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The Best Songs in Movie History


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You'd think it would be Moon River https://www.bing.com/search?q=moon+river+audrey+hepburn&FORM=QSRE3 since the song provides the whole score for the movie, but I wondered today if it might be Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=raindrops+keep+falling+on+my+head+butch+cassidy+and+the+sundance+kid&view=detail&mid=9152F259A5688C1716C29152F259A5688C1716C2&FORM=VIRE  If you think different, leave us a link.

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Yes, that's a good one.  I can see the weakness in this thread.  Thank you for leaving a link.  I should probably have asked for some reason too.  I think 'Raindrops', because it tells us something about the relationship between the three at the time.  It's a relationship that's rather carefree and about to become full of cares.  Such is all life.

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Magnificent Seven - bold, definitive, orchestral, conveys the heroism and nobility of the movie's characters and storyline, is easily recognised - iconic, in fact - and the theme to what is often regarded as one of, if not the, best westerns ever made and also a movie that is generally ranked among the best in a list of all time great movies. When you think of movie music, this one is always going to be near the top of anyone's list. Indeed it is almost impossible to think of the movie without the strains of the music going through your mind.

Edited by Shyheels
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Can't argue with Magnificent Seven, although IMO Moon River hasn't aged well.

I think a number of themes from the original Star Wars soundtrack are instantly recognizable, from the main theme:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_D0ZQPqeJkk

The Force theme:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtqfnp4sWhU

The Imperial March:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bzWSJG93P8

Even the stupid Cantina theme

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaPf-MRKITg

Also, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1PfrmCGFnk

Rocky - Gonna Fly Now

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5VHYP1jZho

Rocky III - Eye of The Tiger by Survivor actually spent a fair amount of time on the Billboard charts and still gets played at sporting events

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERT_7u5L0dc

 

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The Good, The Bad and The Ugly would be my alternate. A brilliant piece of music that is instantly recogniseable and conveys the mood of the story, with that signature warble signifying the coyotes on the trail. 

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Oh yes, all of them good. 

It's interesting to consider Morricone here.  A Fistful of Dynamite (I think it was released as Duck, You Sucker in the US) is a very different film from Sergio Leone.  The two protagonists develop a deep, albeit fractious, friendship, quite unlike Blondie and Tuco.  Rather than lone wolves crossing paths they're lost souls.  Morricone's score shows that he'd he'd understood it was a different film. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_F24rJ7NSI

A song can do a smaller job.  Take this, from Love Actually.  (For colonial brethren and others not in the know, she's seen him secretly buying a piece of jewellery.)  https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=both+sides+now+love+actually&view=detail&mid=B9BD7E7A865495809661B9BD7E7A865495809661&FORM=VIRE  Isn't that just heartbreaking?  None of you would be so crass, I know.  It's not iconic.  If you were to ask anyone who knows the film to name a song from it the majority would first name All I Want for Christmas is You, but Both Sides Now does its job in 4 minutes, like any good  pop song should.

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Of course the familiarity of a tune depends on how often it gets replayed and therefore how often you hear it. 

"Greatness" is all relative and entirely a generational thing, especially with music.

Saturday Night Fever had a great soundtrack, with the Bee Gees and all that,but both the movie and soundtrack are out of fashion for later generations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpqqjU7u5Yc

Giorgio Moroder's Midnight Express theme's electronic dance beat sounds dated too, even though the movie itself is still very watchable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTHDa6Akqvo

Some tracks are timeless, particularly if they're played by an orchestra or some other non-electronic instruments, but they also have to be in a great movie that's going to get rewatched.

And then it depends on who's doing the rewatching.  Here's the theme from one of my favorite movies, Shaolin Soccer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7e2FxHXuJo

That's probably not going to get much rewatching here in the States.

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  • 1 month later...

None of us are paid movie critics or movie producers but we are the consumers of them. The best movie songs are the ones which stay with you over the years regardless of the genre or the reason. Whether it's Celine Dion (My Heart Will Go On) from Titanic or Survivor (Eye  of the Tiger) from Rocky III or the muscial scores from Little Mermaid the music fit the movie and made the experience memorable. I have the movie soundtrack from the Jason Bourne movies and they are quite restful when driving.   HappyinHeels

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Indeed, Alphax.  But I think as well that a great movie can give life to a piece of music. https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=the+great+escape+tune&view=detail&mid=3071766210F73E1FB07F3071766210F73E1FB07F&FORM=VIRE

HappyinHeels, yes, I love this, from Aladdin, but only if accompanied by the images from the film https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=a+whole+new+world&view=detail&mid=99B6A065647FA72988D099B6A065647FA72988D0&FORM=VIRE It's a bit cringeworthy otherwise, but then so is the film.  Isn't that just the magic of Disney?  By the way, did you spot the nod to Titanic?  It's very brief.

Edited by meganiwish
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One more thing that occurs to me is that there really isn't a common media experience anymore. 

The media market is so fragmented that a smaller set of people see each movie, if they watch movies at all.

There's so much television these days, and when you throw in video games, there are even fewer common experiences between us.

So a song in a movie/TV show/game that you thought was great, you can't even talk about it with anyone else except your immediate circle of friends who watched it with you.

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1 hour ago, alphax said:

One more thing that occurs to me is that there really isn't a common media experience anymore. 

 .

Ah, methinks you hit on something important.

Oh yes, Close Encounters.  Five very memorable notes, but it all turns a bit ELP at the end.

Have you seen Father Ted and duelling banjoes? https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=father+ted+dueling+banjos&qpvt=father+ted+dueling+banjos&view=detail&mid=54F73EB1E60E6DD1FD8154F73EB1E60E6DD1FD81&FORM=VRDGAR

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