Clerks is an American black and white buddy comedy film written and directed by Kevin Smith (in his feature directorial debut), produced and edited by Smith and Scott Mosier, and starring Brian O’Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Marilyn Ghigliotti, Lisa Spoonhauer, Jason Mewes, Smith, and Mosier. It was released on October 19, 1994. It presents a day in the lives of store Clerks Dante Hicks (O’Halloran) and Randal Graves (Anderson) as well as their acquaintances. It is the first of Smith‘s View Askewniverse films, and introduces several recurring characters, notably Jay and Silent Bob (Mewes and Smith respectively). Upon its theatrical release, it received generally positive reviews and grossed over $4 million in theaters, launching Smith‘s career. In 2006, a sequel was released. Additionally, a third installment was released in 2022.
Clerks: Music from the Motion Picture is the 1994 soundtrack album to Kevin Smith‘s film of the same name. The soundtrack features alternative rock, Grunge, and Punk Rock songs performed by various artists, as well as audio clips from the film. The soundtrack was released on October 11, 1994. It was composed of various new and previously released songs by alternative rock artists such as Bad Religion, Love Among Freaks, Alice in Chains, and Soul Asylum. The soundtrack also featured various sound clips from the film. It has been noted that Clerks is one of the very few films in which the cost of obtaining the rights to the music used was a great portion of the production costs for the entire film.
Tracklist:
- Dante’s Lament (Dialogue) Brian O’Halloran
- Clerks (Love Among Freaks)
- Kill the Sexplayer (Girls Against Boys)
- No Time for Love, Dr. Jones (Dialogue) Jeff Anderson, Lee Bendick
- Got Me Wrong (Alice in Chains)
- Randal and Dante on Sex (Dialogue) Jeff Anderson, Brian O’Halloran
- Making Me Sick (Bash & Pop)
- A Bunch of Muppets (Dialogue) Jeff Anderson, Brian O’Halloran
- Chewbacca (Supernova)
- Panic in Cicero (The Jesus Lizard)
- Shooting Star (Golden Smog)
- Leaders and Followers (Bad Religion)
- I Like to Expand My Horizons (Dialogue) Jeff Anderson, Brian O’Halloran
- Violent Mood Swings (Thread Mix) Stabbing Westward
- Berserker (Love Among Freaks)
- Big Problems (Corrosion of Conformity)
- Go Your Own Way (Seaweed)
- Social Event of the Season (Dialogue) Brian O’Halloran, Jeff Anderson
- Can’t Even Tell (Soul Asylum)
- Jay’s Chant (Dialogue)
The Soul Asylum song Can’t Even Tell, which was played over the film’s end credits and featured on the soundtrack, peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart in 1994. The music video for the song was directed by Smith and was filmed in the same locations as the film. The video featured Smith, Jason Mewes, Jeff Anderson and Brian O’Halloran reprising their roles from Clerks.
