# Most effective use of music to illustrate a scene **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 15, 2003, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-effective-use-of-music-to-illustrate-a-scene/188705 "2003-07-15T17:48:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Morgainelf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Morgainelf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgainelf)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2003, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-effective-use-of-music-to-illustrate-a-scene/188705/1 "2003-07-15T17:48:01Z")
For me, music is usually in the “background” during movies. I don’t really notice it unless the movie is specifically about the music. I’ve been known to buy soundtrack albums, and think, “Wow, I don’t remember this song! THAT was in that movie?” But sometimes I’m struck by how perfectly a song fits with what’s going on in the scene, and it actually changes how I feel about the particular song. The scene and the song become interwoven until I can’t picture one without the other. The best example I can think of right now is “Under Pressure” in the movie **Grosse Point Blank**. Martin Blank, a hit man, is at his high school reunion and contemplating getting out of the death business. He’s sitting with a friend who doesn’t know his profession, and holding her new baby. Music swells, and we hear: “Cause love’s such an old fashioned word And love dares you to care For people on the edge of the night And love dares you to change our way Of caring about ourselves” while Martin is staring into the baby’s eyes. It chokes me up every time (I’m choking up writing this!) and I can’t hear that song without picturing that scene. What are some other “perfect matches” between music and film? ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2003, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-effective-use-of-music-to-illustrate-a-scene/188705/2 "2003-07-15T18:22:34Z")
The monkeys fighting in _2001: A Space Oddessy_ Filter’s _Hey, Man, Nice Shot_ playing during the basketball scene in _Cable Guy_ _What A Wonderful Wolrd_ at the end of the last episode of the BBC’s _HitchHiker’s Guide to the Galaxy_ TV miniseries. ---
**Author:** ![Blonde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Blonde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blonde)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2003, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-effective-use-of-music-to-illustrate-a-scene/188705/3 "2003-07-15T18:24:36Z")
I can think of one: Ghost - Unchained Melody I don’t know if it precisely fits what you’re describing, but Jaws and Psycho both contain unique scores that make one immediately think of the movie. (Music when shark’s coming near, music during the shower scene). ---
**Author:** ![Priam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/77aa72/32.png) [@Priam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Priam)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2003, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-effective-use-of-music-to-illustrate-a-scene/188705/4 "2003-07-15T18:34:13Z")
Ok I’ll be the supreme geek here and bring up the score used in _Babylon 5_ “Sleeping in Light” when the station gets blown up. Really effective stuff, very powerful. ---
**Author:** ![Morgainelf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Morgainelf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgainelf)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2003, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-effective-use-of-music-to-illustrate-a-scene/188705/5 "2003-07-15T18:37:50Z")
Another one: Deborah Foreman and Nick Cage dating in **Valley Girl** , to “Melt With You”. ---
**Author:** ![ArrMatey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrmatey/32/3522_2.png) [@ArrMatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArrMatey)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2003, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-effective-use-of-music-to-illustrate-a-scene/188705/6 "2003-07-15T18:46:43Z")
The moment in ‘Snatch’ when Frankie-Four-Fingers is told -not- to go to the casinos, they do one line (the title line) from ‘Viva Las Vegas’ and show stills of Frankie in casinos. It’s a three second thing that totally establishes -exactly- why Frankie should -not- go to casinos! ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2003, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-effective-use-of-music-to-illustrate-a-scene/188705/7 "2003-07-15T20:16:45Z")
I’m surprised no one’s mentioned Samuel Barber’s _Adagio for Strings_ during that climactic scene at the end of **Platoon** ; that was the first thing that leapt to my mind. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2003, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-effective-use-of-music-to-illustrate-a-scene/188705/8 "2003-07-15T20:21:04Z")
Rafferty’s _Stuck In The Middle With You_ from **Reservoir Dogs** Disassociation has become impossible for me now. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2003, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-effective-use-of-music-to-illustrate-a-scene/188705/9 "2003-07-15T20:47:26Z")
Imperial March. You _know_ these guys are gonna be trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Lisa-go-Blind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Lisa-go-Blind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lisa-go-Blind)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2003, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-effective-use-of-music-to-illustrate-a-scene/188705/10 "2003-07-15T21:29:11Z")
Elliott Smith’s “Needle in the Hay” to **The Royal Tenenbaums** When Luke Wilson’s character attempts suicide) Creation’s “Making Time” to **Rushmore** (going through the list of Max’s extracurricular activities) Love’s “7 and 7 Is” to **Bottle Rocket** (when they get the fireworks) Wes Anderson thinks very carefully about the music he chooses. There are many more, but I limited it to the most pervasive song from each movie. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2003, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-effective-use-of-music-to-illustrate-a-scene/188705/11 "2003-07-16T01:19:40Z")
“Hallelujah” in _Shrek_. ---
