# Best use of classical music on a movie soundtrack **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 6, 2018, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-use-of-classical-music-on-a-movie-soundtrack/815535 "2018-06-06T13:27:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-use-of-classical-music-on-a-movie-soundtrack/815535/41 "2018-06-07T01:29:00Z")
> [@biqu](#): > > The overture from The Marriage of Figaro is used to great effect in _Zombieland_, during a scene where the main characters smash up a souvenir shop to take out their frustrations. The overture from The Marriage of Figaro is also used in Trading Places, which is somehow appropriate, as the story in the opera is that of a servant who gets the better of his employer. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-use-of-classical-music-on-a-movie-soundtrack/815535/42 "2018-06-07T04:29:16Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Exactly. Star Wars is out. > > Also out: Fantasia and Amadeus. These are movies _about_ classical music, and their soundtracks are 100% classical. So I guess that means no _[Allegro Non Troppo](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074121/)_, then? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-use-of-classical-music-on-a-movie-soundtrack/815535/43 "2018-06-07T04:31:50Z")
\*To Fly \*put Pachelbel’s Canon in D Major back on the map. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-use-of-classical-music-on-a-movie-soundtrack/815535/44 "2018-06-07T04:41:23Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Requiem was used for the monolith, and thus for the very beginning of the Stargate sequence. _Atmospheres_, also by Ligeti, was used for the rest. > The laughter and odd sounds during the hotel room scene came from _Adventures_ by Ligeti, uncredited in the movie. I think Ligeti sued, because only excerpts were used. The original soundtrack didn’t include it, the soundtrack on CD does. I was referring to the music used in the _Godzilla_ HALO jump scene, previously posted. ---
**Author:** ![Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b2d939/32.png) [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_Arachnid_Laser_1)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-use-of-classical-music-on-a-movie-soundtrack/815535/45 "2018-06-07T05:05:45Z")
I’m going to nominate Dennis Hooper’s death scene in True Romance, with Délibes’ Flower Duet in the background. It's an amazing scene, really. All about the contrast. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-use-of-classical-music-on-a-movie-soundtrack/815535/46 "2018-06-07T06:01:21Z")
The 1812 Overture from “V For Vendetta.” ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-use-of-classical-music-on-a-movie-soundtrack/815535/47 "2018-06-07T07:31:54Z")
Another great classical music scene: [Debussy’s Clair de Lune](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cfu9s89C-pc) in _Ocean’s 11_. It’s a terrific use of music to convey emotion. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-use-of-classical-music-on-a-movie-soundtrack/815535/48 "2018-06-07T16:57:35Z")
I’m the first to suggest this? Really? **Death in Venice**. Mahler’s third and fifth symphonies. And I don’t even much like classical music. j ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-use-of-classical-music-on-a-movie-soundtrack/815535/49 "2018-06-07T17:17:40Z")
My favorites – _2001, Fantasia, Fantasia 2000, Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon_ have already been mentioned. I’d just like to point out that Kubrick didn’t use classical music before 2001 (have a look at _The Killing, Paths of Glory, Spartacus_ and _Dr. Strangelove_ again), and he originally didn’t plan on using it in 2001, but he used classical pieces as “place holders” in the print while Alex North, who composed the score for Spartacus, wrote original music for 2001. Kubrick ended up liking the classical music better. The North score has been recorded a couple of times. I’ve got a copy. Much as I like his stuff, I think Kubrick made the better choice. Also a note about another piece of often-used music – the second movement from Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony. It’s been mentioned once above as being in _The King’s Speech_, but it ends up in a lot of places. I just heard it on TV this week in some TV show. It’s also the end music in **Zardoz** and in _Mr. Holland’s Opus_ ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-use-of-classical-music-on-a-movie-soundtrack/815535/50 "2018-06-07T18:02:35Z")
Ride of the Valkyries - Wagner Apocalypse now. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/QzkBNmHALEw/maxresdefault.jpg "Apocalypse Now Redux - Ride of the Valkyries scene, full") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzkBNmHALEw) ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-use-of-classical-music-on-a-movie-soundtrack/815535/51 "2018-06-07T18:54:40Z")
