# 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:** 2
**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 19, 2014, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-scenes-made-better-by-the-music/695838/21 "2014-08-19T14:21:35Z")
This one? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/vmd1qMN5Yo0/maxresdefault.jpg "The Shooting AKA Dear Sister") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmd1qMN5Yo0) ---
**Author:** ![Kelevra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/97f17d/32.png) [@Kelevra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kelevra)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-scenes-made-better-by-the-music/695838/22 "2014-08-19T14:26:23Z")
_Jaws_. I doubt there’s anyone left in America who doesn’t know what that music means! ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-scenes-made-better-by-the-music/695838/23 "2014-08-19T14:52:38Z")
Conversely, [the run on the bank scene](http://vimeo.com/37034368) from **It’s a Wonderful Life** always impressed me because of the lack of music. Capra had added a dramatic wash of violins when George learns his dad died, so it wasn’t just a matter of overall style. Why a shot of George running down a street with no music, no dialog; the background sound just everyone panicking in the rain? Maybe because the audience had experienced that firsthand and that was enough to evoke as needed. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Universe\_Lashes\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8797f3/32.png) [@The\_Universe\_Lashes\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Universe_Lashes_Out)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-scenes-made-better-by-the-music/695838/24 "2014-08-19T15:10:56Z")
28 Days Later, when the guy comes out of coma and is walking around an empty London to the song “East Hastings" by Godspeed You Black Emperor. Also, I don’t really like Journey, but “Don’t Stop Believing” was perfect at the end of The Sopranos. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-scenes-made-better-by-the-music/695838/25 "2014-08-19T15:17:55Z")
_Don’t Stop Me Now_ in **[Shawn of the Dead](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4tVH7BPb-Q)** _Don’t Be Shy_ in **[Harold and Maude](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3taMrJZ6p8)** Beethoven/Tchaikovsky/Grieg in **[Soylent Green](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOV8mBjHHYg)** ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-scenes-made-better-by-the-music/695838/26 "2014-08-19T15:21:10Z")
> [@swampspruce](#): > > 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 > Any others you can think of? I thought in the last episode of Season two of The Americans, where they used Golden Earring’s _Twilight Zone_ worked perfect. The song was out around that time, and it’s such a strange song that is about spies that it just worked. I also liked the song, though off the top of my head I don’t remember what it was called, that they used in the last scene of House, when House and Wilson were riding off on the motorcycles. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-scenes-made-better-by-the-music/695838/27 "2014-08-20T02:13:23Z")
A favorite of mine, although the scenes are far too short: **Blade Runner**. The early flyover scenes of hellish Los Angeles, and Deckard and Gatt flying to Police HQ. ---
**Author:** ![thinksnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thinksnow/32/2849_2.png) [@thinksnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thinksnow)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-scenes-made-better-by-the-music/695838/28 "2014-08-20T02:37:26Z")
_Out of Gas_ from Firefly had a very moving score that really helped, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-scenes-made-better-by-the-music/695838/29 "2014-08-20T02:44:56Z")
> [@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… Moments before that song started, I had turned to my wife and said, “That lead actor sure looks a lot like Lindsey Buckingham back in the day.” (Hijack: Blew my mind to discover the actor is English. Yes, I’m familiar with \*House, The Wire (two \*guys!), and _Homeland_. No wonder Bryan Cranston joked, in his DVD commentary during the first scene of _Breaking Bad_, in Laurence Olivier-esque accent: “Nobody knows I’m British!”) ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-scenes-made-better-by-the-music/695838/30 "2014-08-20T03:07:40Z")
Remember guys, the OP is talking about **unusual** musical choices, like a 20th century happy tune during a big futuristic disaster. I thought about the ending of Ozamo Tezuka’s Metropolis. I Can’t Stop Loving You by Ray Charles was used for the cataclysmic end and it enhances it. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-scenes-made-better-by-the-music/695838/31 "2014-08-20T03:56:14Z")
[Blue Velvet:\*\* In Dreams.\*\*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmsrO8xpe-w) ---
**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 20, 2014, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-scenes-made-better-by-the-music/695838/32 "2014-08-20T14:39:04Z")
**GIGO** has the idea. There are a lot of music scores that are evocative and for want of a better word, stunning. John Williams score in Star Wars was a prime example. Quentin Tarantino, I believe, is a master of using music to set tone, or juxtapose the two for effect as well. It’s funny that a many of these posts instantly transported me to the scene as soon as I read them. Thanks for Ferris Bueller and Dear Sister, I had forgotten about them! One more that I thought was well done was from Clockwork Orange with “Singin’ In The Rain”. Keep them coming, I haven’t seen some of these before and I can see why you put them up! ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-scenes-made-better-by-the-music/695838/33 "2014-08-20T17:17:42Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Remember guys, the OP is talking about **unusual** musical choices, like a 20th century happy tune during a big futuristic disaster. Oops. You’re right. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_great_unwashed/32/4791_2.png) [@The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-scenes-made-better-by-the-music/695838/34 "2014-08-20T17:35:26Z")
[The Pixies _Where Is My Mind_ at the end of _Fight Club_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVof0qj7SOw). ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-scenes-made-better-by-the-music/695838/35 "2014-08-21T10:22:41Z")
Lots of people hate it, but I really thought the use of Queen’s _We Will Rock You_ in _A Knight’s Tale_’s jousting scene conveyed the actual Medieval attitude towards jousting quite nicely i.e. a spectator sport equivalent to the footie today. Lute music just wouldn’t have cut it. And there’s a scene in Marie Antoinette that uses New Order’s _Ceremony_ that I love. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-scenes-made-better-by-the-music/695838/36 "2014-08-21T14:45:44Z")
> [@The\_Great\_Unwashed](#): > > [The Pixies _Where Is My Mind_ at the end of _Fight Club_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVof0qj7SOw). I was going to say that! Instead, even though I didn’t like the Matrix that much, the Rage Against the Machine song at the end really worked. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-scenes-made-better-by-the-music/695838/37 "2014-08-21T16:58:28Z")
The [attempted gangland hit from Miller’s Crossing](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x20TMRnPR40), paired with Danny Boy. Great contrast between the violence and the peaceful song. (Sorry about the crappy video quality). ---
**Author:** ![ccarljc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@ccarljc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccarljc)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-scenes-made-better-by-the-music/695838/38 "2014-08-21T17:25:59Z")
The End by the Doors-Apocalypse Now This Guys in Love With You-herb Alpert-closing credits for End Of The World ---
**Author:** ![BigShooter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f07891/32.png) [@BigShooter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigShooter)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-scenes-made-better-by-the-music/695838/39 "2014-08-21T17:37:25Z")
The ending of [Donnie Darko](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PUFJmsCZLE) [SPOILER]. One of the best endings to a movie ever… ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-scenes-made-better-by-the-music/695838/40 "2014-08-21T18:30:41Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > [This scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IowunN9Y5yE) from Goodfellas. Goodfellas is full of scenes that are great because of the music. Before I clicked on your link, I figured it would be [this scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Sr-vxVaY_M), or maybe [this one](http://youtu.be/7_pvKEfTDk4?t=1m9s). In fact, Goodfellas would qualify as the answer to a thread entitled, “Great _movies_ made better by the music”. So many scenes in it have become iconic because of the music playing in the background. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-scenes-made-better-by-the-music/695838.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-scenes-made-better-by-the-music/695838.md?page=3)