The contrast between the portentousness of the music, Mr Lebowski’s grief and the ‘relaxed’ attitude of The Dude. Any more?
Favourite Use of Classical Music in films
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Musings on the byways of popular culture
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This was pretty memorable:-
Certainly the one I first thought of.
I love the music used in Tony Scott’s The Hunger. The fantastic opening sequence (my favourite ever) begins with Bowie, Deneuve, Bauhaus and Bela Legosi and segues into the best version of Shubert’s Trio In E-Flat Major that I’ve come across. The same piece is used in Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon, but I far prefer The Hunger version. It’s played slower than usual.
The Hunger also uses a piece from Delibes’ Lakme, which got a bit overplayed thanks to it being used in a telly commercial and in a few other films (including Scott’s own True Romance)
His brother Ridley also knows a thing or two about using music in film. This beautiful piece of music was actually composed by Irishman Patrick Cassidy and first used in Scott’s film Hannibal:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYwv7-YkhKs
Here’s the Shubert piece, The Hunger version (but set to different scenes from the film for this video):
I can’t spell Schubert.
I really like their 1976 hit single Howzat.
Another ‘best version I’ve come across’ is the version of La Wally used in Diva. Better even than Maria Callas’ version, imo.
http://youtu.be/mTLF9TIx6lE
Perhaps my favourite French film. This is transcendent.
Indeed it is.
I’d say it’s worth noting that if this film has somehow passed you by you try and see it because it really is that good. Few more stylish films have ever been made.
“La Wally” is the name of the opera by Catalani.
The name of the aria from that opera which is featured in ‘Diva’ is “Ebben! Ne Andro Lontana”
Interestingly, that aria is also featured in the film “A Single Man”, with Colin Firth, and it was pretty great there, too!
You left the accent off “Andrò”, Duco. But you’re quite right. I’ve never actually heard anything else from La Wally.
This one’s pretty memorable too:
The film Truly Madly Deeply was my introduction to Bach’s Sonata no.3 for Viol di Gamba and Piano, so this mesmerising piece of music is now indelibly linked in my mind to the film. While this is probably pretty insulting to Bach, the film is nevertheless a work of utter brilliance with an extraordinary performance by Juliet Stevenson.
– just a few bars here, but it’s the only clip I could find quickly.
Strauss’ The Blue Danube in 2001 comes to mind immediately. Kubrick was a master with film music.
There’s an interesting story about him hiring Nino Rota to do Barry Lyndon. Kubrick was a huge admirer of Fellini, and loved the way Fellini used Rota’s music in his scores. He must have offered Rota a lot of money or something, because the composer agreed to go to England to work on the score, unusual for him as he preferred to remain in Italy (he even wrote The Godfather score there, refusing to go to Hollywood).
After a couple of weeks Rota resigned from the job and went home. What Kubrick had grossly misunderstood was HOW Fellini and Rota worked – a lot of talk, and mucking round on the piano, and then Rota would go away and write the most exquisitely beautiful music. Fellini trusted him. Kubrick was a control freak, and tried to direct the music as well as everything else.
In the end Kubrick used a selection of classical music, and the film won an Academy Award for Best Music score (for the arrangements of Vivaldi and stuff – they’ve since thankfully changed the criteria for Best Music score).
I thought immediately of Barry Lyndon. While there’s no denying Kubrick was a control freak, he was no fool when it came to understanding how music can be used to remarkable effect (2001) and in the case of Barry Lyndon, how it can accentuate the pace and texture of a film.
This clip is just one of many examples:
The second half of this article deals with his use of music in Barry Lyndon
http://www.visual-memory.co.uk/amk/doc/interview.bl.html
Yebut, compare that Barry Lindon clip’s music to the clip from The Hunger above. Same music but which is nicer? For me, The Hunger version.
I thought of 2001 too, but Ligeti at the end. My eyeballs and ears fell out at the same time when I witnessed that on the big screen.
I thought of Ligeti and Schubert too. Kubrick was a major driver of interest in the classics. Let’s not forget, also in 2001, Strauss’ Zarathustra (the ape scene), or in Clockwork Orange, Ludwig van’s Ninth (the eyeball scene), or the chilling Bartok in the chilling The Shining. And there’s so much more.
Gayaneh Ballet Suite from 2001 for me. Perfectly encapsulates the loneliness of space (it says here)
That’s a really illuminating story, Mousey. Two great directors yet they both work in very different ways.
Rota is an interesting chap. As well as all his film music, he’s also written symphonies and much else besides. I presume the former enabled him financially to do the latter.
Great thread Steerpike!
Peter Wer’s Gallipoli had the perfect accompaniment with Albinoni’s adagio and Rhapsody in blue at the beginning of Manhattan.
… and Jean Michel Jarre’s Oxygene
The use of Bach’s St Matthews Passion “Wir setzen uns mit tranen nieder” for the Casino opening titles. It turned me on to Bach’s choral stuff years ago when I first saw it.
Cliche, but Platoon and Barber’s Adagio.
And let’s not forget that the Mascagni piece was also used in Godfather 3.
… and Barber’s Adagio was also used to brilliant effect in Lynch’s Elephant Man
Mozart’s “Piano Concerto No.21”, better known now by the title of the film it’s extensively used in, Elvira Madigan:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qi_J3_co3dQ
John Boorman knew a thing or two about the classics, presumably…his using Beethoven’s 7th Symphony in Zardoz and Siegfried’s Funeral from the Ring Cycle in Excalibur added to both films.
Cavalleria Rusticana in The Godfather
And
Turandot in Trainspotting
Magic
When I did the score for Heavenly Creatures, Peter Jackson originally wanted to just use classical music. He was talked out of this (thankfully) by the music supervisor, but he insisted on Puccini’s Humming Chorus for the final scene, which I absolutely could not disagree with, it works brilliantly.
Wake Up by RATM at the end of The Matrix.
Adagio for Strings and Organ in G minor by Albinoni featured in the 1975 film Rollerball.
How did I know that as when I saw it at the flicks? Simple. Renaissance used the same music for there is Cold Is Being song.
Gorgeous piece (not the vocal one) @Beany. Here are a couple more well-known classical one-hit wonders )possibly.
Newman’s Any Other Name from American Beauty:
Myers’ Cavatina from The Deer Hunter:
BTW that Adagio was also used in Galipoli.
This is used in SPECTRE, so I heard on the radio this morning. Not having seen it I’ve no idea what might be going on at the time, but it sounds lovely.
Ravel’s “Bolero” went quite nicely in “Allegro Non Troppo”
Of Time and the City – Terence Davies
Featured this:
‘Priveghiati si va rugati’ (‘Watch and pray’) by Gheorge Popescu-Branesti.
Performed by Soprano Angela Gheorghiu, the Romanian National Chamber Choir “Madrigal” and the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Ion Marin.