Criteria for choosing:
-Has to be a pre-recorded “pop song” (no original scores composed for the films).
-Song has to be non-diegetic, which is a fancy way of saying that the characters in the movie are not aware that the song is being played. This rules out any musicals or sing-alongs or songs blasting through speakers. (Meaning, no Say Anything boombox and I had to leave out “California Dreaming” from Chungking Express which was tough because I love that one…)
-Most importantly, it has to be the perfect marriage of sound and image. The music wasn’t just chosen to be slapped over some meaningless montage. And not only does the music compliment the visuals, it elevates them– like peanut butter to jelly, or some bougie wine to an expensive filet of fish (what she order??).
Some of my favorites are:
“Needle in the Hay” by Elliott Smith - The Royal Tenenbaums
The movie up until this point is light and idiosyncratic in that distinctly Wes Anderson style. Halfway through, things start to spiral downward and turn darker and crescendos with this brutal Elliott Smith ballad, serenading Richie as he cuts his hair, shaves, and attempts suicide which is shot and edited meticulously. The sudden shift in tone shouldn’t work but the song guides us into the transition. The result is haunting and beautiful.
“Mad World” by Gary Jules - Donnie Darko (Warning: Spoilers ahead)
Again, this is the ending of the movie so if you didn’t watch it (which is CRAZY if you love mind-trip sci-fi puzzles), don’t watch the video and don’t read the following blurb!
First of all, the cover by Gary Jules of Tears for Fears’ “Mad World” is amazing. He managed to completely reduce it down to its emotional core and just the arragement itself is heartbreaking. The stripped down version is perfect for Donnie Darko’s ending because all the film wants to show now are the raw emotions. Donnie has just sacrificed himself to save the world and the camera looms over every person that has been directly affected by his existence, or rather, non-existence. Donnie is gone but the piano and echoing vocals bring out the sadness we, the viewers, feel at our hero’s disappearance but it also suggests that the people, although now unaware of Donnie ever existing, somehow feel that lack all too well.
“When the Man Comes Around” by Johnny Cash - Dawn of the Dead
It’s one of the best opening credit scenes ever. To use a fast-paced Johnny Cash song as a prelude to a zombie film is genius. The song immediately sets the pace as we are bombarded by the flash of news reels and found footage that give us all the back story we need to know about the zombie outbreak. Zack Snyder, the director, is smart because he knows that we’ve all seen tons of zombie movies before and are used to all the gimmicks. But he throws a curve ball as the gruesome images help bring out the fact that “When the Man Comes Around”, for all of its happy-go-lucky chords and rhythm, is actually about the apocalypse. Also, I love the credits’ red font that bleeds off.
“Free Bird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd - Forrest Gump
Jenny here is at her nadir, living in complete debauchery of sex, drugs, and rock & roll. She looks regretfully into the mirror and steps outside and onto the balcony. As she stands at the ledge, contemplating ending it all, “Free Bird” climaxes into those insane dueling guitar solos. The raging song and clashing solos reflect her own warring emotions. She finally steps down and clutches herself as the song fades out. It’s a magnificent scene and whose heart didn’t stop when she loses her footing? (In those unstable high heels, no less!)
“Angeles” by Elliott Smith - Good Will Hunting
One of my favorite movies and another Elliott Smith. His songs just have a way of punctuating that specific type of loneliness that revels in itself. Here, Will is melting down after a series of great things happening to him (meeting Skylar, meeting Sean, doing complex math at Harvard rather than being a janitor, prestigious job opportunities). He tells Sean that he wants to be a shepherd which forces him to kick Will out for his defeated sarcasm and Skylar makes her final attempt to reach out to the broken orphan, even going so far as to say the three sacred words. But Will is unyielding and simply replies, “You take care” which immediately cues Elliott’s fragile voice as it streamlines throughout, commenting on how alone this guy really is, or wants to be. Only for it to lead directly into the best scene of the movie, Chucky’s “no goodbye’s, no see you later” speech (which, til this day, I still hail as Ben Affleck’s finest hour).
“The Blue Danube” by Johann Strauss II - 2001: A Space Odyssey (click picture for video)
And of course, no list is complete without Kubrick, the master himself. The story goes that Stanley was listening to this classical piece in the background as he was editing and it just happened to fit the flow of the space sequence so well that he went ahead and put it into the final cut. The waltz transforms the vessels, dockings, and space itself into some glorious ballet. Even the floating pen is rendered as graceful as a ballerina.
“Keep Hope Alive” by The Crystal Method - Replacement Killers
Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the video of this online but the scene goes like this: A suave-as-hell Chinese guy dressed to the nine’s with a blood red tie walks into a nightclub, makes his way calmly through the crowd, close-up shots of his polished shoes hitting the floor, he walks up to a table, places a bullet in front of a man, then proceeds to shoot and kill all the men sitting at said table while of course, doing a 180-degree turn in slow motion to kill the last target.
Of all movies, this was the one that got me into filmmaking. The lights, the slow motion, and Chow Yun-Fat’s cool demeanor. But the clincher was that Crystal Method song blasting through the speakers. It just made everything happening on screen that much cooler. It was a great opening to an otherwise mediocre action movie but hey, it kickstarted my love for cinema.
And many more to come in Part 2!
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battlecriesandbananas liked this
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kangalex said:
you win! dawn of the dead. one of my favorite movies, the intro seriously sets the pace and its amazing. getsme pumped up to watch the movie
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ahnmin posted this
