# What is the most mainstream movie to not have any music? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 2, 2011, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-mainstream-movie-to-not-have-any-music/569946 "2011-02-02T22:03:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-mainstream-movie-to-not-have-any-music/569946/21 "2011-02-03T02:43:53Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > _12 Angry Men_, 1957. I was going to say, “And the 1997 remake,” but I thought I’d better check first; the judge in that one is a woman. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-mainstream-movie-to-not-have-any-music/569946/22 "2011-02-03T02:50:13Z")
> [@Ronald\_C.Semone](#): > > Did **Schindler’s List** have a soundtrack? Uh, it’s score won the Academy Award. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-mainstream-movie-to-not-have-any-music/569946/23 "2011-02-03T02:57:11Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > I quote from IMDb Trivia for _The China Syndrome_: > > All of the music in the film, including the title song “Somewhere In Between” by Stephen Bishop, comes from normal sources of music within the film: car radios, barroom jukeboxes, television commercials, etc. There is no traditional “soundtrack” of music that the audience can hear but the characters cannot. > > I feel perfectly qualified to quote that, because I wrote it. 🙂 The term for that is diegetic music. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-mainstream-movie-to-not-have-any-music/569946/24 "2011-02-03T03:18:46Z")
> [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](#): > > It would also include pretty much all _musicals_… No, in most traditional musicals, the music for most of the musical numbers does come from a soundtrack. It’s not like there’s a full orchestra standing around when, say, Eliza’s father sings, “Get Me to the Church on Time.” There are some exceptions. **Cabaret** was designed so that all the songs are performed on stage at the Kit Kat Klub (with one exception, but that’s also performed in a setting where it would be performed in real life). I think all the musical numbers in **Footlight Parade** take place either on stage or in rehearsal (but, this being Busby Berkeley, there’s absolutely no way the “stage show” could ever fit in an actual theater). **Forbidden Planet** has an electronic score; it’s debatable whether it’s music; it certainly is non melodic. A little bit of research shows that **Fail Safe** had no music. Movies without women/men? **March of the Penguins, The Lion King . . .** ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-mainstream-movie-to-not-have-any-music/569946/25 "2011-02-03T03:22:56Z")
I came in to mention **No Country For Old Men**. You don’t really notice it on the first viewing (at least I didn’t), but I have noticed it on home viewings. It is amazing to close your eyes and realize how little dialog is actually in the movie. Background noise is important in NCFOM. But there is no music except as mentioned, over the ending credits. I doubt there is a soundtrack for the movie, though. ---
**Author:** ![not\_alice](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_alice/32/7283_2.png) [@not\_alice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_alice)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-mainstream-movie-to-not-have-any-music/569946/26 "2011-02-03T03:23:02Z")
> [@janeslogin](#): > > I’m thinking a lot of film noir has no music. > > I’ve a spin-off question for you. Name some movies with no women/men. Bugsy Malone? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-mainstream-movie-to-not-have-any-music/569946/27 "2011-02-03T03:39:39Z")
Tod Browning’s **Dracula** (the one with Bela Lugosi) only has title music, plus some verheard concert music. There’s no score at all. Stanley Kubrick’s **The Paths of Glory** has no music, except a song at the end. Pretty weird, considering how important music became only a few years later in Kubrick’s films. I think the French film **Le Dernier Combat** has no music in it. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-mainstream-movie-to-not-have-any-music/569946/28 "2011-02-03T03:53:37Z")
Would _Dead Man_ count? There was a soundtrack, but it was mostly random plinks, plunks, and other sounds from a guitar or piano. I haven’t seen it in a while, so I might be misremembering, but I don’t recall anything I’d call “music” in that movie. > [@Alessan](#): > > No women - _Ice Station Zero_. Do you mean _Ice Station Zebra_ (which I’m pretty sure had no women in it), or is there actually a movie called _Ice Station Zero_? ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-mainstream-movie-to-not-have-any-music/569946/29 "2011-02-03T04:32:52Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > I quote from IMDb Trivia for _The China Syndrome_: > > I feel perfectly qualified to quote that, because I wrote it. 🙂 Hitchcock’s **Rear Window** is also like that. While there is some music in the background, it comes from sources from within the confines of the courtyard, and there is no incidental music or soundtrack music playing over the drama. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-mainstream-movie-to-not-have-any-music/569946/30 "2011-02-03T05:09:08Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > _12 Angry Men_, 1957. I’m pretty certain that the key witness, the one with th glasses marks, is an old lady. Joe ---
**Author:** ![tavalla](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tavalla/32/89_2.png) [@tavalla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tavalla)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-mainstream-movie-to-not-have-any-music/569946/31 "2011-02-03T05:55:46Z")
Do the witnesses actually appear, though? ---
**Author:** ![Dave\_Hartwick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@Dave\_Hartwick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave_Hartwick)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-mainstream-movie-to-not-have-any-music/569946/32 "2011-02-03T06:33:36Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > Master and Commander. No women with speaking roles, but there’s at least one woman in the scene where they stop for supplies in Brazil. Jack smiles at her. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-mainstream-movie-to-not-have-any-music/569946/33 "2011-02-03T08:10:22Z")
> [@tavalla](#): > > Do the witnesses actually appear, though? If you’re referring to 12 Angry Men, she does - she gives a whole statement. Joe ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-mainstream-movie-to-not-have-any-music/569946/34 "2011-02-03T11:23:07Z")
[quote=“Gary “Wombat” Robson, post:28, topic:569946”] Would _Dead Man_ count? There was a soundtrack, but it was mostly random plinks, plunks, and other sounds from a guitar or piano. I haven’t seen it in a while, so I might be misremembering, but I don’t recall anything I’d call “music” in that movie. [/QUOTE] The score’s by Neil Young, it was improvised as he watched the film. I’ve got the soundtrack, and listen to it from time to time. I’d call it music, but it’s certainly a bit random. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-mainstream-movie-to-not-have-any-music/569946/35 "2011-02-03T13:55:13Z")
No women: **[The Boys in the Band](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065488/)** ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-mainstream-movie-to-not-have-any-music/569946/36 "2011-02-03T14:00:48Z")
> [@](#): > > I’ve a spin-off question for you. Name some movies with no women/men. no women: The original version of **The Flight of the Phoenix** has no women in the cast (although there’s a memory sort of thing with footage of a part of a belly dancer. I don’t think that invalidates it). Both versions of **Sleuth** ---
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-mainstream-movie-to-not-have-any-music/569946/37 "2011-02-03T15:27:35Z")
Deleted ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-mainstream-movie-to-not-have-any-music/569946/38 "2011-02-03T15:48:28Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Stanley Kubrick’s **The Paths of Glory** has no music, except a song at the end. Pretty weird, considering how important music became only a few years later in Kubrick’s films. The German girl in the restaurant. The actress married Kubrick, BTW. Suzanne Christian/Christiane Kubrick. She’s quite a painter. ---
**Author:** ![WreckingCrew](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wreckingcrew/32/4080_2.png) [@WreckingCrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WreckingCrew)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-mainstream-movie-to-not-have-any-music/569946/39 "2011-02-03T15:59:44Z")
Lawrence of Arabia has no women in a speaking role, though I believe a nurse or two is seen wandering through. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-mainstream-movie-to-not-have-any-music/569946/40 "2011-02-03T16:53:54Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Hitchcocks ‘The Birds’ I pretty sure didn’t have any music. Correct, one of the things I learned in the film class I took. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-mainstream-movie-to-not-have-any-music/569946.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-mainstream-movie-to-not-have-any-music/569946.md?page=3)