This one?
Jaws. I doubt there’s anyone left in America who doesn’t know what that music means!
Conversely, the run on the bank scene 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.
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.
Don’t Stop Me Now in Shawn of the Dead
Don’t Be Shy in Harold and Maude
Beethoven/Tchaikovsky/Grieg in Soylent Green
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.
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.
Out of Gas from Firefly had a very moving score that really helped, IMO.
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!”)
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.
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!
Oops. You’re right.
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.
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.
The attempted gangland hit from Miller’s Crossing, paired with Danny Boy. Great contrast between the violence and the peaceful song. (Sorry about the crappy video quality).
The End by the Doors-Apocalypse Now
This Guys in Love With You-herb Alpert-closing credits for End Of The World
The ending of Donnie Darko [SPOILER]. One of the best endings to a movie ever…
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, or maybe this one.
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.