# Movies which use classical music



## shsherm (Jan 24, 2008)

The latest example I have seen is "There Will Be Blood" which excerpts portions of the Brahms Violin Concerto. The version used is the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Von Karajan. The credits as usual go by too quickly to read all of them so I don't know who was playing the violin and this is not included in the web site for the film. Of course many are familiar with "Death in Venice" which uses The Mahler 5th Adagietto. I remember the old Oscar broadcasts when the winning composers would say "Thank you Mozart, Thank you Beethoven, Thank you Tchaikovsky". I would like to hear the recollections of others as far as the use of classical music in movies other than biographies of composers or movies like "The Great Caruso". I recently saw a film where I am certain that part of the score came from the Gorecki 3rd Symphony but this was not mentioned in the credits.


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## david johnson (Jun 25, 2007)

'excalibur' does a great job with lots of wagner and some orff.

dj


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## anon2k2 (Dec 18, 2007)

I was playing the Beethoven 6th one day (Norrington and the London Classical Players) when my visiting father-in-law said, "This is the theme from Soylent Green. I love that movie and this theme. Where did you find the soundtrack?"

A bit of education was needed and provided. He was actully pretty open to learning and we ended up restarting the disc and listening to the entire thing.


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## Gustav (Aug 29, 2005)

too many movies used classical music, Kubrick used a lot of classical music in his movies. Also, that movie "Senso" features Bruckner's 7th symphony.


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## BuddhaBandit (Dec 31, 2007)

Gustav said:


> too many movies used classical music, Kubrick used a lot of classical music in his movies


Especially that undeniably creepy use of Beethoven's Ninth in _A Clockwork Orange_... or, as Alex would say, a little "Ludwig Van"...


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## Gustav (Aug 29, 2005)

BuddhaBandit said:


> Especially that undeniably creepy use of Beethoven's Ninth in _A Clockwork Orange_... or, as Alex would say, a little "Ludwig Van"...


I loved that though! And according to wikipedia, the sales of Beethoven's 9th rose after that movie.


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## Rondo (Jul 11, 2007)

On the note of Kubrick, someone in here mentioned the use of a tubular bell arrangement of the 5th mv't of _Symphonie Fantastique_ in one of the early scenes of The Shining. I doubted it at first, but then heard it while watching the film again. It certainly gives the movement a totally different feel. Now every time I hear it, I picture that secluded area around the Overlook Hotel Kubrick filmed so meticulously.

Also, I have to mention the use of Mozart's Sym. No. 45 in Scorsese's After Hours, especially at the end! Now, for a dark comedy, that was clever!


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## BuddhaBandit (Dec 31, 2007)

Rondo said:


> On the note of Kubrick, someone in here mentioned the use of a tubular bell arrangement of the 5th mv't of _Symphonie Fantastique_ in one of the early scenes of The Shining. I doubted it at first, but then heard it while watching the film again. It certainly gives the movement a totally different feel. Now every time I hear it, I picture that secluded area around the Overlook Hotel Kubrick filmed so meticulously.


I'll have to watch The Shining again., as I didn't notice that. I've always thought that it was one of Kubrick's weaker films (though still very good), but one of Nicholson's stronger performances.


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## Rondo (Jul 11, 2007)

BuddhaBandit said:


> I'll have to watch The Shining again., as I didn't notice that. I've always thought that it was one of Kubrick's weaker films (though still very good), but one of Nicholson's stronger performances.


You have to read the book to really appreciate the details of the film. But, yeah. It didn't really have that much of a "message" like many of his other films.

You know a gifted filmmaker whenever you notice that they use music (particularly classical, but any other genre, really) in ways which are not expected or in a backdrop most people simply would not picture while only listening to the song before.

To allude to the current discussion in the _Most Haunting/ Beautiful_ thread, using unoriginal music in this way ruins how others (whom haven't previously heard the song) perceive the song from that point forward, and, also, the structural aspects they would be more likely to remember. (I use the word "ruin" ambiguously, since this utility of classical music can be both good and bad--it depends on your perspective. Is music meant to be that flexible or does the composer have the "final word"? Is it even *possible* for the composer to have final say on how his or her music is to be perceived?)

And then, there are songs which are heavily overplayed in film. Classic examples being _In the Hall of the Mountain King_, and _William Tell,_ and _1812_ Overtures.


