Fleetwood Mac were a band of many incarnations, first through their 1960s origins with guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood, and multi-instrumentalist Jeremy Spencer, to their more famous Rumours era, which incorporated the siren Stevie Nicks and virtuoso Lindsey Buckingham as a package deal in 1974. The British-American band formed from the ashes of a blues project that the eccentric Peter Green had founded (he was already one of London’s most famous blues guitarists of the 1960s). Fleetwood Mac would change with the times, having as many as 18 different members over the years — while the band’s style changed into an ethereal, folk-inflected pop group that catered best to the talents of Buckingham and Nicks.
Along the way, John and Christine McVie were married and broke up, and Buckingham and Nicks had a long, fraught romance as well. The group’s songs often spoke of the distress in their respective relationships during this era (“Don’t Stop” being a prime example). While the band’s popularity waned, Buckingham pursued solo projects (“Holiday Road” from National Lampoons: Vacation) and Nicks pursued a much bigger solo career (“Edge of Seventeen”), as the songstress linked up with record honcho Jimmy Iovine and hit the stratosphere.
Fleetwood Mac’s songs aged well — finding their way into Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign for POTUS (the band also played at his inauguration), Gen X started to appreciate the band’s ’70s work. Rumours, in particular, had a resurgence that led to a number of licensing opportunities in film — yielding some great pairings over the ’90s and ’00s.
The following are the 10 most memorable uses of Fleetwood Mac’s songs in film.
10 “Landslide” in Jersey Girl
Jersey Girl
- Release Date
- March 25, 2004
- Director
- Kevin Smith
- Cast
- Betty Aberlin, Matt McFarland, Sarah Stafford, Paulie Litt, Christian Fan, Victor Chavez
- Rating
- PG-13
- Runtime
- 103
One of the most revered songs from the Buckingham/Nicks catalog, “Landslide” has been covered by everyone from Smashing Pumpkins to Bush, setting up a ’90s lineage that located its presence in Jersey Girl at a time when the pre-Y2K crowd was re-discovering ’70s music.
How Fleetwood Mac Makes Jersey Girl a Better Film
The box office bomb wasn’t entirely forgettable, despite critics going off on it at the time (and a paltry 43% rating on aggregator Rotten Tomatoes these days). Still, the song’s location in the film is effective, as well as the validating presence of iconic ’90s rock crush Liv Tyler (her dad is Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, and she’s appeared in their videos). The track first appeared in 1975 on Fleetwood Mac’s self-titled album, a clear indicator of the different direction Stevie Nicks was taking the band in when she joined up in 1974.
Stream on Paramount+ and Apple TV
9 “World Turning” in Aloha
Aloha
- Release Date
- May 29, 2015
- Director
- Cameron Crowe
- Cast
- Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone, Rachel McAdams, Bill Murray, John Krasinski, Danny McBride
- Rating
- PG-13
- Runtime
- 105
The flop-tastic, Razzie-winning film, Aloha, has gotten plenty of grief over the years from critics — so let’s not pile on. What should be noted, however, is that of the 20% rating the movie received on Rotten Tomatoes, the epic Fleetwood Mac track “World Turning” deserves about… all 20% percent.
Why The Track is Lesser Known for Fleetwood Mac
The track is one of the few written by Christine and John McVie, and was released on the self-titled album in 1975. The track shows how the group traversed between eras when Christine and John McVie were a bigger part of the creative output, duties that would later be taken over by Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks.
Stream on Starz
8 “Don’t Stop” in Sound City
Sound City
- Release Date
- January 18, 2013
- Director
- David Grohl
- Cast
- Vinny Appice, Joe Barresi, Robert Levon Been, Brian Bell, Frank Black, James Brown
- Rating
- NR
- Runtime
- 116
Fleetwood Mac may be the only pop band with two famous hits about divorce, with “Don’t Stop” immortalizing members John and Christine McVie’s storybook split. Such were the circumstances of a band with several romances between their rotating cast of characters.
Why Fleetwood Mac’s Songs Intertwine With the Doc’s Story
That romantic characteristic is examined in Sound City, a documentary about the studio in Van Nuys where Rumours was recorded. The recording of Rumours coincided with the dissolution of Buckingham and Nicks’ relationship, covered at great length in the film. The film is about the recording studio itself, which — thanks to its unbelievable soundboard and the bands that went in obscure and left famous — has become one of the most historic in a city full of them, but it’s also about love gained and lost.
Stream on FuboTV
7 “Dreams” in Eat Pray Love
Eat, Pray, Love
- Release Date
- August 12, 2010
- Cast
- Julia Roberts, I. Gusti Ayu Puspawati, Hadi Subiyanto, Billy Crudup, Viola Davis, A. Jay Radcliff
- Director
- Ryan Murphy
- Rating
- PG-13
- Runtime
- 133
Laugh all you want, but almost no mainstream film has become as associated with finding oneself as Eat Pray Love — which also took in a tidy $204.6 million at the box office. The film benefited from incredible locations, a stellar Julia Roberts performance, and a surprisingly great soundtrack that features the likes of Sly and the Family Stone, Neil Young, and Fleetwood Mac.
Why “Dreams” is a Perfect Fit for Eat Pray Love
The film mines the song “Dreams” for its ethereal instrumentals and the sense of longing in Stevie Nicks’ lyrics that mirrors that of Roberts’ character, Liz Gilbert. It’s enough to make you want to book a flight to Italy and listen to the track on your earphones while you eat gelato. Ok, ok…maybe just in your bedroom with some Ben and Jerry’s.
