Sometimes the perfect song meets just the right movie scene and the result is … bliss.
Just re-watched “World’s Greatest Dad” in preparation for my weekend phoner with the film’s writer/director Bobcat Goldthwait.
It’s a terrific movie, one of the rare black comedies that doesn’t hit a false note. But the climactic scene - which I won’t spoil here - features the Queen classic “Under Pressure.”
The scene is great. The music makes it even better. The movie hits DVD and Blu-ray shelves Dec. 8. The WWTW interview will appear here next week.
The combination of the two can make mini movie magic.
Another sequence comes to mind, one far less pivotal but a moment that sets the entire film up in glorious detail.
In “Untamed Heart,” the song “Tom’s Diner” by Suzanne Vega plays as star Marisa Tomei is getting dressed as the movie opens. The scene itself isn’t important, but the song sets the mood in a way the screenplay can’t match. It’s no wonder I fell hard for the rest of the movie.
The music also plays under the film’s trailer.
What other great movie/music combinations stick in your head?
Related posts:
I'm an award-winning journalist and film critic with more than a decade of experience in newspapers, magazines and the Web. I'm a member of both the Washington, DC Area Film Critics Association and the Denver Film Critics Society.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Well a certain Vietnam war flick containing Wagner leaps instantly to mind. Just about anything John Williams has done. As for a movie that uses a modern music that was not purposefully produced as background for the movie, I can not think of any.
The infamous “dancing hamburger” scene from “Better Off Dead.”
Gladiator + Hans Zimmer comes to mind. His moody stuff in two Batman flicks sets a pretty good mood.
My first thought was Raiders of the Lost Ark - Williams choreographed every move Indy made. I agree about Gladiator, my wife and I bought the soundtrack after seeing the movie, which is rare for us. The top though would have to be the music throughout Lord of the Rings, especially the Fellowship music. It was just about a character in its own right.
I love the fight scene in the pub from “Shaun of the Dead” accompanied by Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now”. Shaun and his buddies bash the zombie in time to the music. Very funny.
The opening titles of “Casino,” with Bach’s St. Matthew Passion playing over DeNiro’s exploding car.