This post is in many ways a sequel to my 2014 post documenting my top 10 film scores of all time. I recently re-watched The Social Network, and the film's superb score inspired me to draft a list detailing my favorite musical moments in cinema.
Unlike my prior post, where I outlined my favorite scores, here I'll be providing my favorite moments where a soundtrack perfectly melds with events unfolding onscreen. Unsurprisingly, there will be a lot of overlap between the two lists.
As I've stated previously, an excellent score can really make a film, and good use of music can catapult a single scene from merely memorable to simply iconic. With that said, here are my top 10 favorite musical moments in film.
(Warning - some spoilers, as well as NSFW language/violence)
10) Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) - The Doof Warrior
MMFR was one of my favorite films of 2015. Featuring breathtaking cinematography, taut storytelling, excellent physical acting, and mind-blowing stunt work, it set a new bar for action films.
Junkie XL's pulse-pounding score added to the intense and loony atmosphere of a post-apocalyptic Australia. Though the entire soundtrack is excellent, all scenes featuring "The Doof Warrior" stand out. He's a maniac wearing a bright-red jumper, hooked to the front of a huge truck stacked with sound speakers. Oh, and he plays heavy metal riffs with a double-necked guitar that also serves as a flamethrower.
9) How To Train Your Dragon (2010) - Test Drive
HTTYD is one of my top 10 original film scores of all time for good reason. This breathtaking scene features perhaps its best track. Combining gorgeous visuals and a heartwarming on-screen duo, this scene never fails to give me goosebumps (especially when the horns kick in)!
8) Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)- The Asteroid Field
There are many excellent musical moments to choose from in the Star Wars saga, but this scene from The Empire Strikes Back may be my favorite. John William's rousing score expertly accompanies the Millennium Falcon's desperate attempt to flee the Empire by flying into an asteroid field. The scene opens with the Imperial March motif and transitions beautifully into a soaring theme as it becomes apparent the crew may actually have a chance to escape.
7) Slumdog Millionaire (2008) - End Credits
No track from this wonderful film captures the Bollywood brilliance of its soundtrack better than "Jai Ho". This catchy and uplifting tune caps off Slumdog Millionaire in the most appropriate way possible - with a Bollywood dance number. It's no wonder why it became so popular!
6) Moonrise Kingdom (2012) - Opening Sequence
Wes Anderson's delightful Moonrise Kingdom hooked me from the start with this breathtaking opening sequence. Set to Benjamin Britten's seminal Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, Anderson introduces us to the family at the center of the film with a series of steady tracking shots.
5) Akira (1988) - First Bike Sequence
As I mentioned in my Top 10 Film Scores post, Akira is a visual masterpiece with an outstanding gamelan-infused score saddled with an incoherent mess of a plot. Nevertheless, it remains a memorable and thrilling cinematic experience largely because of the combination of gorgeous visuals and atmospheric scoring. The bike chase scene from the opening of the film demonstrates this terrific pairing. And all music aside, the animation holds up astoundingly well given Akira came out in 1988.
4) The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly (1966) - The Ecstasy of Gold
Ennio Morricone's score to Sergio Leone's masterpiece, The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly, is a work of art. Morricone's writing defined the Western genre, and for good reason. Although several scenes featuring phenomenal music stand out, my favorite remains "The Ecstasy of Gold," during which Tuco (aka "The Ugly") is overwhelmed with giddy excitement while frantically searching for a grave filled with gold. The slow reveal as Tuco stands up from behind the first headstone to see the vast expanse of the graveyard reinforces that although he has come quite far in his journey for riches, he still has one final barrier to overcome. It's hard to believe this cinematic masterwork was released 50 years ago!
3) The Social Network (2010)- Henley Regatta
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' excellent score deservedly won Best Original Score at the 2010 Oscars. It's hard to imagine the film without it, and while many of the most memorable moments of The Social Network emerged from screenwriter Aaron Sorkin's impeccable script, my absolute favorite scene involves practically no dialogue at all. In it, the Winklevoss twins race their hardest at the famed Henley Royal Regatta in England only to lose in a nail-biter to the competing crew.
With music based on Edvard Grieg's In The Hall of the Mountain King, the scene serves as a visual metaphor for the twins' struggle and ultimate inability to stop the prolific spread of Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook (they claimed he stole their idea for the now-global social networking site). David Fincher's stellar direction and superb cinematography cement this scene as one of my all-time favorites.
2) Amadeus (1984) - Requiem Composition
It's hard to beat the music of Mozart. Especially when coupled with masterful acting, writing, and editing. This scene, where an awed Antonio Salieri helps dictate the final composition of an ailing Mozart, is pure bliss for any lover of Western music. It's easy to see why the film won 8 Oscars!
1) Apocalypse Now (1979) - Helicopter Attack
Come on now, you all knew this was coming. This scene instantly catapulted Wagner's epic Ride of the Valkyries into the pantheons of pop culture, and for good reason. The sheer magnitude of the events unfolding onscreen (all practical effects) are mind-boggling, especially in today's era of CGI-infused crapfests. The filmmakers actually borrowed a fleet of Huey helicopters from the Filipino military to shoot this sequence after the US military turned them down.
Wagner's rousing orchestration and Francis Ford Coppola's magnificent direction combine to make (for me at least) the most memorable amalgam of music and film of all time. It's also perhaps one of the most biting critiques of American foreign policy in the Vietnam War, as a North Vietnamese village (flush with women and children) is decimated by American air power.
That being said, this scene never fails to get my blood pumping!
Well, there you have it. My top 10 favorite musical moments in film. Thanks for reading, and let me know what you think - what are your personal favorites?
-CC
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