Stream on Netflix
6 “The Chain” in Triple Frontier
Triple Frontier
- Release Date
- March 6, 2019
- Director
- J.C. Chandor
- Cast
- Charlie Hunnam, Oscar Isaac, Ben Affleck, Pedro Pascal, Adria Arjona, Garrett Hedlund
- Rating
- R
- Runtime
- 125
“The Chain” has become a mainstay of Fleetwood Mac’s live act over the years, with the band often opening their shows with the number as the stage lights fade on. In Triple Frontier it’s used in the early going, as well, when Santiago (Oscar Isaac) tries to convince Tom (Ben Affleck) to undertake a potentially deadly job with him.
How “The Chain” Mimics the Character Relationships
The song’s lyrics, “Chains keep us together”, speak to the fractious nature of the band, which was held together by their working relationship through tumultuous times. That fact makes the song a perfect fit for the film, which tests the friendship of several mercenaries looking for a big payday. “The Chain” may not be the band’s most-played, but it’s likely their most-licensed — given it’s incredibly cinematic quality.
Stream on Netflix
5 “Tusk” in Tusk
Tusk
- Release Date
- September 6, 2014
- Director
- Kevin Smith
- Cast
- Michael Parks, Justin Long, Genesis Rodriguez, Haley Joel Osment, Johnny Depp, Harley Morenstein
- Rating
- R
- Runtime
- 102
“Tusk” (the song) was redefined by Tusk (the film) thanks to an incredibly graphic depiction of an obsessive maniac’s pursuit of manipulating the human body into a walrus. Yum! Fleetwood Mac recorded sections of the song at Dodger Stadium, using the University of Southern California’s marching band for the recording and the music video.
The Connection Between the Song and Film Title
For any Fleetwood fan who was watching this Kevin Smith film for the first time, the eureka moment when you recognize that the swelling drum beat is the movie’s eponymous song adds to the film’s sublime and terrifying premise.
Stream on Prime Video
4 “Future Games” in Almost Famous
Almost Famous
- Release Date
- September 15, 2000
- Director
- Cameron Crowe
- Cast
- Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand, Kate Hudson, Jason Lee, Patrick Fugit, Zooey Deschanel
- Rating
- R
- Runtime
- 122
Leave it to music aficionado and former Rolling Stone Magazine columnist Cameron Crowe to include a more obscure Fleetwood Mac track on his soundtrack for Almost Famous, using “Future Games” from the band’s post-Peter Green, pre-Stevie Nicks 1971 album.
How the Song Aligns Chronologically
During this era, John and Christine McVie were the band’s primary shareholders, and their sound was more straight-ahead psychedelic rock — a perfect fit for the movie’s early ’70s timeline. The song is used during a party scene when Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup) discusses “what’s real” in music, a constant pursuit for any rock musician struggling for authenticity and legitimacy.
Stream on Paramount+ and FuboTV
3 “The Chain” in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
- Release Date
- April 19, 2017
- Director
- James Gunn
- Cast
- Chris Pratt2, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Michael Rooker
- Rating
- PG-13
- Runtime
- 137
Another use of “The Chain” that found an even bigger audience was in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 — first when Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldaña), and Drax (Dave Bautista) leave their rocket to fix the Milano, then again during a huge fight scene between Quill and his dad Ego (Kurt Russell).
James Gunn’s Love for Rock ‘n’ Roll Sountracks
The entire Guardians of the Galaxy franchise has tapped classic rock as its primary soundtrack genre, and director James Gunn has been quoted as saying he thinks the second installment has the best soundtrack. That’s thanks, in no small part, to “The Chain” — which is essentially the key song in the film.
Stream on Disney+
2 “Oh Well, Part 1” in Jerry Maguire
Jerry Maguire
- Release Date
- December 13, 1996
- Director
- Cameron Crowe
- Cast
- Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr., Renee Zellweger, Kelly Preston, Jerry O’Connell, Jay Mohr
- Rating
- R
- Runtime
- 139
Another Cameron Crowe movie, another lesser-known song by Fleetwood Mac, as the music-savvy director used “Oh Well, Part 1” for Jerry Maguire. The song is the sole composition on this list from Fleetwood Mac founder Peter Green, who left the band rather unceremoniously after creating it in 1967. Green was a preeminent guitarist in the ’60s British Blues movement, first playing for John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers before establishing this outfit.
Peter Green’s Legacy with Fleetwood Mac
For his efforts, Peter Green was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998, only a few years after having one of his best songs appear in the award-winning Crowe film. Green was known to be quite an eccentric after leaving the band, having been seldom heard from in the subsequent 50 years — until his death in 2020.
Stream on AppleTV+ and Prime Video
1 “Go Your Own Way” in Casino
Casino
- Release Date
- November 22, 1995
- Director
- Martin Scorsese
- Cast
- Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci, James Woods, Frank Vincent, Pasquale Cajano
- Rating
- R
- Runtime
- 178
No song says ‘divorce’ quite like “Go Your Own Way”, which immortalized the ugly nature of uncoupling by showing, in gory detail, the dramatic dissolution of “Ace” Rothstein (Robert De Niro) and Ginger McKenna’s (Sharon Stone) marriage in Casino.
How the Song Reinforces the Scene
The song was a dramatically-perfect fit, as it plays on a car radio while Ace and his closest confidante, Nicky (Joe Pesci) discuss getting Ginger to come back after one of her many outbursts. Little does Ace know that Nicky’s been having a little dalliance with Ginger, himself. Ah, the beauty of matrimony! Casino may be Scorsese’s greatest soundtrack, as he shifted from the ‘Wall of Sound’ songs in Goodfellas to a more rock-heavy soundtrack in Casino, signaling the shift in time periods.
Stream on Peacock and Paramount+
