Sound technique · used in 30 films
Playing an existing popular song at a precise moment in the film. The song's lyrics, era and associations add irony, period feel or emotion that an original score could not.
Examples
François Truffaut · 1968
Charles Trenet's song "Que reste-t-il de nos amours" frames the film with a tender, wistful mood. The lyrics suggest that love leaves a trace once it is gone. It tells you the film's gentle jokes are also about memory.
Where to see it: The credits. Trenet's song plays under the titles and sets the tone before Antoine appears.
Martin Scorsese · 1973
The film opens on the Ronettes' Be My Baby, and critic Owen Gleiberman called it arguably the greatest use of a pop song in Hollywood history. Later, Scorsese cut Jumpin' Jack Flash to Johnny Boy's entrance into a red-lit bar. Songs speak for the characters here, because the old-style score would not feel like these guys.
Where to see it: Johnny Boy's entrance at the bar: slow motion, red light, and the Rolling Stones, with the camera sliding toward Charlie.
John Carpenter · 1983
Christine's radio plays 1950s rock and roll at key moments. The sweet old songs sit on top of threatening scenes, and they work as her voice. By the end, you hear a song and tense up.
Where to see it: The final song: as Arnie dies, Christine plays the song Pledging My Love on her radio. At the junkyard, a worker's boombox plays 1950s rock and roll, and it spooks Dennis and Leigh.
Martin Scorsese · 1985
Peggy Lee's Is That All There Is? plays in the Club Berlin scene. A song about disappointment lands in the middle of Paul's worst night. It makes the joke bleaker and the mood stranger.
Where to see it: Club Berlin: after the club empties, Paul plays the Peggy Lee song on the jukebox and dances with June.
Woody Allen · 1985
The film uses period standards at precise moments. The best is Fred Astaire singing Cheek to Cheek in the Top Hat clip she watches. The song carries the 1930s and the joy she cannot find elsewhere.
Where to see it: The Top Hat scene. Astaire and Rogers dance to Cheek to Cheek, and Cecilia's face changes as she watches.
Martin Scorsese · 1990
Scorsese uses rock and pop songs throughout to mark each era and to comment on the action. 'Gimme Shelter' plays as Henry cuts cocaine. 'Sunshine of Your Love' plays as Jimmy weighs killing members of his own crew. 'Jump into the Fire' plays during Henry's cocaine-fueled day of paranoia. Each choice is a moral statement.
Where to see it: Billy Batts's murder, set to Donovan's 'Atlantis'. The gentle song plays under a brutal beating.
David Lynch · 1990
Powermad's speed-metal song 'Slaughterhouse' plays several times, including in the opening scene. Chris Isaak's 'Wicked Game' and Strauss's 'Im Abendrot' also appear. The loud songs make the violence feel wild, and the quiet ones make the romance feel tender.
Where to see it: The opening scene. Sailor kills a man who attacked him while 'Slaughterhouse' plays.
Richard Linklater · 1993
The film runs on 1970s rock songs that fit the moment. The ending puts the song right on top of the last image. Mitch gets home after sunrise and the music tells you the night was a happy kind of tired.
Where to see it: The final scene: Mitch goes to his bedroom, puts on headphones and listens to "Slow Ride" by Foghat while Pink and the others drive down the highway.
Jonathan Demme · 1993
The film opens with Bruce Springsteen's song over shots of the city and the people in it. The song won the Oscar for Best Original Song. Before the story starts, you feel the mood: lonely, quiet and human.
Where to see it: The opening montage. Springsteen's "Streets of Philadelphia" plays over images of the city and its residents.
Quentin Tarantino · 1997
The film uses songs by The Delfonics, Bill Withers and others, plus funk from an older film, not a new score. The opening plays Bobby Womack over Jackie's walk through the airport, and the song gives the scene its swagger. Because the songs are old, they put you in a tired, soulful 1970s mood.
Where to see it: Opening credits: Jackie rides the airport moving walkway as Bobby Womack's Across 110th Street plays, echoing the airport walk in The Graduate.
Wes Anderson · 1998
The soundtrack is mostly British Invasion songs. Anderson first planned to use only Kinks songs, and 1 made the final film. 'Nothin' in the World Can Stop Me Worryin' 'Bout That Girl' plays while Blume sits miserably at a children's party. A mostly wordless scene gets its feeling from a song.
Where to see it: Herman's kids' birthday party: Blume sits miserably at a birthday party while the Kinks song plays.
Stephen Daldry · 2000
The soundtrack uses T. Rex, The Jam and The Clash. The glam rock fits Billy's bursting energy, and the punk anger fits the strike. The songs tell you what the town is feeling.
Where to see it: The opening: Billy bounces on his bed to a T. Rex song, long before anyone sees him dance.
Jonathan Glazer · 2001
The Stranglers' song Peaches plays over the opening scene by the pool. It is cheerful and cheeky and makes the sun-soaked mood feel like a holiday. That lightness is what the film then spends 90 minutes poking holes in.
Where to see it: Opening: The Stranglers' Peaches plays as Gal lies in the sun by his pool, setting a lazy holiday tone before the story turns dark.
Ridley Scott · 2003
Roy lives in the past, and the film picks old crooner songs to match. Bobby Darin's "The Good Life" plays over the opening credits and the first scenes, and Frank Sinatra songs come up later. The easy, wealthy mood of the songs sits against Roy's nervous habits, which tells you who he wishes he were.
Where to see it: The opening credits: Bobby Darin's "The Good Life" plays as the film introduces Roy and his routine.
