Tank Girl is a 1995 American science fiction film directed by Rachel Talalay. Based on the British post-apocalyptic comic series of the same name created by Jamie Hewlett and written by Alan Martin that was originally published in Deadline magazine, the film stars Lori Petty, Naomi Watts, Ice-T and Malcolm McDowell.
Tank Girl is set in a drought-ravaged Australia, years after a catastrophic impact event. It follows the antihero Tank Girl (Petty) as she, Jet Girl (Watts), and genetically modified supersoldiers called the Rippers fight Water & Power, an oppressive corporation led by Kesslee (McDowell).
After reading an issue of the Tank Girl comic she had received as a gift, Talalay obtained permission from Deadline’s publisher Tom Astor to direct a film adaptation. She selected Catherine Hardwicke to be the production designer, and worked closely with Martin and Hewlett during the making of the film.
Tank Girl was filmed primarily in White Sands, New Mexico, and Tucson, Arizona. The film’s critically praised soundtrack was assembled by Courtney Love, and the Rippers‘ makeup and prosthetics team was headed by Stan Winston. Winston‘s studio wanted to work on the project so much that they cut their usual prices in half to meet the film’s budget.
Financially unsuccessful, Tank Girl recouped only about $6 million of its $25 million budget at the box office and received mixed reviews from critics. Martin and Hewlett have since spoken negatively of their experiences creating the film.
Talalay blamed some of the film’s negative reception on studio edits over which she had no control. Despite the box-office failure of the film, it has been cited as an example of a comic-book film with a cult following, and it is noted for its feminist themes.
The film’s soundtrack was assembled by Courtney Love; Graeme Revell composed the original music. Love‘s band Hole contributed the song Drown Soda. Greg Graffin from Bad Religion was originally supposed to sing the duet of Let’s Do It, Let’s Fall in Love with Joan Jett, but due to contractual restrictions he was replaced by Paul Westerberg from the Replacements.
Devo recorded a new version of their song Girl U Want specifically for the film, as they were big fans of the comic. Girl U Want plays in the film’s opening sequence, featuring the singing of Jula Bell from Bulimia Banquet; this version with Bell is in the film but not on the soundtrack album.
The soundtrack featured Björk‘s song Army of Me before it was released as a single. Because of the box-office failure of the film, both Björk and her label decided not to use footage from the film in the song’s accompanying music video.
The song Mockingbird Girl by the Magnificent Bastards (a side project of Scott Weiland) was recorded specifically for the album after Love approached Weiland asking if he would like to contribute a song.The single’s cover showed the torso and thighs of an animated character resembling Tank Girl and featured the tracks Ripper Sole and Girl U Want from the album. In the United States, it peaked at No. 27 on the Mainstream Rock chart and No. 12 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart.
The soundtrack album was released on March 28, 1995, by Warner Bros. Records and Elektra Records. It peaked at number 72 on the Billboard 200.
Tracklist:
- Ripper Sole (Stomp!)
- Army of Me (Björk)
- Girl U Want (Devo)
- Mockingbird Girl (The Magnificent Bastards)
- Shove (L7)
- Drown Soda (Hole)
- Bomb (Bush)
- Roads (Portishead)
- Let’s Do It, Let’s Fall in Love (Joan Jett and Paul Westerberg)
- Thief (Belly)
- Aurora (Veruca Salt)
- Big Gun (Ice-T)
Songs from the film not included in the official soundtrack
B-A-B-Y (by Rachel Sweet)
Big Time Sensuality (by Björk)
Blank Generation (by Richard Hell and the Voidoids)
Disconnected (by Face to Face)
Shipwrecked (by Sky Cries Mary)
Theme from Shaft (by Isaac Hayes)
2¢ (by Beowülf)
Wild, Wild, Thing (by Iggy Pop)