**Author:** ![Trigonal\_Planar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/0ea827/32.png) [@Trigonal\_Planar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trigonal_Planar)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2003, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-effective-use-of-music-to-illustrate-a-scene/188705/12 "2003-07-16T05:16:26Z")
Two scenes from Jurassic Park: 1. When T-Rex roars in anger and the giant banner falls from the ceiling of the Visitor’s Centre. 2. At the very end when the magnificent soundtrack plays out as the helicopter flies away from the island. ---
**Author:** ![sirtonyh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@sirtonyh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sirtonyh)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2003, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-effective-use-of-music-to-illustrate-a-scene/188705/13 "2003-07-16T06:47:54Z")
The 2 that stand out for me are; The helicopters coming over the horizon in **Apocolypse Now** set to a Wagner tune I believe (Valkyres?) The Tiny Dancer scene in **Almost Famous**. That scene could have been shot with lots of dialogue but the whole bus singing that tune worked perfectly. ---
**Author:** ![Grousser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9d8465/32.png) [@Grousser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grousser)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2003, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-effective-use-of-music-to-illustrate-a-scene/188705/14 "2003-07-16T07:08:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Trigonal Planar \* > \*\*Two scenes from Jurassic Park: > > 1. When T-Rex roars in anger and the giant banner falls from the ceiling of the Visitor’s Centre. > > 2. At the very end when the magnificent soundtrack plays out as the helicopter flies away from the island. \*\* I want to add one point, and there’s an irony here: **3)The scene where the T-Rex attacks the vehicle with the kids inside, under the rain…** Absolutely NO MUSIC! The soundtrack plays only silence! 😉 Very ironic for the thread, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2003, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-effective-use-of-music-to-illustrate-a-scene/188705/15 "2003-07-16T07:09:00Z")
My favorite film score is for the 1983 (or was it 1984?) Nick Nolte film “Under Fire”, composed by my favorite, Jerry Goldsmith. There is a scene (a rather dramatic scene with an element of triumph in it) where news of a wonderful (so everything thinks) event is being spread across a South American country. There really isn’t any dialog in this scene, it just shows newsboys and various other people spreading the news, showing the newspaper, etc. etc. All the while this wonderful South American-sounding music builds and builds. It gave me goosebumps when I saw and heard the entire effect. I can’t explain it; it just did. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2003, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-effective-use-of-music-to-illustrate-a-scene/188705/16 "2003-07-16T13:39:50Z")
Albert Finney going all ganster and shooting his way out of his house in Miller’s Crossing, to the tune of Danny Boy. Whoo! that’s some heavy shit! ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2003, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-effective-use-of-music-to-illustrate-a-scene/188705/17 "2003-07-16T13:56:00Z")
Classic Trek had some, uh, “classics”: The “fight theme”, which played whenever the cast started throwing puches and/or karate kicks, the “chase music”, whenever one starship was chasing another, and of course, that descending glissando which meant that Kirk had just taken notice of a pretty girl wandering through the scene. Any real Trekker will now have one or more of these themes running through their their head for the rest of the day… ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2003, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-effective-use-of-music-to-illustrate-a-scene/188705/18 "2003-07-16T14:40:19Z")
The shower Scene in Physco must surely be one of the best bits of music to set a scene. Even now just hearing those chords can send shivers down your spine. ---
**Author:** ![aleong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4af34b/32.png) [@aleong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aleong)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2003, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-effective-use-of-music-to-illustrate-a-scene/188705/19 "2003-07-16T14:52:39Z")
A few of examples come to mind: Aimee Mann’s “Wise Up” becoming a chorus of despair for the characters of Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Magnolia”. Hans Zimmer’s battle theme in “Gladiator”, which was based on a waltz, as a means to illustrate both the sophistication and barbarity of the Roman empire. The music that plays when Leon Lai guns down his targets in Wong Kar-wai’s “Fallen Angels”. The constant playing of “California Dreamin’” by Faye Wong’s character in Wong Kar-wai’s “Chungking Express”. ---
**Author:** ![Hodge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Hodge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hodge)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2003, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-effective-use-of-music-to-illustrate-a-scene/188705/20 "2003-07-16T20:31:00Z")
_2001: A Space Odyssey_ is filled with iconic musical moments:[ul][li]The monkeys discovering the monolith to the music of Richard Strauss’ _Also Sprach Zaruthustra_ is a scene of earth-shaking revelation.[/li][li]Johann Strauss’ _Blue Danube_ played while the ship is docking with the space station is swirling and graceful. A perfect match to the beautiful visuals.[/li][li]Ligetti’s chattering vocal music when the astronauts discover the monolith on the moon provides a wonderfully unsettling backdrop.[/ul][/li]Other favourites:[ul][li]The opening of _Raging Bull_ showing Jake La Motta sparring alone in the ring to the Intermezzo from _Cavalleria Rusticana \* endows La Motta with a grace that starkly contrasts with the brutish thug potrayed in the movie. It also lends the movie sense of operatic tragedy.[/li][_]The opening of _Fargo_ where the camera pans across snowy fields to the delicate chiming chords of Carter Burwell’s score. As a car breaks through onto the screen the full orchestra booms out and the previously charming theme of the music takes on an ominous tone.[/ul]And, of course, any piece of music by Bernard Herrman, Jerry Goldsmith, Ennio Morricone, or Nino Rota is, axiomatically, perfect for the scene in question. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-effective-use-of-music-to-illustrate-a-scene/188705.md?page=2)