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## trojan-rabbit (Nov 27, 2007)

Shine, lol


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## BuddhaBandit (Dec 31, 2007)

Rondo-
I have read the book which I liked a lot (and I, in general, dislike Stephen King). The movie just didn't have the same impact for me that _A Clockwork Orange_ or _Full Metal Jacket_ had.

You're totally right about filmmakers and music. Hitchcock was a genius at using music in interesting ways, and Kubrick was as good. As for the associations that come with using music in films, I happen to like how music can change as its setting changes (not only in films)- listening, for example, to a Buxtehude organ work on a dark, dreary night in an old house has a completely different effect than listening to it on a sunny day at the beach. I find this chameleon-like aspect of music fascinating.

In fact, one of my favorite non-classical albums of all time- Moby's Play- works in just this way. Moby takes old blues and gospel recordings from the 20's and 30's and layers them over techno and house beats. A completely new and unexpected setting for bluesmen like Charlie Patton, but undeniably perfect.


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## pianoorlando (Feb 13, 2008)

My favorite will always be Bartok's Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celeste in the Shining.


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## trojan-rabbit (Nov 27, 2007)

> And then, there are songs which are heavily overplayed in film. Classic examples being _In the Hall of the Mountain King_, and _William Tell,_ and _1812_ Overtures.


I love _In the Hall of the Mountain King_, definitely a favorite


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## Rondo (Jul 11, 2007)

BuddhaBandit said:


> Hitchcock was a genius at using music in interesting ways...


He was, as was Bernard Hermann with his scores. Though Hitchcock was skilled in the placement and use of music in many of his films, the fact that he first chose to have _Psycho_ run without music always baffled me. Imagine what a film of that scope would be like without music. This isn't to imply that the success of the film emminated completely from the music, but rather that the music set the tone for much of the film much better than most films. It also didn't overwhelm the movie, like many film scores tend to do.

Someone mentioned _There Will be Blood_ at the start of this thread. The use of music in that film is also the work of pure genius. Many have stated how the score is too dramatic, or overkill. I think not. As a matter of fact, it reminded me a lot of Hermann's music in _Psycho_. The cinematography gives us the setting and all the details, but the music conveys a particular emotional reaction to that setting. There's the physical atmosphere of cinematography and the emotional atmosphere of music as another layer of it. There are cinematographic techniques which contribute to certain emotional reactions, I know, but none as powerful as music.


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## shsherm (Jan 24, 2008)

I just recalled another movie from around 1957 or so which used music from Brahms 3rd Symphony. The movie was called "Backstreet" and I'm pretty sure that Susan Hayward was in it.


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## Henkdawg (Feb 26, 2008)

I vaguely recall a movie called "Barfly" with Mickey Rourke where he's always listening to Mahler. The Mahler seems to start anytime he talks about death. Finally a movie combing drinking and classical music!


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## Pianoforte (Jul 27, 2007)

In the film GroundHog Day the hilarious Bill Murray plays a character called Phil Connors who is a very arrogant tv personality who will only ever smile at someone elses misfortune. Later in the film, after his character has been through some turbulent times, he is seen in a restaurant while Mozarts Piano Sonata 16. K545. 1st movement is playing on the radio. He is enjoying it immensly and looks around smiling at other diners to see if they are enjoying it too. This brief scene and its context showed me how music can touch anyone and change their outlook and its what got me learning the piece (which I have always loved but never knew its composer/title) and which I very recently completed.


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## R-F (Feb 12, 2008)

Barber's Adagio for Strings seems to be played in movies an awful lot. Also, Chopin's Funeral Sonata is almost like a cliche now when it comes to the subject of death.


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## David C Coleman (Nov 23, 2007)

Someone maybe able to help me..But I seem to remember a film starring Peter Arne about a relationship with a Stallion, located on Dartmoor or Exmoor..Used Sibelius's 5th symphony to good effect....very old film..maybe 1960's..


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## Dividend (Mar 14, 2008)

Kubrick. I agree with Buddha, that King's books usually is bad. The shining is a great movie though..

2001. Also sprach Zarathustra (Thus spake... in english), the best musicvideo of Strauss Einleitung I have seen.
Completely perfect, and Kubricks movies often are.


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## James (Jul 11, 2004)

All the films out there use classical music!


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## Dividend (Mar 14, 2008)

No. They don't.


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