crossroads(the 80's blues movie)
fame
the graduate
young at heart
one from the heart
fame
the graduate
young at heart
one from the heart
Great films where music is a central theme.
I'm a film lover for as long as I can remember. There's nothing like a film that combines my passion for music and film. I'm going to leave out concert films from this, as there are plenty of threads on that. Lets stick to other films - dramas or documentaries - that use music as a central theme, or have it as a key element in the narrative. Here are a few of my own favorites to get the ball rolling.
As it is in Heaven
The Bands Visit
Schultze Gets the Blues
Troubled Water (the Erik Poppe film)
Sweet and Lowdown
Bird
'Round Midnight
I'm Not Here
Documentaries:
Throw Down Your Heart
The Devil and Daniel Johnston
Lets Get Close (Bruce Weber)
Buena Vista Social Club
Bob Dylan: Don't Look Back
Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man
So it's really could be split into two threads; Narative films and Documentaries. But lets try leaving it open to both, just no concert films. What are some of your favorites?
As it is in Heaven
The Bands Visit
Schultze Gets the Blues
Troubled Water (the Erik Poppe film)
Sweet and Lowdown
Bird
'Round Midnight
I'm Not Here
Documentaries:
Throw Down Your Heart
The Devil and Daniel Johnston
Lets Get Close (Bruce Weber)
Buena Vista Social Club
Bob Dylan: Don't Look Back
Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man
So it's really could be split into two threads; Narative films and Documentaries. But lets try leaving it open to both, just no concert films. What are some of your favorites?
159 responses Add your response
"Dogfight"- set in the mid-sixties. Music is integral to the plot. One of my favorite movies. "Midnight in Paris" (Owen Wilson's character finds romance thanks to vinyl- not to mention a great soundtrack). "Taking Sides"- not a great movie; Furtwangler deserves better, but still worthwhile due to it's subject matter. Also a nod to "Almost Famous". I'm also glad "Umbrellas of Cherbourg" was mentioned. |
"Un Cour en Hiver" fits the bill and uses a wonderful performance of Ravel's string quartet . . . but what a depressing movie! I also think "Super Fly" needs to be mentioned, as one of the most significant aspects of the film is how Curtis Mayfield's soundtrack conflicts with the plot glamorization of Priest's life, and becomes the main point of the story. |
I'm trying my best here to keep the thread on track, but I guess my command of the English language is not good enough. I'll continue to post'em as I think of'em. Hopefully we'll get more material that is to the point of the thread and fewer folks posting films that simply have great soundtracks (not at all what I was after here - so Dogfight, Thin Red Line, Apocalypse Now, The Mission, Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, Journey into Amazing Caves and Local Hero have no place in this thread, though all may have compelling musical scores or soundtracks there is no content to their stories that has anything to do with music as part of the central story of the film). The Big Chill...I don't think so, Bill. I think someone else mentioned that. The only connection to music in the film is that dishwashing scene - but I don't think that really puts music as part of the actual story - great soundtrack for sure, and music makes that film in many ways, but it is not part of the story, it simply enhances it and sets the period firmly. Music as content of the actual plot/story is mandatory, and what this thread is about. It can't be just incidental, such as a scene in the movie where a band plays a song, or someone wears headphones and talks about their favorite music. No. Music must have some roll in the actual story....please! The thread Nazi has spoken. Naratives: Departures (wonderful!) Documentary: Anvil: The Story of Anvil |
OK. Don't watch those or listen to the music if you do then. A movie guide would be a good source of info for movies with a pure music theme. Would "Walk the Line" qualify? Mr Holland's Opus comes to mind. HAven't seen it in a while but I recall a strong central music theme that reached me. I think "A HArd Day's Night" qualifies. This is a good one to watch with closed captioning on to really be able to understand the bantering humor behind those heavy Brit accents. |
Mapman - yep, you got it. Exactly. Both those films are exactly what I'm after. Where the subject or some key aspect of the plot has something to do with music. It does not have to be the entire story, though that's fine too, but some aspect of it must include music as a key element. Tubegroover, I think there's plenty of films out there that still have not been mentioned. No need to go to the mediocre selections (though I've never seen any of those you posted I'm taking that as your inference). Certainly you could go to a movie guide and look up examples. I guess I was interested in films folks had seen and might recommend to others here, since we're all a bunch of music lovers here. This applies to everything I've mentioned thus far - I'd recommend any one of them, some more than others, but not a dud in the bunch, IMHO. |
No one mentioned the score for Psycho because it does not fit the criteria I've set forth and repeated ad nauseum for the thread. This is not a thread about scores or soundtracks. There is absolutely NOTHING in the plot or story of Psycho that relates to music. Zero. Zilch. Nada. This parrot is bleeding deeemised! Don't let the door hit you on the way out. Nor do Lost in Translation nor Amelie have music as part of their stories that I recall. Nor does Mike's Murder. You all need to retake the class or come after school for a makeup session. Does anyone actually read the thread before posting? There's going to be a surprise quiz at some point here. |
Hey Duke you blew it man and are risking the rath of the OP, read carefully, NOT soundtracks BUT where music is a central theme. In Psycho the music is effect, not the central theme. I hear you concerning Bernard Herrmann though, among a small handful of the greatest composers ever for film. My favorite, "Taxi Driver", now I'm risking the rath for going off on a tangent as well! |
OK, I'll have to take some responsibility for the errant ways of my pupils here. Obviously I've somehow given the some misleading guidance from the start, and neglected to consider that folks tend to read three words and think they understood everything there was to understand about a post on the Internet. In retrospect I should have called the thread "Movies about Music", but I didn't really want to eliminate films where music was a plot element, yet was not necessarily the central theme. So I titled the thread what I did, and tried to describe it as best I could. I hope folks realize my "wrath" is all tongue-in-cheek and, being a film lover, as well as a music lover, I always love hearing about new films I may not have seen or aspects of films I didn't know about. I will continue to endeavor to keep the thread on track because there ARE plenty of threads on soundtracks and scores already and I did NOT want this to be another one of those. I will continue to edit with a sense of humor - I hope no one takes it personally, and I hope Richard's visits to various members who violated my dictate here... well, I hope those scars heal quickly, and that the women and children of the households did not have to bear witness to those disciplinary actions. |
08-06-11: Jax2While "Psycho" is clearly not within the thread's boundaries, it brings to mind another Hitchcock film scored by Bernard Herrmann that does fit, the 1956 version of "The Man Who Knew Too Much." The section entitled "Music" in this Wikipedia writeup on the film has some interesting information, including the fact that Mr. Herrmann was the orchestral conductor during the film's lengthy climactic (although not concluding) scene. Best regards, -- Al |
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story At the risk of sending Marco into a violent, convulsive siezure, I will note that Marshall Crenshaw's sountrack is great. To bring him back out of it, I'd add that the story is a "mockumentary" (a la Spinal Tap) which details the travails and joys of a fictional musician called Dewey Cox and is hilarious. Marty |
Jax2, Surprised we didn't come up with Young Frankenstein. I think the violin theme definitely meets the parameters. Then there is also Dreamgirls, which we missed somehow. Back to your question about Close Encounters: I said "close" because I wasn't entirely persuaded it fit the thread. The idea that the "space people" communicated via music, including the fugue written on that five note theme, is why I think it belongs. I couldn't come up with Crossroads, but glad Bianchi did. It was hovering just outside my awareness. David |
