Movie Songs: worse than the movie, better than the movie, carried the movie, senseless without?

[Fergurg]

I'm gonna go in another direction for a minute. The Madonna song "Die Another Day" sounds like a cacophonic mess - until you watch the opening credits to the movie Die Another Day, which goes with the song. Then, and only then, will its seemingly random starts and stops make sense.

 

[Legatus Legionis]

.

 

[MechaPilot]

I think it's important to remember that sound heavily sells movies. I love Star Wars and Star Trek (I get different things from each of them), but both of them would really suffer if all of the space action scenes were bereft of sound effects to reflect the reality that sound doesn't travel in space.

I also have to echo the Flash Gordon and Highlander sentiment.

Flash Gordon by Queen is awesome.

Flash
A-ah
He's a miracle.

Flash.
A-ah.
King of the impossible.

He's for every one of us.
Stand for every one of us.
He'll save with a mighty hand every man every woman every child with a mighty flash.

I get goosebumps every time I listen to it.


And the soundtrack in Highlander really sells the emotions of the characters.


Also, Die Hard. I love the way Ode to Joy gets mixed into different themes in that movie.


Oh, and this one can't be left off the list. The sound track for Heavy Metal is vital to the film.

 

[delericho]

Kevin Kiner did more to revitalize and bump up Star Wars with his update to The Clone Wars soundtrack than John Williams did with all three prequels.

Kiner's work on "The Clone Wars" is indeed great, and something I use at almost every Star Wars RPG game I run. I wish they would release some of the material from the show as well, to expand the available cues.

But I have to disagree with you about his doing more than JW in the prequels, if only for one thing: "Duel of the Fates".

 

[MarkB]

One film that comes to mind is A Knight's Tale. The quirky choice of making a classic sports movie except that the sport in question is medieval jousting would have made it stand out in any case - but it's the contemporary songs in the soundtrack that really set it apart, giving it a unique flavour that works surprisingly well.

 

[Legatus Legionis]

.

 

[MarkB]

Does anyone remember "Bat-Dance" by Prince for Tim Burton's Batman?

While the song never was in the movie, it was on Prince's soundtrack for the movie.

(I still much preferred Danny Elfman's score for Batman over the movie's soundtrack.)

It was cheezy, the video corny, if it could have killed the franchise then and there, IMO, if not for the fact the movie was so much better than this "inspired by" song.

I owned both albums for the movie, the Danny Elfman soundtrack and the Prince songs, and aside from Batdance, which really was cringeworthy, the songs were pretty good. Two of them feature prominently in the movie, serving as suitable soundtracks to the Joker's antics in the gallery and the parade.

 

[megamania]

I don't think the original Crow would have been as good as it was without the music used.

 

[megamania]

Does anyone remember "Bat-Dance" by Prince for Tim Burton's Batman?

While the song never was in the movie, it was on Prince's soundtrack for the movie.

(I still much preferred Danny Elfman's score for Batman over the movie's soundtrack.)

It was cheezy, the video corny, if it could have killed the franchise then and there, IMO, if not for the fact the movie was so much better than this "inspired by" song.

What do you want? It was Prince or whatever name / symbol he goes by now.

 

[tuxgeo]

I believe Prince in once again calling himself "Prince," now that the use-of-that-name controversy is no longer an issue (if it is).