The Best Uses of Music in Film

 Music is a medium much older than movies, dating back nearly 35,000 years to the Upper Paleolithic era. Movies are still a relatively recent art form starting in 1888, and even then it wasn't until around 1895 when music would begin accompanying silent films. Eventually that would all change in 1915 with some of the first music scores ever made specifically for film. Now music and movies are a marriage that has stood the test of time. We have amazing composers such as John Williams, Hans Zimmer, and Bernard Herrmann who have scored some of the most influential films of all time. And while movie soundtracks and scores are fascinating and certainly deserve to be talked about some other time, today I'm more interested in the songs already in the zeitgeist that have been put in film, and some of the best (and my favorite) examples.

SPOILER WARNING

Starting off the list is the most recent example, hailing from Mary Harron's American Psycho (2000). This movie based off Bret Easton Ellis' novel of the same name follows the story of deranged investment banker Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale). The film is one of my favorites as it blends crime, horror, and thriller into a masterful look into insanity and delusion. It can be a jarring film upon first viewing but going in blind makes the experience that much better. However one scene has transcended above the film itself and includes one of the best uses of diegetic sound in all of film. The scene sees Bateman entertaining his guest Paul Allen (Jared Leto), in doing so, Bateman decides to throw on some music, more specifically Huey Lewis and the News' 'Hip to Be Square'. The song plays over the scene as Bateman begins to prepare for the murder of Paul Allen. The song is so upbeat and hearing such a fun song being played over a gruesome murder is off-putting, leaving the viewer with an uneasy feeling (as if axe murder wasn't enough to do that). The scene on its own is iconic but when watching the full film or even the movie up until that point, having that song is perfect. It truly shows how disassociated Bateman is from reality, or the consequences of his actions. 

The next entry on this list comes from Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket (1987). Once again another novel adaptation (Gustav Hasford's "The Short Timers"). This song comes at the very end of the film and it's another chilling use of a usually happy song. The film pulls no punches in showing the horrors of the Vietnam War without glorifying it like most war films tend to do. This may have been the second to last film that Kubrick ever directed but I truly believe this is some of (if not) his best work. The story follows Pvt. Joker (Matthew Modine) as he navigates boot camp and the gruesome reality of the Vietnam War. As the movie ends we are met with a shot of Marines marching through burning rubble of a Vietnam city as they sing "The Mickey Mouse Club Theme" from the show of the same name. The show debuted in 1955 and by 1968 (the year FMJ takes place) it puts our Marines at the perfect age to have grown up on the show. Having Marines march through death and destruction while chanting out theme of a children's show as the main character narrates about his desensitization to the war is chilling and really puts into perspective the years of trauma combatants would experience during the Vietnam War.

The final entry on the list is from Martin Scorsese's masterpiece Goodfellas (1990). Which is yet another adaptation, this time of Nicholas Pileggi's 'Wiseguy'. Goodfellas is one of my all time favorite films and in my opinion is the best gangster movie ever made. The song in question is entitled "Layla Piano Exit" and is actually the latter half of the song "Layla". The song comes at a pivotal point in the film where ties are being severed. The song sets the tone for the rest of the movie, playtime is over. Scorsese always does an amazing job when crafting his films' soundtracks and this is no exception. The song is beautiful and sad, it has strong piano tones and feels uplifting while carrying a sense of impending doom. While the song belts out Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) narrates and the combination of his words and the song really tell the viewer that they better buckle up for the rest of the ride.

There are so many fantastic examples of music being used in film and some of my favorites come from the MCU and Tarantino films but those will be in another post. These are just a few of my favorites from non MCU or Tarantino projects. Movies are my favorite medium for storytelling but music has always been a close number two. I do hope you enjoyed my first post and if you think of any other examples, let me know! I’d love to hear from you!