# Great scenes made better by the music **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 18, 2014, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-scenes-made-better-by-the-music/695838 "2014-08-18T16:50:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-scenes-made-better-by-the-music/695838/1 "2014-08-18T16:50:27Z")
I was thinking the other day (never a good thing) about how there have been scenes in tv and movies that became brilliant due to an unusual choice of music that was used. Two standouts for me were the opening scene for the [pilot](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bn5LjNOKSLM&list=ELNlo6av7UTK8) of “The Americans” using Fleetwood Mac’s Tusk and The [chase scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgMHPMu2GrM) in the remake of “The Hitcher” using NIN’s “Closer”. Any others you can think of? ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-scenes-made-better-by-the-music/695838/2 "2014-08-18T16:54:57Z")
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off The Ferrari Scene - OH Yeah by Yellow ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-scenes-made-better-by-the-music/695838/3 "2014-08-18T17:06:11Z")
The Blue Danube in 2001. Atmospheres was a pretty amazing choice for the stargate scene also. And it took me quite a while to realize that the random noises in the hotel room scene were from another Ligetti work. (Yes I know about his displeasure on how this was used.) The most recent sountrack CD has the whole work. Pretty much all the musical choices in that movie were unexpected and brilliant. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-scenes-made-better-by-the-music/695838/4 "2014-08-18T17:07:29Z")
_Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting_ in **Fandango**. Of course there’s always _Stuck in the Middle With You_ in **Pulp Fiction**. ---
**Author:** ![Mattie\_Blue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71c47a/32.png) [@Mattie\_Blue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mattie_Blue)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-scenes-made-better-by-the-music/695838/5 "2014-08-18T17:12:43Z")
never mind ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-scenes-made-better-by-the-music/695838/6 "2014-08-18T17:19:58Z")
Oh, those are all good. **Mattie Blue** , I also thought was really well done but I was thinking more of scenes where the music wasn’t scored for the scene, but a piece that you may never have thought to use. **lieu** , that was in Reservoir Dogs, wasn’t it? The scene where he’s cutting up the cop? Chilling. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-scenes-made-better-by-the-music/695838/7 "2014-08-18T17:22:08Z")
Ugh, yes, I had a visitor at my desk and was thinking on 6 cylinders. Absolutely **Reservoir Dogs**. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-scenes-made-better-by-the-music/695838/8 "2014-08-18T17:26:01Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > Ferris Bueller’s Day Off > The Ferrari Scene - OH Yeah by Yellow Also, “Star Wars,” when the parking lot guys (?) took it for a spin. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-scenes-made-better-by-the-music/695838/9 "2014-08-18T17:37:27Z")
_Leon_ (or _The Professional_), when Stansfield and his goons are approaching Matilda’s apartment to confront her father, with Beethoven in the background. It was like a ballet. ---
**Author:** ![Mattie\_Blue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71c47a/32.png) [@Mattie\_Blue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mattie_Blue)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-scenes-made-better-by-the-music/695838/10 "2014-08-18T17:37:31Z")
> [@swampspruce](#): > > Oh, those are all good. **Mattie Blue** , I also thought was really well done but I was thinking more of scenes where the music wasn’t scored for the scene, but a piece that you may never have thought to use. Yeah, I deleted my post when my reading for comprehension skills finally kicked back in. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-scenes-made-better-by-the-music/695838/11 "2014-08-18T17:37:46Z")
[Death scene of Elias](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JY65HhvF-8) in Platoon. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-scenes-made-better-by-the-music/695838/12 "2014-08-18T18:28:53Z")
years ago I saw one of those “behind the scenes” shows about Empire Strikes Back and they showed the scene where Princess Leia finally professes her love to Han Solo just before he is frozen in carbonite. They showed the scene both with and without the John Williams background music and the difference was very noticeable. In that scene, the music really sets the emotional tone. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-scenes-made-better-by-the-music/695838/13 "2014-08-18T18:45:00Z")