[quote=“casdave, post:50, topic:815535”] Ride of the Valkyries - Wagner Apocalypse now. [/QUOTE] From the OP: > [@](#): > > Honorable mention but ineligible: “Ride of the Valkyries” (Wagner, again) in Apocalypse Now, because it’s part of the movie action, not really on the soundtrack per se. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-use-of-classical-music-on-a-movie-soundtrack/815535/52 "2018-06-07T20:00:23Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Another great classical music scene: [Debussy’s Clair de Lune](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cfu9s89C-pc) in _Ocean’s 11_. It’s a terrific use of music to convey emotion. I listened to the director’s commentary track for that once, and I think he said he chose Clair de Lune because it was used during a similar bonding scene among the astronauts in _The Right Stuff_. I can’t find the it on youtube, but the astronauts are at a big welcoming party in Houston watching a fan dancer, intercut with Chuck Yeager making a record flight at Edwards that almost killed him. ---
**Author:** ![seal\_cleaner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@seal\_cleaner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seal_cleaner)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2018, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-use-of-classical-music-on-a-movie-soundtrack/815535/53 "2018-06-08T02:05:12Z")
> [@biqu](#): > > The overture from The Marriage of Figaro is used to great effect in _Zombieland_, during a scene where the main characters smash up a souvenir shop to take out their frustrations. Also in _Trading Places._ ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2018, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-use-of-classical-music-on-a-movie-soundtrack/815535/54 "2018-06-08T03:17:25Z")
Platoon: **Adagio For Strings** by Barber (does Barber count?) [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ECQeLQURNuw/hqdefault.jpg "Platoon Music Video - Adagio for Strings") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECQeLQURNuw) Raging Bull: **Cavalleria Rusticana** [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/3N4uXfnH2aA/maxresdefault.jpg "Raging Bull (Opening Sequence) HD") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3N4uXfnH2aA) ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2018, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-use-of-classical-music-on-a-movie-soundtrack/815535/55 "2018-06-08T03:52:16Z")
It wasn’t a _great_ film, but it’s one I thought was pretty good, anyway. _Knowing,_ starring Nicolas Cage, played Beethoven’s 7th Symphony, Second Movement, “Allegretto” as Cage’s character slowly drives his truck through the madness of New York as the world comes to an end. ---
**Author:** ![eunoia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eunoia/32/97_2.png) [@eunoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eunoia)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2018, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-use-of-classical-music-on-a-movie-soundtrack/815535/56 "2018-06-08T08:13:58Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Which brings us to three mentions of Stanley Kubrick already – interesting. Let’s go for four, I posted this somewhere else very recently: [Henry PURCELL - Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9GrmokeHPY) Another favourite is [Bach’s Third Orchestral Suite Air](https://youtu.be/rrVDATvUitA) in After Hours (1985) love the music, love the film. The downside is that films using classical music don’t necessarily ruin the pieces, but they do hijack your imagination and memories of them. ---
**Author:** ![nachtmusick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ac91a4/32.png) [@nachtmusick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nachtmusick)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2018, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-use-of-classical-music-on-a-movie-soundtrack/815535/57 "2018-06-08T09:29:10Z")
> [@Yookeroo](#): > > Barber’s Adagio for Strings in [Platoon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECQeLQURNuw) That’s the one I wanted to mention, but now someone else has beaten me to it. I feel that much more sad. ---
**Author:** ![CelticKnot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/celticknot/32/3392_2.png) [@CelticKnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CelticKnot)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2018, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-use-of-classical-music-on-a-movie-soundtrack/815535/58 "2018-06-08T15:42:34Z")
I can’t believe I didn’t think of this already. Ravel’s _Bolero_ in _10_. I don’t know anyone who knew that song before the movie. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2018, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-use-of-classical-music-on-a-movie-soundtrack/815535/59 "2018-06-08T15:52:39Z")
> [@CelticKnot](#): > > I can’t believe I didn’t think of this already. > > Ravel’s _Bolero_ in _10_. > > I don’t know anyone who knew that song before the movie. [Raises hand]. My parents had it on a record that I played over and over as a little kid in the '60s. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2018, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-use-of-classical-music-on-a-movie-soundtrack/815535/60 "2018-06-08T18:39:17Z")
> [@CelticKnot](#): > > I can’t believe I didn’t think of this already. > > Ravel’s _Bolero_ in _10_. > > I don’t know anyone who knew that song before the movie. What, seriously? 😕 _Bolero_ was written in 1928, and there has hardly been a day since then when it _wasn’t_ wildly popular. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-use-of-classical-music-on-a-movie-soundtrack/815535.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-use-of-classical-music-on-a-movie-soundtrack/815535.md?page=4)