Movie Music: Scores, Soundtracks, and Best Moments

[Jediknight]

After watching both Bill & Ted movies again, there are two moments I've got to add.

 

The first being in Excellent Adventure when they land in the future.  You had Robbie Robb's "In Time" playing, although it's not the version on the soundtrack, and it kicks into high gear when the people of the future are mimicking the air guitar and Bill and Ted are standing there not believing it.  Just the perfect song for that scene.

 

The second being in Bogus Journey, their winning of the Battle of the Bands starts with a Steve Vai guitar solo going right into "God Gave Rock and Roll II", and that song plays over the end credits where headlines are showing the Stallyns achieving their destiny.

[Jipijapa]

I admit to being a huge snob about movie soundtracks in that I really hate meaningless song compilations that are shoved into a movie.  When film composers actually do the lion's share of the work of supporting scenes and such.  Only to have their work overshadowed by some shitty pop star's latest throwaway song slapped onto the credits.  Yuck.

[DollEyes]

  As a tribute to the late, great B.B. King, there are two great movie-related musical moments related to him. One is his performance of his classic "How Blue Can You Get?" in Blues Brothers 2000 with the Gator Boys, his all-star backup band which included Eric Clapton, Bo Diddley, Steve Winwood and Koko Taylor among others and the other is his duet with U2 on "When Love Comes To Town" from U2: Rattle & Hum. Here's my favorite version of the song from the latter:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3wgoaONzwo

 

RIP, Mr. King.

Edited May 16, 2015 by DollEyes

[thuganomics85]

Usually music soundtracks aren't on the top of my list in action films, but I have to say I thought the music in Mad Max: Fury Road, was damn near perfect in every scene.  Just the way it would ramp up, when things got crazier and crazier, was almost as great as the actual action on screen.  And, then of course, there was the whole idea of the bad guys having an actual guitarist with them, who was jamming along on on a truck with the fleet, complete with speakers, amps, and back-up drummers.  Oh, and the guitar was also a flame-thrower.  Insane.  

 And, of course, it ends with Max destroying the entire thing.

[DollEyes]

Bumping it up with three great musical moments from The Color Purple. First, is "MIss Celie's Blues (Sister)": 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eK3URAH760w

 

The next is the African Wedding scene, in which an arranged marriage is juxtaposed with a scene from Celie & Mister's so-called "marriage," in which Celie almost gives Mister a very close shave:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHmBr6rlCRo

 

Last, but never least is the epic "God's Tryin' To Tell You Somethin'," which applies to several characters, especially Celie, Mister, Shug & Shug's estranged, preacher daddy:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Z8WRdGIZoU

Edited September 6, 2015 by DollEyes

[methodwriter85]

I absolutely loved the use of Uptown Girl in Trainwreck.

[manbearpig]

American Ultra's 

proposal scene, set to Snow by the Chemical brothers, was a lovely moment. Stewart and Eisenberg really do have a nice on screen dynamic, they seem relaxed around each other and it makes for good entertainment. Ends funnily too with them both getting tazered after sharing their little moment together.

[TimetoShine]

Last, but never least is the epic "God's Tryin' To Tell You Somethin'," which applies to several characters, especially Celie, Mister, Shug & Shug's estranged, preacher daddy:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Z8WRdGIZoU

I swear, this movie never fails to get me crying. 

[Bastet]

I recently watched Scream for the umpteenth time at a friend's house, and it never fails to amuse either one of us how perfect the smash cut from the principal's murder to the next scene is, thanks to School's Out for Summer kicking in as the soundtrack.

 

Sticking with the horror genre, Halloween is one of my favorites, and it would be nothing without that score.

Edited September 7, 2015 by Bastet

[DollEyes]

 Tons of great musical moments from Straight Outta Compton

like the scene when Dr. Dre & Eazy-E recorded "Boyz N. Da Hood," the making of "Straight Outta Compton" the album, N.W.A's first live performance together, their Detroit performance of "Fuck Tha Police," which lead to them getting arrested and a riot, "No Vaseline," Ice Cube's dis track after he left the group and the makings of "Nothin' But A 'G' Thang" & "California Love," which featured Snoop Dogg & the late, great Tupac Shakur, respectively and the finale montage to the title track, showing all of Dr. Dre & Ice Cube's contributions to hip-hop and pop culture over the last 25 years

.

Edited September 9, 2015 by DollEyes

[Crim]

Mediterranea (this one)'s use of (I can't believe I am typing this) a Rihanna song. Truly excellent. Btw, the movie will be released (dunno how widely though) this month. I recommend it. It's amazing.

