This is the sort of question only a deaf person would ask so be patient.
Why do they have songs in the beginning of most films or during them? Are the songs supposed to tell you what the flick is about? Cause I read the songs as captions only (sounds off) & most of the time I can’t figure out why they play a certain song at the start of a certain film.
It seems as if you would have to have a complete knowledge of all songs ever written & what they mean to figure out what they are trying to say.
Good question, handy.
I was listening to a radio interview this morning on NPR (I think), and the guest was a famous Hollywood music score composer whose name I have since forgotten (I know what you’re thinking - "can’t be THAT famous or I would remember his name). Lately, he has started writing symphonies instead of movie scores, the reason being that he felt music in movies today rarely has any effect and/or relation to the movie itself. Additionally, he said most soundtracks were “needle drops”, or basically just created to sell CDs.
It makes sense that someone who can’t hear the music, but is rather provided visual indications as to what the music being played is, would notice it’s irrelevance to the story line.
Good catch!
Not many movies start with a song, in the sense of a piece of music with lyrics. They do usually have some sort of instrumental piece, but that’s usually just to set the tone, sort of like an overture.
I think the best movie that started with a song was “High Noon”, because the song is used to give you much of the backstory.
It seems to me that most songs in films now are played over the closing credits unless it’s a Disney animated film.
Well, as far as musical scores go, I think most often it is to set the tone of whatever scene it’s playing over top of, to underscore the emotions of the scenes. This is more of a WAG, but perhaps this is passed down from music of the Romantic Era: I forget what the term is, but where the the music is inspired by a story or the music creates a little story. Tchaikovksy’s “Romeo and Juliet”, for instance, has been used in numerous movie versions of Romeo and Juliet and the romantic section of it has been used similarly to underscore love scenes in other movies (it just reminds you of love). Maybe it came from operas in a similar respect; I recall Coppala using Wagner’s “Flight of the Vulcaries” in Apocalypse Now (there’s a parallel also, though). Certain music reminds you of certain things.
Now, songs (music with lyrics) are a little different. I know of numerous writer/directors who write to music (Tarantino includes a lot of the songs he has in his films because he wrote to them). Thus, the songs aren’t just at the beginning and end, but also throughout.
Also, with many independent films, it’s just more cost effective. It is cheaper to get songs from a local band than to hire a composer and an orchestra.
I never can figure out the mood of the flicks from the words of the songs, except maybe some of the James Bond flicks.
These days I just fast forward through all the opening credits, music, etc, right to the start of zee film.
heembo – The composer interviewed on NPR was Elmer Bernstein.
handy, I have to admit, I’ve wondered about why the home-video people bother to subtitle lyrics for these “extra” songs in movies. I’ve definitely noticed this; I watch movies with subtitles turned on quite a bit, sometimes with the sound muted if my wife’s on the phone, or more frequently when I’m watching a DVD with the extra commentary track and I want to be able to keep track of the movie dialogue as well. So because of this, I’ve seen the same thing you have: subtitles added for a song that doesn’t really seem to need it.
I mean, usually, these songs are blatantly tacked onto the movie – “needle drops,” as mentioned – so the corporation can sell a few more soundtrack CDs. They don’t add much to the movie, except maybe in a general sense that an uptempo, “fun” song might prep the audience for that kind of movie, while a slow, romantic song would have a different effect. So why bother subtitling the lyrics, if they don’t really add anything? I have no idea.
I’ve occasionally wondered also about, say, action and suspense sequences that rely on a tense, pounding musical track to enhance audience emotion, and how well they would work if the musical score were removed, especially when what’s going on on-screen isn’t particularly exciting, but that’s a subject for another thread…
I really liked the music and the way it played a part of the Film, “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?”
Especially “Down to the River to Pray”, by Alison Krauss - Download this song & check it out. 
Cervaise, I have never seen a dvd with subtitles. I just watch vhs with closed-captions. Sometimes they put captions on top of the subtitles, which is just plain idiotic.
I suspect that most of the songs used in films are selected for the mood created by the tune, rather than by the words. I’ve listened to the sound track albums of movies that I’ve seen and was surprised by some of the songs. During the movie, I had not been aware of the song, certainly not of the lyrics.
Probably the best AMERICAN film score composer. (the BEST being a tie between ENNIO MORRICONE and NINO ROTO)
Those opening bars of THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN tell you that you’re in for one he-- of a movie!
I agree, with very few exceptions; to open a movie with a “song” (words) is an error. However, I think I would still audibly sob even if there NO music BEHIND the end of AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER.
BTW—did you know that the 1932(?) DRACULA had no music? What you hear now was laid down many years later. Can you imagine what that film would be like if someone HAD scored it to enhance certain scenes?
Depending on the scene, it could be great. But then you’d need a good script. heh.
One of my favorite movies had this: “Heat” (Deniro, Pacino, Kilmer, etc)
The gunfight battle in downtown Los Angeles had no shaky cameras (I HATE Bruckheimer for this), no symphony, no drums, nothing but the raw sounds of what was occuring (yelling, shooting, bullets hitting things).
An excellent excellent scene that proves that music could very well have detracted from the effect.