# Best use of classical in films



## grignon (Sep 12, 2006)

Which film (or television program) made the best use of classical music.
Maybe excluding biographical works like amadeus.

Stanly Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey did amazing things with a wide range of styles -almost as if he had scripted the visuals to the music (instead of editing the footage)

The late 60's/early 70's NBC nightly news closing theme was the scherzo from Beethoven's 9th symphony. That is what hooked me as a 12 year old.


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## Oneiros (Aug 28, 2006)

Definately some of Kubrick's films. The use of Rossini's Thieving Magpie Overture in A Clockwork Orange was excellent! This and 2001 would be the best in my view.


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## NightHawk (Nov 3, 2011)

I love how NBC still (I think) uses a skeletal paraphrase of that 9th symphony scherzo - it sounds modern, yet the rhythmic gestures and tonal implications are the same as Beethoven's gymnastic opening!


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

The Wizard of Oz - used Night on Bald Mountain, Schumann's Happy Farmer, a Mendelssohn Scherzo. A great score and many younger viewers today don't get the classical references.

Counterpoint - one of Charlton Heston's movies where he plays a conductor as he and the orchestra are trapped behind enemy lines. Some great music played - and Heston proves once again that you just can't fake being a musician or a conductor.

The Lady Killers - the original, B/W version uses Boccherini's Minuet - a perfect musical choice for this funny crime movie. The first time I saw it I was asking everyone what that music was I liked it so much.

Help! - yes, the Beatles. Made use of Lohengrin, Barber of Seville, Beethoven 9th and "1812".

Of course the real gems are the Warner Bros. cartoons - the great ones from the 40s and 50s, some 60s. They made reference to the classics constantly and I'm not the only one who learned to love those classics thanks to Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Daffy Duck and the rest. Then Warners screwed up and went with hip, pop music and ruined cartoons for all time.


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## Eva Yojimbo (Jan 30, 2016)

A favorite short, experimental film of mine called In Absentia by the Quay Brothers makes great use of a Stockhausen piece:


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## licorice stick (Nov 24, 2014)

One of the greatest Russian movies, Tarkovsky's "The Mirror," makes extensive use of Bach, especially St. Matthew's Passion.


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## Logos (Nov 3, 2012)

mbhaub said:


> The Lady Killers - the original, B/W version uses Boccherini's Minuet - a perfect musical choice for this funny crime movie. The first time I saw it I was asking everyone what that music was I liked it so much.


To which version of The Lady Killers are you referring? The 1955 version is in color.


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## MarkW (Feb 16, 2015)

I keep hearing classical gestures in filmscores that either are (John Williams) are aren't intentional.

Jaws -- the ferry-debarking sequence is pure Stravinsky.
The Perfect Storm -- The Firebird out of Appalachian Spring
The Omen -- quasi-Carmina Burana
Beauty and the Beast -- "This Provincial Town" starts off like the Pastoral Symphony
The Right Stuff keeps wanting to sound like Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto

As for best use of CM:

Babe is a favorite -- Saint-Saens, but also Wagner in one scene
Meistersings' Dance of the Apprentices in one scene of Boorman's Hope and Glory
Also Wagner in Boorman's Excaliber
Kubrick's use is good, but his films generally leave me cold.
I have a hard time hearing Sacre de Printemps without seeing dinosaurs.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Death in Venice - lots of Mahler.


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## Logos (Nov 3, 2012)

Many Preston Sturges movies use classical music to comic effect: _Sullivan's Travels_ uses an orchestrated version of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. _Unfaithfully Yours_, in which Rex Harrison plays a conductor, is filled with classical music. The climactic train scene in _The Lady Eve_ is underscored by the beginning of Wagner's Tannhäuser overture.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Logos said:


> To which version of The Lady Killers are you referring? The 1955 version is in color.


I saw a comment (maybe on IMDB) that it _should _have been in B&W. Whoever it was said that he always turned the color controls on his TV all the way down so he could watch it that way!


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## Jacck (Dec 24, 2017)

only killers/psychopaths listen to classical music in movies
Hannibal Lecter - Goldberg variations
A Clockwork Orange - Beethoven
Leon - the bad guy listens to Beethoven


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## Logos (Nov 3, 2012)

Jacck said:


> only killers/psychopaths listen to classical music in movies
> Hannibal Lecter - Goldberg variations
> A Clockwork Orange - Beethoven
> Leon - the bad guy listens to Beethoven


Don't forget super-villains who feed people to sharks.


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## MarkW (Feb 16, 2015)

On the other hand, John Thaw as Inspector Morse in the PBS series had impeccable taste.