[DollEyes]

 This thread wouldn't be complete without the epic scene  from Kingsman: The Secret Service, in which a brainwashed Agent Galahad goes on a murderous rampage to Lynrd Skynrd's "Free Bird," which is the only time I've ever liked that song:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1G_siVTTJO4

[xaxat]

When I was a kid in the seventies, the very first thing I bought with my allowance money was the soundtrack to Star Wars. (I still have it.)

 

Hearing all of the classic John Williams themes in the trailers for the newest movie still sends shivers up and down my spine. Especially the Imperial March.

Edited November 29, 2015 by xaxat

[cpcathy]

It might sound weird, but when I was little my mother would put on the Star Wars soundtrack for me to listen to as I fell asleep at night.

[Luckylyn]

I loved what the Dream Academy did with The Smiths "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want" for Ferris Bueller.  This instrumental version is lovely and is tied with the original as a favorite for me. Plus, when I hear the original version I always think of Cameron and how the song just goes with him.  John Hughes was wonderful at music selections.

 

[methodwriter85]

I basically only watch Pretty In Pink because of "If You Leave":

 

[AimingforYoko]

My two favorite directors for music selection are John Hughes and Quentin Tarantino.

[xaxat]

The music for the opera house scene was cut all to hell, but I really liked the choice of Puccini's Turandot as a musical theme throughout the score of Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation. 

 

In short, the opera is about a mysterious woman who poses a series of riddles to the hero and he has a limited time to answer them or he will be executed. Which is pretty much the plot of Rogue Nation. 

[NutMeg]

Hey, it's been my thinking for a while that movie soundtracks were the clasical music of our times :) in part because some are so great we cannot ignore them, and in part because they are the only true clasical music left with a large audience!

 

On older movies, I love, love, love Miles Davis' soundtrack for Lift to the Scaffold/ Ascenseur pour l'échaffaud / Elevator to the Gallows, absolutely gorgeous. I've tried copying the link, but didn't get anything that works directly. It's a very diverse soundtrack, and each part is so spot on when you watch the movie.

[Ronin Jackson]

It's pretty cool that December brought new scores from two 80+ year old film music legends, John Williams and Ennio Morricone. John Williams did a fine job for his new Star Wars score, but Ennio Morricone's score for The Hateful Eight is fantastic! I think it's up there with his best work, and the highlight of that film.

[Luckylyn]

Crybaby has some great musical moments.

 

[Spartan Girl]

As a way of paying tribute to David Bowie, I always loved the montage in Inglorious Basterds to "Cat People."

 

https://youtu.be/bM5mTEavepU

[Schweedie]

This is random, but... I laughed and almost clapped when the soundtrack suddenly burst into the very ominous intro to "The Phantom of the Opera" during The Big Short. I don't even know why, but I just loved that - it was so unexpected, and yet I recognised it even before the first note slid into the second one.

[spaceytraci1208]

Of all the big, fantastic musical numbers in Chicago, "Mr. Cellophane" is my favorite. John C. Reilly is brilliant https://youtu.be/WKHzTtr_lNk

Edited February 5, 2016 by spaceytraci1208

[proserpina65]

For me, the Star Wars theme is pure excitement, I was eight in 1977, you went to see the film over and over and looked forward to the 20th Century Fox logo, and then, BAM--that theme. John Williams has done some masterful work but that is up there on the list just for nostalgia alone.

I'm not a fan of John Williams' subsequent work, but there's something about his score for Star Wars which brings out the excited nerdy 11 year old in me.

[Schweedie]

I was re-watching Begin Again and remembered how much I love the scene where Gretta and Dan first meet, when she's singing in the pub and Dan starts hearing what the song could be, with all the other instruments joining in one by one. It's so lovely and clever, both visually and sound-wise.

[methodwriter85]

I haven't seen Deadpool yet, but from what I understand, now is going to be a really good time to own the royalties for Angel of the Morning.

[AimingforYoko]

Speaking of Deadpool, I agree with Wade that Make It Big is an almost perfect pop album. They really did earn their exclamation point.

[Luckylyn]

This montage from D.E.B.S is so much fun.  I love the song choice.

 

[DollEyes]

Besides being drop-dead gorgeous, one of Matt Bomer's assets is his singing voice, which was put to great use with his version of the Bryan Adams' classic "Heaven," from Magic Mike XXL:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnlngZQqSuQ

 

  Even better is MB's take on D'Angelo's "Untitled (How Does It Feel)" later in the finale:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDb4U6zYgg8

Edited February 26, 2016 by DollEyes

[cpcathy]

I didn't care much for the film, but adored the TV show, season two, specifically. I'm now obsessed with this:

 

[Luckylyn]

 

 

[xaxat]

I recently watched Creed. I appreciated how the composer made references to the original score and loved it when he went full on Bill Conti for the twelfth round of the fight.

