Led Zeppelin suit over the song's "Kashmir" sampling, really that essential to the movie and why? What does it add?
Also - before finding out about the whole copyright situation, did anyone, who managed to see the film with the song intact, actually think it was removed by the censors to lessen the impact of the film's shock value or even because they found the song offensive, and NOT for "Led Zeppelin-related plagiarism" reasons but just in itself AND how it was used?
I do remember how back in the early 00s when "Bad Lieutenant" was screened in UK on channels like "FilmFour" it had that song intact, and was especially surprised how it was used in the background, in all its profane explicit glory with lyrics like beep and "ccsu***r", in a scene that was supposed to be tender and compassionate - the nun being treated from a horrifying act in a hospital with Keitel walking by.
I have to say, on my DVD version, the scene works better indeed without that song, but why do most people think it is essential to the film?
I wonder what most audiences and critics who first saw BL in 1992 thought of the usage of the song with such profane lyrics in at least that scene, did they find it insulting and shocking, or that it was necessary?
Cause to be honest, I'm a little surprised that Led Zeppelin suit over it was the ONLY controversy it caused that made it removed, I honestly thought that maybe the censors found it inappropriate and offensive, no? Not necessarily saying I think it is or it isn't - just, you know. -
asktheages — 9 years ago(July 26, 2016 08:47 PM)
I recently saw a version of the film with the original Schoolly D track intact, after years of only knowing the edited version that replaces it with organ music (or silence). I don't know that it's the most pivotal thing in the world to the movie's success, but it definitely makes a big difference and I'd say the original version of the film is VERY preferable to the one with the edited soundtrack. It changes the entire tone and feel of the scenes that it's in which is quite a few.
Here are all the scenes where "Signifying Rapper" plays (replaced by silence in the edited version unless otherwise noted):- When the LT scores crack from the young dealer (song starts at the beginning of scene as LT pretends to chase the dealer down the street, and fades out as they run up the tenement stairs).
- During the nun's rape scene, of course (song plays during the whole scene; replaced by generic, dull organ music in edited version)
- During the scene where the LT enters the hospital to see the nun (song starts at beginning of scene as he walks inside and passes the lobby, and fades out before he reaches her room and actually sees her so the OP is incorrect in that we never hear the song over the images of the nun being treated)
- Finally, it plays over the end credits. This and the rape scene are the most crucial examples of the original version being better. In the edited cut, the film fades to white at the end and then within a moment we hear Abel Ferrara singing his own song about the titular character as the credits roll. I always found this unfortunate, as the song feels tonally incongruous with the film or at least with the sobering and moving final scene we've just witnessed. Thankfully, the original cut is way better on this front: not only does the Hellish, dark Schoolly D track fit better than Ferrara's rambunctious pseudo-Dylan acoustic stylings, but it doesn't fade in until a good 10 seconds after the fade to white, giving the viewer ample breathing room and time to let what they've just watched sink in.
To sum up, the edited version is unfortunate even though the changes only take up a couple minutes of screen time at most, and the original version with Schoolly D's music is far more effective and better in every way. The silence during two of the scenes that featured the song originally works pretty fine, but the organ music during the rape scene and Ferrara's song over the end credits just don't match the power and intensity of "Signifying Rapper."