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Best use of Rock/Pop songs in movies


Damien F

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I was watching Zodiac yesterday and was struck by the excellent and creepy use of Hurdy Gurdy Man during one of the murders. It got me thinking of other excellent uses of rock/pop songs as underscore. Clearly Quentin Taranino is the king of this - from Stuck In The Middle to Cat People, he has an unrivaled skill for this.

Power of Love from BTTF also has a significant nostalgia for me also.

What do you think are the best/favourite examples of this?

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It's been mentioned twice so far, but yeah, BTTF nailed this.

But just to make sure, I'm going to mention it again....

....along with "Sweet Home Alabama" in Con Air, "Moondance" in August Rush (though I'm cheating a bit on that one), "Blue Moon" by The Marcels in An American Werewolf in London, and dozens of others.....

Good thread!

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Easily BTTF. Huey Lewis' songs make this film - Marty skateboarding down the road to Power of Love is iconic for me.

I can't name many off the top of my head, but there have been many films where one or two songs in critical places make much more impact than the score. Zombieland for example, has a really nice song during the mansion dancing scene, whereas David Sardy's score was just 'there'.

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I like that eerie scene in Saving Private Ryan where the squad is listening to Edith Piaf before the end battle, as Upham translates.

I also liked the Chris Cornell song in Casino Royale.

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Across the Universe.

For the most part, I disagree. There were only a few arrangements of songs in it that were good.

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Maybe an honorable mention to TWLIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE for "Midnight Special"? ;)

I was upset that wasn't on the original album, so I had to seek it out separately. It's not even on the FSM.

Like there was room on the FSM for any CCR.

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What do you think are the best/favourite examples of this?

Good topic! Two of my favourites are Matt Munro singing On Days Like These as that lamborghini drives through the Alps at the beginning of The Italian Job and, from a similar era, the Mike Curb Congregation singing Lalo Schifrin's Burning Bridges as Clint speeds off in his jeep through the rain-soaked German ranks at the start of Kelly's Heroes.

Another that sticks in my mind is the way Philadelphia is so effectively bookended by Springsteen's Streets of Philadelphia, over the shots of Philly folk going about their everyday lives, and by Neil Young's Philadelphia (City of Brotherly Love) over the final scene. Who didn't have 'something in their eye' at the end of that one?!

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Can't believe no one has mentioned Michael Mann's films so far. Moby's cover of "New Dawn Fades" in Heat and "Auto Rock" by Mogwai at the end of Miami Vice are just a few classic examples.

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