 

I got goosebumps when I heard those trumpets. 

[Spartan Girl]

So I rewatched Moulin Rouge this weekend.  I was obsessed with the soundtrack when I was in high school, and I blame this part:

 

 

Keep in mind that up until now I just knew Ewan McGregor from the Star Wars prequels.  When I first heard him sing....damn.

Edited April 20, 2016 by Spartan Girl

[DollEyes]

  In tribute to the late, great Prince, here's the opening scene from Happy Feet, George Miller's 2007 Oscar-winner for Best Animated film about Mumbles, a tap-dancing penguin, with the voices of Robin Williams, Elijah Wood, Nicole Kidman & Hugh Jackman. It's a mash-up of songs including Prince's "Kiss." As if hearing a Prince song in the film's not awesome enough, hearing HJ sing it makes it even better:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcHTn5HXSK0

 

 

  Another great Prince-based film moment was the scene from the 1989 version of Batman, when Joker & his henchmen trashed the art museum to Prince's "Partyman":

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EB-fSOds9AU

Edited April 22, 2016 by DollEyes

[Rick Kitchen]

My favorite scene from Moulin Rouge! is "El Tango de Roxanne".  Damn.

 

[AimingforYoko]

I mentioned the El train scene from Risky Business when this thread first started, and his Royal Badness' passing reminded me of this scene with his underrated classic "DMSR":

[Spartan Girl]

Thinking about David Bowie again and found this awesome moment from The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

 

Really captures the thrill of actually going out to have an adventure. Edited April 25, 2016 by Spartan Girl

[topanga]

I loved all of the George Michael in Key & Peele's Keanu. I haven't listened to the Faith album in years, but I found myself singing along to every George Michael song that was played. And I liked that the L.A. gang-bangers eventually started feeling the love, too. 

[Luckylyn]

[Sandman87]

A couple of favorite soundtracks in classical mode:

All the Mornings of the World - A historical drama with probably the saddest soundtrack that I've ever heard; all played on the viol. The music fits the story perfectly. Bring your Kleenex.

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen -  Bright, brassy, and whimsical. Perfect for the movie.

Edited May 8, 2016 by Sandman87

[Miss Dee]

Two soundtracks I had to buy almost immediately: Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightley and Far From the Madding Crowd with Casey Mulligan. 

[slf]

John Murphy scores. Love them. Sunshine's score really elevated a movie let down by its third act (though of course everyone had to use Adagio in D Minor in their trailers, as well as in The Walking Dead's season one finale), and of course In the House in a Heartbeat from 28 Days Later has such a great build (and the guitars, dayum) that never fails to put me on edge.

It's a compliment to Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow that I thought their score for Ex Machina was done by Murphy when I first heard it.

[ChelseaNH]

I watched Spotlight again recently, and the piano music struck me from the beginning.  It's really perfect for the tone of the movie.

[DollEyes]

I've just seen The Martian and their use of the O'Jay's "Love Train" over the end credits was cute. 

Edited June 5, 2016 by DollEyes
To correct spelling.

[Luckylyn]

4 hours ago, DollEyes said:

I've just seen The Martian and their use of the O'Jay's "Love Train" over the end credits was cute. 

In general the 70s soundtrack was well used and a wonderful reference to the book.

[methodwriter85]

Diary of a Teenage Girl had an AWESOME soundtrack. They used a great mix of popular and obscure hits for it.

[DollEyes]

Quote

In general the 70s soundtrack [to The Martian was well used and a wonderful reference to the book. 

  Especially outstanding along with "Love Train" were the uses of David Bowie's "Starman," ABBA's "Waterloo" and "I Will Survive," which was the perfect song for the end credits. 

Another great musical moment was in X-Men: Apocalypse,

 

with its use of the Eurythmics' classic "Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This" in the scene when Quicksilver rescues as many of the students of Professor X's school as possible, plus a pizza-loving dog 

.

Edited July 5, 2016 by DollEyes
To add stuff.

[Frisson]

The use of Berlioz's Symphony Fantastique in Sleeping With the Enemy builds the dread and despair Laura feels whenever she is around her crazed husband.

 

On a lighter note, I love Danny Elfman's work in Edward Scissorhands. It gives parts of the movie a dark fairytale feel.

Edited July 5, 2016 by Frisson

[Dancingjaneway]

On 9/27/2014 at 3:25 AM, Laurie4H said:

I think one of the best scenes is this one from All That Jazz.

Yes this was awesome!! The whole movie is so good!

Edited July 11, 2016 by Dancingjaneway