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

Logos said:


> To which version of The Lady Killers are you referring? The 1955 version is in color.


It was! My error. When I was young and first saw it, it was broadcast in B/W but yes, my DVD copy is in full, faded, color.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Art Rock said:


> Death in Venice - lots of Mahler.


Yes! You beat me to it. Glorious use of Mahler's music-especially the Adagietto from Symphony 5!!!


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Master and Commander used classical music very effectively.


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## Cadenza (Sep 24, 2012)

Brief Encounter (1945) with Trevor Howard used Rachmaninov’s 2nd Piano Concerto as the entire soundtrack.


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## Clouds Weep Snowflakes (Feb 24, 2019)

I created two threads im music section about two moives that represent that well, I also really like "the nutcracker and the four realms".


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## David Phillips (Jun 26, 2017)

Nazi newsreels used Liszt's Les Preludes, as did one of the Flash Gordon serials.


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## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

The widespread use of Janacek's music in The Unbearable Lightness of Being is very effective.


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## mikeh375 (Sep 7, 2017)

As if I wasn't in floods of tears as it was, then they played Barber's Adagio in Elephant Man...it affected me for days and days.


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## flamencosketches (Jan 4, 2019)

Manxfeeder said:


> Master and Commander used classical music very effectively.


RVW's Tallis Fantasia, no? I could see that being pretty effective in a seafaring film.


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## MatthewWeflen (Jan 24, 2019)

Cloud Atlas has some pretty amazing music, which is definitely situated within the classical idiom.


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## Thomyum2 (Apr 18, 2018)

Has anyone watched the Spanish/Catalan TV show _Merlí_? (Highly recommended if you haven't seen it.) They include a bit of classical music in each episode, a different piece or composer in each one, very effectively chosen and timed with what's going on in the story.


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## BachIsBest (Feb 17, 2018)

Bach's Violin Concerto in E major is used quite nicely in Ingmar Bergmann's _Persona_.


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## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

Penderecki and Ligeti used in The Shining are extremely effective, to say the least!

Bartok, Vivaldi and Tchaikovsky are used well in Being John Malkovich.


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## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

Simon Moon said:


> Penderecki and Ligeti used in The Shining are extremely effective, to say the least!
> 
> Bartok, Vivaldi and Tchaikovsky are used well in Being John Malkovich.


Bartók in The Shining too! Same piece, MfSPC.

And Penderecki gets some royalties from the Andrzej Wajda film Katyn. Not a fun film to watch, admittedly....


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## Aleksandr Rachkofiev (Apr 7, 2019)

The second movements of Beethoven's 7th Symphony and Emperor Concerto were used very effectively in The King's Speech - fantastic movie in other regards too!


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## PlaySalieri (Jun 3, 2012)

Wagner in Excalibur. Mainly the ending when Excalibur is cast into the lake.


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## StrE3ss (Feb 20, 2019)

Platoon, Samuel Barber Adagio for Strings


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## PlaySalieri (Jun 3, 2012)

Rossini in A Clockwork Orange -


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## flamencosketches (Jan 4, 2019)

Aleksandr Rachkofiev said:


> The second movements of Beethoven's 7th Symphony and Emperor Concerto were used very effectively in The King's Speech - fantastic movie in other regards too!


A bit of Mozart too if I'm not mistaken, when Bertie is wearing headphones the Figaro overture is playing loudly.


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## Rubens (Nov 5, 2017)

The movie Birth makes good use of the prelude to Die Walküre.


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## PlaySalieri (Jun 3, 2012)

Aleksandr Rachkofiev said:


> The second movements of Beethoven's 7th Symphony and Emperor Concerto were used very effectively in *The King's Speech - fantastic movie in other regards too!*


I could never quite fathom why people like this film.

A king with a speech impediment and his endeavours to conquer it isnt that interesting a story.


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## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

StrE3ss said:


> Platoon, Samuel Barber Adagio for Strings


And Amelie and The Elephant Man.


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## Open Book (Aug 14, 2018)

Recently I heard what is for me the worst use of classical music in film: Brahms's violin concerto in "There Will Be Blood". The film ends with a shocking act of violence perpetrated by a lead character whose psychopathic tendencies we have been treated to for two-plus hours. The the finale of the concerto plays and continues through the final credits. So jarring.


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## Larkenfield (Jun 5, 2017)

Allegro non troppo


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## Brahmsianhorn (Feb 17, 2017)

Melancholia is a strange, dark film, but I loved the use of Tristan und Isolde.

