Just for fun. Three movies spring to mind for myself when I think of what moves me here. In no particular order.
Rocky Horror Picture Show. So camp it is brilliant! Tim Curry slays it! Just way too much to begin to mention. I can still get a blast from it now. Let's do the Time warp again!
The Blues Brothers. Ah, Jake and Ellwood. Just for the record this was the second VHS tape I ever bought( first was Enter the Dragon) Just so right....
Rock of Ages. Now before you all run off gagging, it most certainly was not for Cruises wooden performance. Catherine Zeta Jones was notable though. No it was for the pair who stole the show.
My favorite kind of music is pop. Actually, i like all kinds of music. but the most favorite part is pop. That is because most people listen to music.
https://amthanhanhsangviet.com very great
Quentin's use of specific songs in scenes in the movie is evidence of his deep familiarity with Pop music from the 50's onward. Particularly cool is the scene in which DiCaprio's character makes an appearance on a TV show, Tarantino having him singing "The Green Door", a song from 1956 that is a cult favorite with Rockabilly aficionados. Very hip.
On The Beach. Waltzing Matilda played over and over again. Probably should not be on the list. Unless maybe you are Aus, and you really, really like Waltzing Matilda.
Philadelphia Last of the Mohicans Stealth Some of Fifth Element I am SamLion KingCountry Strong Queen of the damned She's the one Armageddon Kubo and the two strings-while my guitar gently weeps Beyond the sea The doors The Lost boys Top Gun Yesterday Breakfast club Tron August rush Miami vice Collateral Mulan there are so many more
Loved the Commitments, Rocky Horror is always fun, Haunting sound of the Good bad & ugly stands out, No Cat Stevens fans for the sound track of "Harold & Maude'?
It impressed Oliver Stone so much.... that he rushed out and made ’natural born killers’.
’Love & a .45’ is the funner, funnier, hipper, more alt film...more sublime version of ’Natural Born Killers’. The kind of film... where there are scenes in there..that might just stay with you for the rest of your life. In the end, that’s all you can ask of a good film. The are lines in it, that are insanely quotable, and will stay with you for a long time.
(just because this film has not been mentioned yet)
SO, kind of kidding in my first post, but THRILLED, THRILLED that someone listed The Commitments...AWESOME, and thank you. For some reason (senior moment??) I totally forgot to list it.
I also should have listed The Glenn Miller Story as I am a big band fan, and Help! and A Hard Days's Night (call me Mr. Obvious); Saturday Night Fever (for some of us) is a classic. I realize many hate the BeeGee's and disco, and I get that as I am a soul music fan (1950's and '60's), but whenever SNF comes on, I always listen to the opening. Both film-wise and music wise, this low-budget, throwaway film that was considered kind of a joke became culturally significant. I have to believe it was the music and dancing...the "plot" is kind of thin, right?
Anyway, great film music conductors and those who write and choose the music to accompany the visual have a tough job. Most of the time, they do a pretty good job making the film more enjoyable at the very least, and spectacular when they are at the top of their abilities.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch is easily one of the best rock musicals ever and Criterion just released in Blu Ray and 4K.
The 5th Element. Any score by. Eric Serra is highly enjoyable.
Once Upon a Time in America. Epic orchestrations by the master Ennio Morricone.
If you want a wonderful example of film underscoringcand and electronic music. Seek out the Val Killer movie The Saint. Graeme Revell is great. He also did Sin City and The Crow.
Don Juan DeMarco - a wonderful little film with Dep, Brando and Dunaway. The opening track is "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman" receiving a Grammy nomination for best song but don't be fooled, The infectious score was composed, orchestrated, and conducted by Michael Kamen and was performed by the London Metropolitan Orchestra. This is great red book mastered by Bob Ludwig of nearby Gateway Mastering Studios. Top shelf stuff that makes a great gift!
Don Juan DeMarco - a wonderful little film with Dep, Brando and Dunaway. The opening track is "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman" receiving a Grammy nomination for best song but don't be fooled,
The infectious score was composed, orchestrated, and conducted by Michael Kamen and was performed by the London Metropolitan Orchestra. This is great red book mastered by Bob Ludwig of nearby Gateway Mastering Studios. Top shelf stuff that makes a great gift!
Paris, Texas - A dark, interesting movie with Ry Cooder keeping it all moving.
aforementioned, Cal - Mark Knopfler, nuff said.
Gladiator - No surprise, but a subwoofer tester and mood gratification.
O Brother, Where Art Thou? - Fun ride that can take you down very interesting bluegrass roads, if you chase the artists.
5 is a good stopping point. More Peace!, Pinthrift
Wow, someone mentioned my late friend and composer Aminadav Aloni for Once soundtrack he composed in 1973. He was a leader among composers of Jewish choral music in the second half of the 20th century. This was an unusual film experience for him.
I really liked the movie "Once," and thought it really showed how the creation of music flows. I also like "The Commitments" and think it's a fun movie and soundtrack. "Sing Street" is another fun music and coming-of-age movie.
The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus is notable in many ways, particularly because of the performance by the Who. The film wasn't released for what, 30 years or something because the Who so upstaged the headliners.
On another front, the bar scene in D.O.A. is truly riveting.Check it out.
Many great suggestions, but I think that the distinction between “music movie” and “movie music” has gotten blurred. Some great (best?) music movies not mentioned yet:
“Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould”. Brilliant “I Called Him Morgan”. Documentary film about the great Jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan. “A Great Day In Harlem” ”The Benny Goodman Story”. ”Fantasia”. While some might argue that the central theme here is the classic Disney animation, I would argue that it is the music, some of the greatest Classical works ever composed, that is. “Amazing Grace”. The great Aretha Franklin. “Lady Sings The Blues”. Billie Holiday. “Straight No Chaser”. Monk.
Some great movie music:
”On The Waterfront”. Another fantastic Bernstein score. Not a lot of it, but I can’t think of another score that does a better job of serving the film’s plot. ”The Pawn Broker”. Great Quincy Jones score. “Elevator To The Gallows”. Miles. “The Mambo Kings” “Manhattan”. Classic Woody Allen. “Ivan The Terrible”. Another great Prokofiev score. “The Adventures Of Robin Hood”, “Sea Hawk”, and just about any other score by Korngold.
Some of my favorite jazz infused soundtracks include The Sweet Smell of Success and the Man with the Golden Arm. The most memorable opening soundtrack is for The Killers (dum de dum dum).
I mentioned that one before because I'm a highbrow. They were showing it on PBS so I told all the guys at work about it. The next day were they like, "DUDE!" It was pretty cool. As if that's not enough, Paul McCartney auditioned for the Quarrymen by doing the Eddie Cochran number from that movie.
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