STANSPOTTING #00003 - SNOWPIERCER

The inclusion of the old jazz tune "Midnight, the Stars and You" in Bong Joon-ho's epic dystopian sci-fi allegory Snowpiercer is now confirmed to be a willful, not so subtle reference to The Shining. According to the blog Consequence of Sound:

The Shining and Snowpiercer share a couple notable similarities on the surface: Mother Nature (in both films, the brutal cold prevents the heroes from escaping) looms large in the background, and the final scenes depict a woman and a child escaping into the harsh environment, hoping for a better life. But Marco Beltrami, who scored Snowpiercer, reveals this connection with his choice to include “Midnight, The Stars and You”. In a pivotal scene, Curtis leads his comrades through a steaming sauna ... with Franco the Elder in hot pursuit. The near-indestructible Franco knocks Curtis out, only to be distracted by (and eventually killing) two of Curtis’ best soldiers. Franco then turns his attention to finding the security expert Namgoong (Kang-ho Song) and his assistant Yona (Ah-sung Ko), who have been opening all the doors for the rebels. Franco methodically fixes his suit and slowly begins to search the sauna for Namgoong and Yona. As he does so, “Midnight, The Stars and You” plays faintly in the background. Although Franco the Elder receives very little characterization in Snowpiercer, his character serves as a crude homage to Jack Torrance in The Shining, which is first hinted at during this scene.