What suspends my disbelief more than anachronistic soundtracks are soundtracks which heavily use pre-existing pop or rock songs.
I can deal with a song playing during the opening or closing credits, or the occasional montage, but it completely takes me out of the movie when it happens all the time.
A recent example for me would be “Children of Men”. There’s one particular scene where King Crimson’s “Court of the Crimson King” starts blaring. I felt like at this point I was no longer watching a movie, but some kind of extended music video instead.
I guess I can understand how certain songs elicit strong emotional reactions from people, and that’s why directors include them, but for me it just ruins the experience. Especially when half of the soundtrack is other people’s songs.
As someone who thinks the majority of movies have way too much music in them, I’d say my favorite examples of movies not ruined by music are by the Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami. Typically, he has no music in the soundtrack at all, until the very last scene, when – after the movie has built up whatever emotional tensions through story, visuals, etc. – the music hits you like a ton of emotional bricks. First example to come to mind is “A Taste of Cherry,” which ends with Louis Armstrong playing “St. James Infirmary.” It’s absolutely perfect.
Agree with Scarface - and this is coming from someone who loves the soundtrack, but it totally doesn’t fit with the film.
If you watch that movie without nostalgia goggles, and realize the movie is shit, the music is the only thing thing that makes it bearable. I used “The Touch” as a ringtone for awhile.
It has been a long time since I watched it, but (especially in contrast to the first movie) I recall that I really, really hated the music to Ghostbusters II.
*Too hot to handle, too cold to hold,
They’re called the Ghostbusters and they’re in control,
Had ‘em throwin’ a party for a bunch of children
While all the while, the slime was under the building
So they packed up, regrouped, got a grip, came equipped,
Strapped a proton pack on their back and they split!
They’re on about Viggo, the master of evil,
Tryin’ ta battle my boys? That ain’t LEGAL!
Ohhhh-weee—ohhh… y-y-ya know it.*
The fact that I recall that from memory, frightens and appalls me.
It’s been a long time, so my memory might be faulty, but I remember watching The Firm starring Tom Cruise and based on Grisham’s first novel (or first big hit, anyway), and feeling like the music ruined it. The music seemed like it was from a Peanuts cartoon.
But his “The Thing” score is perfect, all doom and melancholy.
[Yes I know it was technically written by Morricone but JC took the bits he liked and re-worked them.]
The movie was ruined by bad directing, shitty acting, and a premise so stupid you could drive a truck through it long before the soundtrack (not “score”, “soundtrack”) was laid down, but for my money you cannot do worse than 2 hours of AC/DC being played during Maximum Overdrive. OMFG, I can’t stand AC/DC.
I was enjoying “The Artist” until the the theme of “Vertigo” was played during a climatic scene. I found it distracting.
Also, Disney’s “The Black Hole” had the WORST action music I’ve ever heard.
It sounded like they hired a 5th grade music class to play the music. The movie was already quite terrible, but the music was actually distracting me to the point where I said “WTF kind of crap music IS this?”
I beg to differ on all counts. I’m not especially fond of synthesizers or even Vangelis (except for The Friends of Mr. Cairo), but Blade Runner’s score is one of the things that make Blade Runner a great movie.
My contribution to the thread is For Your Eyes Only, which is the best of the Roger Moore Bond movies. But the disco guitar-laden soundtrack is truly a victim of its times. ‘Ruins’ is a bit strong, but it’s really jarring and it sillifies a movie in a series that has more than enough silliness already.
