Best use of music in a movie (1 Viewer)

[SteveP]

Dimitri Tiomkin's score for THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE makes the film feel downright OPERATIC.

 

[Marshall Alsup]

Score that hit me the hardest: Requium For a Dream. As the end nears and the music just builds and builds and builds. All I can say is HOLY CRAP!

 

[Angelo.M]

70 posts and no one mentions "Wise Up" performed by Aimee Mann and Co. in Magnolia. Shame on you all!

Good choice.

Recently re-watched High Fidelity and About a Boy. I had forgotten how well music is used in both of these films.

 

[Estevan Lapena]

Just off the top of my head:


CASINO : Animals - House Of The Rising Sun
Taxi Driver
Thin Red Line
A Clockwork Orange
Dawn of The Dead or Zombi or Suspiria
GOBLIN!!
2001: A.S.O - except for the extended "intergalatic moaning" scene (Jupiter and beyond). I prefer replacing that with Echoes,by Pink Floyd.
UPDATE: Forgot to add; Barry Lyndon



Another great score.

 

[Christ Reynolds]

definitely 2001: a space odyssey. quite good music in that. i also think the beach boys 'god only knows' in boogie nights works perfectly. and i enjoy the absence of music in dog day afternoon.

CJ

 

[Estevan Lapena]

Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas : Although not a sweaping score, still had some pretty good songs from the era.

 

[SteveP]

I have never enjoyed the self-consciousness and heavy-handednes of John Williams' film scores.

 

[joe jackson]

I agree with the score for Glory.

I also really love the scores for Aliens and Cinema Paradiso.

Quentin T picks great music to compliment his films.

Simon and Garfunkels music for "The Graduate"

But my favorite was the use of an operatic score for the silent film "The Passion of Joan of Arc"

 

[Matt Davies]

Ravenous for blending folk music with an otherwise dark movie, and Office Space for the most appropriate use of rap music.

 

[Mark Zimmer]

Rhapsody in Blue behind the opening to Manhattan. One of the most perfect fusions of the audio and visual in film.

 

[Angelo.M]

"The Weight" in Easy Rider.

Anyone mentioned The Graduate yet?

 

[Andy Anderson]

A throwback--

Stan Bush's "The Touch" in Transformers the Movie. Heard twice: when Optimus Prime takes out a ton of Decepticons in the battle at the Autobot base on Earth, and then at the end as Hot Rod opens the Matrix of Leadership and becomes the new leader of the Autobots, destroying Unicron. Optimus' voiceover is heard "Arise, Rodimus Prime", as "You got the touch..." is played in the background. It's enough to bring a tear to a 12-year old's eye.

Andy

 

[PS Nystrom]

-Vanilla Sky-
Everything in its Right Place by Radiohead
Sweetness Follows by REM
Njosnavelin by Sigur Ros

-Top Gun-
Danger Zone and Playing with the Boys by Kenny Loggins
Top Gun Anthem by Harold Faltermier

-Wes Anderson Films-
Bottle Rocket: 2000 Man by the Rolling Stones
Rushmore: A Quick One While He's Away by the Who
Royal Tenenbaums: the rendition of Hey Jude during the opening

Pieter

 

[Dome Vongvises]

Some awesome selections. Great topic!

 

[James~P]

"Wake Up" By Rage against the Machine at the end of the 1st Matrix, i love the choreography(sp?) with the songs fade-in intro and the flying...



Oceans11 had some nice songs that fit the movie very well...

 

[James~P]

SWAT had a cool soundtrack too :b

 

[Phil Kim]

1. Johnnie Hartman's Doe Eyes for The Bridges of Madison County: Particularly effective during the rain scene.

2. Hans Zimmer's Crimson Tide: Very patriotic.

3. Philips Glass' score to Kundun, particularly the opening Sand Mandala: Very powerful.

4. Deborah's Theme, Once Upon a Time in America: Most effective on the final reprise, as Robert DeNiro's Noodle looks up at us.

5. Finale, Once Upon a Time in the West: The combination of Ennio Morricone's operatic score swelling up and the title text rotating across the screen, sum up what the film is all about.

6. Bill Conti's The Right Stuff, particularly Yeager's Triumph: Inspiring.

 

[Ashley Seymour]

Crimson Tide Just finished watching my DVD again and am confused. The Navy Hymn is played at several very emotional times, but the end credits don't mention the composer, John Dykes. I wonder why the ommission.

Western Themes

The Magnificent Seven Best all time - Elmer Bernstein's score soars way above this mediocre film.

The Big Country Similar to above, the score outshines the film.

 

[Bruce Hedtke]

Speaking of westerns, I loved the opening choice of music for Unforgiven-"Claudia's Theme".

Also, "Where is My Mind" by The Pixies is just the perfect way to end Fight Club.

Bruce

 

[Jack Shappa]

James Horner, even if many of his scores "borrow" from his previous efforts, will always be appreciated by me for his beautiful score to Braveheart. Even if he never writes anything else that comes close to that in his lifetime, that score is about as near to perfection as I've heard.

I love most all of Horner's themes (though as you point out he tends to canibalize himself. Look at Wrath and Kahn and Aliens). But with Braveheart, his score is suspiciously derivative of the score to Conan the Barbarian. Actually the storyline is a bit similar too

- Cryo