Best use of music in a movie (1 Viewer)

What are some of the movies that you feel use music in a spectacular way? It can be for comedic/dramatic effect. It can be score or contemporary song or anything.

LOTR:FOTR: The boy soprano piece after Gandalf's fall

Almost Famous: "Tiny Dancer" of course in the bus singing scene

T2: "Bad to the Bone" coming out of the bar

X-files episode "all things": Not really a movie but still a great use of Moby's "Sky Is Broken".

The Royal Tenenbaums: "These Days" with Margot getting off the bus and walking in slow motion

The Royal Tenebaums: "Judy is a Punk" during the montage of Margot's lovers

Your turn

I really enjoyed The Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations" in Vanilla Sky.

thanks Kevin - youve just told me which Moby song I need to be looking for. I thought that piece of music was great on the X Files, and could tell it was Moby, but I didn't know which track

Another great pieces of music is used several times in Seasons 8 and 9 of The X files, (it figured prominently early in Season 8 usually when Scully was thinking about Mulder's disappearance). It features a female vocalist (it could be Lisa Gerrard) but I have no idea whats is called. Anyone any ideas ?

Whilst much criticised I think the James Horner's score for the actual sinking of the Titanic (after the band has finished playing) is extremely effective. Similarly his score for the final 10 minutes of Braveheart (especially the sword throwing bit ) is brilliant.

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.

There are so many and so many different types of scores.

Of the classic films Gone with the Wind always springs immediately to mind. Others, in no particular order (and Agee Basset will have a more considered view than I will, if I spent a couple of years doing nothing else).

·Lawrence of Arabia—even more epic that GWTW
·The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’
·The Godfather, although I like some of Rota’s scores for Fellini better (especially Juliet of the Spirits).
·Vertigo or Psycho

and many others

I’m also quite taken with the use of music in many of Spike Lee’s films: check out Do the Right Thing and Mo’ Better Blues

Not a particularly good score but I do like the use of music in The Big Easy

And how can you go past 2001 for the effective use of classical music in a score?

John Williams: "Jaws" theme, the Empire theme in SW:TESB, and Duel of the Fates in Episode 1.

Two other LOTR:FOTR pieces that work for me are:

1. The (boys?) choir music when the ring is being discussed (Pass of Caradhras and Amon Hen, both times when Boromir is being tempted), and

2. The music toward the end when Frodo decides to take the boat across Anduin, and Sam goes after him.

Hans Zimmer's score in The Thin Red Line has managed to choke me up on a few occasions.

Definitely the previously mentioned moments in LOTR.

Immortal Beloved is on my short list.

Heck, I'd vote for pretty much all of Rushmore. Although hard to single out any one bit, I could go for "A Quick One While He's Away" (the slow motion elevator scene), "Ooh La La" (the close of the film), or the outstanding and unique score.

I also had quite a soft spot for Vacation's "Holiday Road". Real Genius had perfect song choices for "Man in the Making" and "Number One". I also really love the spanish version of "Hotel California" as Jesus Quintana's intro in The Big Lebowski.


I was also thinking about recent music choices that really irk me, and any use of Smash Mouth's "All-Star" (Shrek - guilty) as well as the generic and unexciting guitar from John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars strike me as being particularly bad. Actually, I think the use of that song in Shrek totally sums up my feelings about the film, but that's another topic.

25th Hour : Cavern - Liquid Liquid

That mix [of a Grandmaster Flash] captivates the urban lifestyle and partying at a club having a great time perfectly, I absolutely love it.

Also, Clint Mansell has great music in Pi and Requiem [especially Lux Antenna], ties moods in very well.

Star Wars Saga...best scores ever!
LOTR FOTR...the end with Frodo and Sam when their in the boat.
Jaws

I love the way the Coens use pop music, especially in The Big Lebowski. The Dylan tune is great, and the Creedence while the Dude is cruising in his car after he got it back is perfect.

I like the non-use of music during the 45 minute jewel heist in Rififi. The suspense really builds. I wonder if any filmmaker today would go that long without music, especially during such a pivotal scene. It really made both the director and the actors show their stuff, without music to use as a crutch.

Any opinions?

tony

"Mirror In The Bathroom" by The English Beat (or just The Beat if you prefer) during the locker fight scene in Grosse Pointe Blank. The energy of that song perfectly fits the hand to hand fight.

Halloween
When the Shape sits up and turns toward Laurie in the background, the music starting again, and I almost fell out of my chair in the theater at that point!

The Shawshank Redemption
Punch-Drunk Love
Child's Play 2 - the opening credits
Rudy
You Can Count on Me
Billy Elliot
Pulp Fiction
Dead Man Walking
Fargo

Gladiator, the score after the first battle scene is finished and Russell Crowe takes a look around him at all the chaos that just happened. I already knew from that one scene watching it in the theatre it was gonna be one kicka$$ movie which actually topped my list over one of my all time favorites, Terminator 2.

28 Days Later Basically the whole film but the Music during the final major scene...
BIG SPOILER
When Jim goes crazy in the house

That music is really awsome by itself, but coupled with that scene. *shudders*
THE MATRIX The CLANG CLANG of neos boots right before Propellerhead's SPYBREAK kicks in. C'mon, i mean its just perfect for that scene! And Rage against the machine at the end credits.
SIGNS The music during the main titles. I just love how it builds up dramiticly and gets you tense just while you're watching plain credits over a blue backround.
ALL OF WES ANDERSONS MOVIES This guy's a genuis with music and image pairing.
FIGHT CLUB The main titles. I just love it how it tricks you for a second with normal sounding orchestrated soundtrack music, but distorts and warps into the awsome theme song.