Martin Scorsese · 2006
'Gimme Shelter' opens the film over old news footage of Boston. Right away, it ties Scorsese's Boston to his New York (the same moral world in a different city). The song tells you this is a Scorsese film about how tempting criminal life is and what it costs. The Rolling Stones are pretty much his signature for that.
Where to see it: The opening sequence. 'Gimme Shelter' plays over Boston while Costello's monologue sets up the world.
Ridley Scott · 2006
Songs by Harry Nilsson, Johnny Hallyday and Jean Sablon fill the film. Nilsson's "Jump into the Fire" plays over the tennis match between Max and Duflot, a scene Scott added on set to replace an argument in the vines and make a "battle scene." The rock song makes a polite game feel like a fight.
Where to see it: The tennis match: Max and Duflot play on a clay court the production built from scratch, with posts from Wimbledon.
George Miller · 2006
The film is a jukebox musical that fits existing pop songs into the story. Prince approved the use of Kiss and wrote a new song for the film. Familiar songs make the penguin world feel instantly friendly.
Where to see it: The Boogie Wonderland number: Mumble and the young penguins dance to the song at the mating grounds.
Darren Aronofsky · 2008
The soundtrack is mostly pre-recorded glam metal from the 1980s, and the songs say who Randy is. The music comes from the past he cannot let go of. It is nostalgic and sad.
Where to see it: The bar scene with Cassidy. Randy and Cassidy talk about 1980s music, and the glam metal in the air shows what he misses.
Sam Mendes · 2009
The soundtrack uses songs by Alexi Murdoch in place of an original score, plus other existing songs. The mellow guitar tracks give the road trip a calm, searching feel. The songs sound like how Burt and Verona feel about their choices.
Where to see it: The trampoline night in Miami: Burt and Verona lie outside on a trampoline, promising to love each other and their daughter and have a happy home.
Sarah Polley · 2011
The Buggles' Video Killed the Radio Star plays on the amusement park ride. The song's bright, nostalgic energy fits a day where Margot feels young again.
Where to see it: Amusement park day: Margot and Daniel spend a day on a picnic and an amusement park ride.
Martin Scorsese · 2013
Scorsese's soundtrack does the moral commenting that the film's point of view can't do. You hear Matthew McConaughey's chest-beating hum, the Rolling Stones and the hip-hop that plays over the excess. The song choice is almost always ironic. Songs that celebrated freedom or pleasure play over scenes that show what both of them cost.
Where to see it: The opening sequence. Elmore James' 'Dust My Broom' plays under Belfort's voice as he shows off his Ferrari. The film is telling you where it stands on the myth of the successful American man.
Noah Baumbach · 2013
David Bowie's Modern Love plays as Frances runs and dances through the streets. The song gives the scene a wild burst of joy in a film that is otherwise about drifting. The sequence remakes a famous street run from a French film.
Where to see it: Modern Love run: Frances runs and dances down the street to Bowie's Modern Love, in a sequence that remakes a run from Mauvais Sang.
Paul Thomas Anderson · 2014
Can's "Vitamin C" plays when the film introduces its title. The song has a restless groove that matches the film's lazy, drifting mood. It tells you the film is a trip.
Where to see it: The title sequence. Can's track plays as the title appears.
Ridley Scott · 2015
Commander Lewis left behind a collection of 1970s songs, mostly disco, which is the only music Watney has. It turns into a running gag. The songs include Donna Summer's "Hot Stuff," ABBA's "Waterloo" and David Bowie's "Starman." "I Will Survive" plays over the closing credits as a comment on his situation.
Where to see it: Watney's days in the Hab: Watney listens to Lewis's disco collection, the only music he has on Mars.
Luca Guadagnino · 2015
Harry dances to the Rolling Stones' "Emotional Rescue" at the villa, and the song's swagger shows who he is. The music is loud and joyful in a story that is moving toward a death.
Where to see it: Harry's dance. Harry acts as if the villa is his own, and Marianne begins to fall under his spell again.
Richard Linklater · 2016
The team hops from one music world to another in a single night. They visit a disco, a western-themed bar and a punk show, and each room has its own songs and attitude. The songs tell you the period and show how these athletes act in unfamiliar crowds.
Where to see it: The punk concert: Jake meets a high school teammate who has embraced punk, and with Jake's encouragement the team goes to the show.
Quentin Tarantino · 2019
The 1969 AM radio soundtrack plays continuously (Paul Revere, Deep Purple, Jose Feliciano). It is there as the sound of a specific cultural moment that is about to end, which goes fairly far past nostalgic decoration.
Where to see it: The drive through Hollywood with 'Mrs. Robinson' playing. The camera simply watches the lights of the city pass, and all you get is the feel of the period.
Thomas Vinterberg · 2020
The last dance uses a pop song with a lot of energy. Mads Mikkelsen, who was a trained dancer, goes all in. The song gives the scene its release, and you feel the character let go in a way the rest of the film never allowed.
Where to see it: The final dance. Martin dances with the students to the song "What a Life" and then jumps into the water.
Emerald Fennell · 2020
Fennell uses glossy pop songs to set a mood the characters are not in. The upbeat tracks play over scenes with dark meaning, so the sound and the story pull against each other.
Where to see it: The pharmacy scene: Paris Hilton's 'Stars Are Blind' plays while Cassie and Ryan sing along, a sweet moment of falling for each other.
David Fincher · 2023
11 Smiths songs, about 41 minutes of music in total, play while the Killer waits and works. The sad, pretty songs clash with his cold routine and hint at a mood he never mentions out loud.
Where to see it: The long wait. The Killer listens to The Smiths while he waits in a Paris hotel room for his target.
Questions