But first prize in this category should be obvious: Amadeus


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

In The Silence of the Lambs, in the scene where Lecter is in a cage in a Tennessee courthouse, and two guards serve him dinner and he manages to bite his way past them and escape with one of their skinned faces over his own, the music he’s listening to as he’s waiting for his meal to show up is the Aria from Bach’s Goldberg Variations.


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## Mifek (Jul 28, 2018)

From another thread:
https://www.talkclassical.com/31218-best-film-uses-non-4.html#post1548592


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## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

*The Shawshank Redemption*:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "Le nozze di Figaro" ("Canzonetta sull'aria")

*Amadeus*:
Pick any.

*The Paper Chase*:
Johann Sebastian Bach's Partita no. IV in D

*Philadelphia*:
Gasparo Spontini's opera "La Vestale" (O nume tutelar)

*The Godfather, Part III*:
Pietro Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana


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## Room2201974 (Jan 23, 2018)

In keeping with the OP mentioning the movies of Kubrick, my vote goes to Alex North's brilliant score for _Spartacus_.


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## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

Some not mentioned ...

*Hilary And Jackie*, the questionable bio of the DuPre sisters; lots of concertizing, mainly by Jackie. Also has Jackie, Barenboim and Perlman practicing a trio.

*Magic Fire*, the 1950s film about Wagner. It's never come out on VCR, DVD, download or anything.

*Vanity Fair *(2004); Reese Witherspoon plays a period keyboard and sings.
*
Impromptu*, the PBS production about Chopin, Liszt, Delacroix and George Sand. The former pair play Beethoven's 7th on 2 pianos.

*Barry Lyndon*, Kubrick's masterpiece of Thackery's novel. Kind of odd realization of Schubert's trio.

*Testimony*, based on Volkov's book about Shostakovich. Lots of his music throughout but if you haven't read the book you won't understand what's going on in the film. Great scene of Shostakovich being joyful the day Stalin died.

*The Shining* uses a lot of eerie 20th century music by Bartok, Penderecki, Ligeti, Wendy Carlos and others for effect.

Here's an odd list: https://www.cmuse.org/classical-music-moments-in-movies/


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

No Night Is Too Long has the famous trio from Der Rosencavalier .


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## HistoryJoe (Mar 12, 2019)

Preston Sturges did some pretty innovative film work of the orchestra playing Rossini's "Semiramide" in *Unfaithfully Yours*. Not one of his best comedies.

Alan Arkin plays a deaf-mute in *The Heart is a Lonely Hunter* and a character finds a way for him to "hear" Mozart's Jupiter symphony through various means. Touching scene


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## HistoryJoe (Mar 12, 2019)

Preston Sturges did some pretty innovative film work of the orchestra playing Rossini's "Semiramide" in *Unfaithfully Yours*. Not one of his best comedies.

Alan Arkin plays a deaf-mute in *The Heart is a Lonely Hunter* and a character finds a way for him to "hear" Mozart's Jupiter symphony through various means. Touching scene


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

HistoryJoe said:


> Preston Sturges did some pretty innovative film work of the orchestra playing Rossini's "Semiramide" in *Unfaithfully Yours*. Not one of his best comedies.
> 
> Alan Arkin plays a deaf-mute in *The Heart is a Lonely Hunter* and a character finds a way for him to "hear" Mozart's Jupiter symphony through various means. Touching scene


Isn't that the film based upon Beecham? If yes ;I remeber there are lots of classical pieces.


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## HistoryJoe (Mar 12, 2019)

Rogerx said:


> Isn't that the film based upon Beecham? If yes ;I remeber there are lots of classical pieces.


Oh, cool. Didn't know about that. It's definitely a love letter to orchestral music. That opening scene with Rex Harrison conducting is strikingly modern - crane shots, perfect edits and nice pans into closeups of the musicians. I love the cymbal joke.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

HistoryJoe said:


> Oh, cool. Didn't know about that. It's definitely a love letter to orchestral music. That opening scene with Rex Harrison conducting is strikingly modern - crane shots, perfect edits and nice pans into closeups of the musicians. I love the cymbal joke.


Yep thats the one, got some Wagner and Tchaikovsky to, as it does some Christmas song as I recall .


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## HistoryJoe (Mar 12, 2019)

HistoryJoe said:


> Alan Arkin plays a deaf-mute in *The Heart is a Lonely Hunter* and a character finds a way for him to "hear" Mozart's Jupiter symphony through various means. Touching scene


I misremembered this in case any one was going to chase it down: Jupiter is heard at a concert; the acting out happens at 60 minutes in and is the first movement of Mozart's Haffner Symphony K 385


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## StrE3ss (Feb 20, 2019)

True Romance, Origins of Sicilians scene

Lakmé by Léo Delibes


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