Top 10 Uses of Classical Music in Movies

The 10 Uses of Classical Music in Movies

Classical Music in movies can be a real gamble, if done right it can fully capture and elevate the mood of the scene and the movie as a whole, if it doesn't fit it feels like a failed experiment in movie making and takes you out of the movie. The classical music moments below are my favorite. All that are below are powerful and dramatic uses of some of the best classical music ever created (of course in my opinion).  These are some of the times the gamble of putting classical music in a movie works for me. Quick note I will attach the youtube video for each piece and if I can find one with the movie in it I will use that, but some are just the song without the film, so I am sorry ahead of time. But no more waiting, let's get to the music.

10. "Lux Aeterna": Requiem for a Dream (2000)

This piece does something to you. It complements this movie perfectly, Lux Aeterna is a haunting piece full of emotion and intensity, just like this movie. There was no better song to use in this harrowing masterpiece of a film, than this harrowing masterpiece of a song.

9. "Prelude & Fugue No. 10 in E minor": Shame (2011)

This one is really recent (or in the last few years kind of recent), and some may not like that I would dare put such a recent film on here, but the sequence in which Prelude & Fugue is used is riveting. The scene that uses this piece is one of the most beautiful that I have ever experienced. A long tracking shot of Brandon going for a jog with this music in the background, simply beautiful.

I am really sad I could not find a video of the scene, guess everyone will have to watch the movie instead.

8. Amadeus: The whole movie (1984)

I don't know if this one is cheating or not, but every piece of music in this movie is classical, and for good reason, the movie is about Salieri and Mozart, two classical composers. But every piece is almost as equally beautiful as the next. So many good ones to chose from, but I think I'll only post one and once again I cannot find a scene with it, but the piece is Symphony No. 25 in G Minor.

7. "The Marriage of Figaro": Shawshank Redemption (1994)

I love this particular moment more than any else in this movie (and I do like this movie a lot), and all because of one line, 

"and for the briefest of moments, every last man in Shawshank felt free."

6. "Goldberg Variations": Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Disturbing, beautiful, gory, these are all words that could describe this scene. Hannibal decides it's time for him to go free and dine on his favorite meal at the same time, all while listening to the Goldberg Variations. I can remember how horrified I was the first time I saw this scene (actually scratch that, the whole movie) at how disturbing a character in a movie could get. At the time I had never seen a more insane and creepy character as Hannibal or Buffalo Bill. But this scene with the Goldberg variations is one of Hannibal Lector's greatest moments.

5. "Violin Concerto in D major": There Will be Blood (2007)

This is how you end a movie.

Sorry about the woman speaking the foreign language just before the music cues, it was the best I could find.

4. "Beethoven's 9th Symphony 4th Movement": A Clockwork Orange (1971)

Multiple movements from Ludwig Van's 9th symphony are used in A Clockwork Orange, but none are more memorable than the 4th movement used as the same time as the ultra violent movies. It's the famous scene as Alex is strapped to his chair and has his eye lids forced open as he watches some films. From these films not only does he come to hate violence, but also the lovely 4th movement of the 9th symphony.

Don't worry it's not Nazi propaganda or anything, it is the scene from the movie.

3. "Also Sprach Zarathustra": 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Greatness, discovery, new wonders, these are all things this piece signifies everywhere and anywhere now. In fact a few days ago I had a discussion with my friend about this movie. We eventually brought up this piece and he called it "the 2001 theme". I informed him that it was an actual piece of music and wasn't just a theme to a movie. He couldn't believe me so I had to prove it to him, and he was astonished. This just goes to show this piece is now ingrained in our culture, and what an impact a piece of music can have to make people forget that it is an actual piece instead of a theme song. That's something else, for a movie to be able to do that, but hey it's Kubrick, anything's possible.

2. "Flight of the Valkyrie": Apocalypse Now (1979)

I once read that the helicopter "Flight of the Valkyrie" scene in Apocalypse Now is the most riveting sequence in any war film ever. I simply cannot find any better words to describe it than that.

1. "Intermezzo From Cavaleria Rusticana": Raging Bull (1980)

This is art. In it's purest and highest form. I have never, seen a more beautiful sequence in any movie than this. And I know that I've thrown the word beautiful around a lot in this post, but this, this transcends beauty that a film can reach. There is quite simply no way to describe the emotion and elegance of the opening credits, and the choice to use Intermezzo From Cavaleria Rusticana was brilliant, I don't think there was a better piece for this opening. Simply put, this is the single greatest moment in film with classical music (at least in my opinion again).

So there we have it. My top 10 uses of classical music in movies. These are the ones that I remembered for how perfect they worked with the scene, and often elevated the movie as a whole. If you think I missed one or two or have some different favorites, let me know below.