Stanley Kubrick did this a lot. Dr. Strangelove > [@](#): > > from Wikipedia: > From his collection of thousands of record albums, both classical and golden oldies, Kubrick also selected background songs and music which added to the satirical and sardonic effect: during the opening credits with B-52 bombers in flight, the song “Try a Little Tenderness” set the scene; the pilots proceeded to fly into hostile territory, knowing they would not return, to the tune of “When Johnny Comes Marching Home”; scenes depicting nuclear explosions featured the song “We’ll Meet Again”. 2001: A Space Odyssey “Also sprach Zarathustra” in the “Dawn of Man” scene. (And in the parody of it in Mel Brook’s _History of the World, Part One_.) A Clockwork Orange Beethoven’s “9th”, and “The William Tell Overture”. Full Metal Jacket “Hello, Vietnam” “Woolly Bully” “Surfin’ Bird” _The Mickey Mouse Club_ theme song ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-scenes-made-better-by-the-music/695838/14 "2014-08-18T18:53:09Z")
Scrubs had so many scenes with perfectly captured music, I can’t even count (that is why it hurts that the DVDs and Netflix have a lot of the music replaced). ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-scenes-made-better-by-the-music/695838/15 "2014-08-18T21:43:58Z")
Many parts of _2001: A Space Odyssey_ for sure. But I have to say that a really impressive overall piece of editing and orchestration is the part about 20 minutes in to _Jurassic Park_ when they first see the dinosaurs. The dialog, editing, and full-orchestral background just all comes together as a gem of superbly competent movie making. It’s really _ **too** _ slick, but it’s forgivable, because it’s almost visual poetry. ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-scenes-made-better-by-the-music/695838/16 "2014-08-19T01:25:36Z")
> [@swampspruce](#): > > I was thinking the other day (never a good thing) about how there have been scenes in tv and movies that became brilliant due to an unusual choice of music that was used. Two standouts for me were the opening scene for the [pilot](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bn5LjNOKSLM&list=ELNlo6av7UTK8) of “The Americans” using Fleetwood Mac’s Tusk and The [chase scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgMHPMu2GrM) in the remake of “The Hitcher” using NIN’s “Closer”. > > Any others you can think of? One recently watched, (binged really) was an episode of supernatural, where Sam had to kill a werewolf. They really tried to break the curse, but sometimes ya gotta put the dog down. So they played Silent Lucidity from Queensryche while you hear the sound of the gun. Very moving. Declan ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-scenes-made-better-by-the-music/695838/17 "2014-08-19T02:08:15Z")
This music/scene combo blew me away. Absolute perfection. (huge **Breaking Bad** spoiler) [link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spnE1xRRamw) mmm ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-scenes-made-better-by-the-music/695838/18 "2014-08-19T02:42:54Z")
[This scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IowunN9Y5yE) from Goodfellas. ---
**Author:** ![Figaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ea666f/32.png) [@Figaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Figaro)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-scenes-made-better-by-the-music/695838/19 "2014-08-19T14:06:50Z")
Ray Charles’ version of “Come Rain or Come Shine” during the opening credits of DeNiro’s _King of Comedy_. I also thought using Bob Dylan’s “The Times, They are a-Changin’” to cover the flashback opening of _Watchmen_ was brilliant. ---
**Author:** ![Tanbarkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@Tanbarkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tanbarkie)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-scenes-made-better-by-the-music/695838/20 "2014-08-19T14:14:05Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > But I have to say that a really impressive overall piece of editing and orchestration is the part about 20 minutes in to _Jurassic Park_ when they first see the dinosaurs. The dialog, editing, and full-orchestral background just all comes together as a gem of superbly competent movie making. It’s really _ **too** _ slick, but it’s forgivable, because it’s almost visual poetry. I was going to mention this one, though I disagree that it’s “too slick.” There’s a time and place for unadulterated wonder, and the brachiosaur reveal in “Jurassic Park” remains one of the greatest examples of this. The visual effects hold up beautifully, too - I just rewatched the movie this past weekend, and the sense of awe I felt was every bit as powerful as it was the first time I watched it twenty years ago. Sam Neill and Laura Dern do a fantastic job portraying how overwhelming the moment is, and you absorb every iota of their dumbstruck joy. (To a lesser extent, this holds true for the sick triceratops scene as well.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-scenes-made-better-by-the-music/695838.md?page=2)