With a long, grand history spanning more than a century, Stacker compiled the 100 greatest movie songs using data from the American Film Industry's 100 Years Project. The survey, which occurred in 2004 (hence no recent tunes like "Let It Go" from "Frozen"), asked a selection of jurors from across the movie industry to evaluate music and lyrics "featured in an American film that set a tone or mood, define character, advance plot and/or express the film's themes in a manner that elevates the moving image art form." The cultural impact and legacy involving the song were also important criteria in the selection process.
As the film industry became more mainstream and commercialized, the use of popular songs and music generally increased. Now, soundtracks and scores are an integral part of the moviegoing experience. Sometimes, filmmakers and producers are hoping to capture a zeitgeist by tying a film's release to a popular hit. Older songs might be chosen to invoke a certain period of time.
hindi film Newton song download
More often, blockbuster films will feature original songs. These songs may be inspired by the content and the tone of the film and occur in a non-diegetic way, such as during a montage sequence or in the credits. Other times, the song can be performed by the characters of the film diegetically. Regardless, a successful music scene has the potential to become iconic, and with it, the song itself.
Some filmmakers view the curated soundtrack as important as the film itself; for example, writer-director Quentin Tarantino often incorporates favorite songs from his vast music collection into scenes in his movies. Other examples include James Gunn's "Guardians of the Galaxy," which had an "Awesome Mix Vol. 1" that carried important meaning for the main character in the plot of the film, while also hitting the top of the charts in real life.
In the most iconic scene of Tom Cruise's coming-of-age film "Risky Business," Cruise's character Joel Goodson has a bit of fun after being left home alone by his parents. Sliding on the hardwood floor in just a buttondown and underwear, Joel lip syncs and dances to the classic song "Old Time Rock and Roll" by Bob Seger. Since then, this scene has been parodied by sitcoms, commercials, and even other films.
Disney's animated film "The Lion King" contained a number of original songs that became instant classics, including "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" and "Circle of Life." "Hakuna Matata," however, carried thematic importance to the film; Timon (Nathan Lane) and Pumbaa (Ernie Sabella) teach young Simba the meaning of these words, which translate to "no worries," in a catchy song that showcases Simba's growth from cub to adult lion through montage. Not only is the Elton John/Tim Rice-written song still popular to this day, but so is the phrase itself.
Originally featured in the 1975 stage musical "Chicago," the opening number "All That Jazz" stuck in the minds of viewers from the Oscar-sweeping 2002 film adaptation. In the film, the number is performed by Catherine Zeta-Jones as Velma Kelly in a Chicago club, with the performance intercut with scenes of protagonist Roxie Hart (Renee Zellweger) initiating an affair. The song showcased the overall flashy vibe of the film, and Zeta-Jones, 10 years after winning an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for "Chicago," returned to the awards ceremony to perform the song.
One of the earliest musical films was "42nd Street," a backstage musical that focuses on a Broadway director and the newcomer star of what is to be his final Broadway show. The song entitled "42nd Street" serves as the finale of the film, performed by actress Ruby Keeler. The film may not be as popular with modern audiences, but the song and the story from which it originated had a renaissance through a popular 1980 Broadway musical adaptation of the original film.
Probably as or even more popular than the film "Footloose" is the song of the same name, written and performed by musician Kenny Loggins and the film's co-writer Dean Pitchford. The success of the song and the film surprised even Loggins himself. It went on to top the Billboard Hot 100 and became one of the biggest hits of 1984. The song plays in both the opening and the finale of the film. Blake Shelton even tried his hand at a cover for a 2011 remake of the original movie.
Comedy legends Bing Crosby and Bob Hope teamed up for the film "Road to Morocco," with the pair singing the fast and catchy song as their characters ride a camel to a nearby city. The cheeky fourth-wall breaking song ("We'd tell you more (uh-ah) but we would have the censor on our tails"), which admittedly has a number of stereotypes and jokes in its lyrics ("The men eat fire, sleep on nails and saw their wives in half"), isn't well remembered by audiences today, but it was undoubtedly a hit in the 1940s, with separate versions of the song including a solo recording with Crosby and a duet reuniting Crosby with Hope.
The 1944 comedy musical "Cover Girl" had everything, including leading stars in Gene Kelly and Rita Hayworth. Hayworth portrayed a chorus girl who finds stardom and Kelly co-stars as her boyfriend. "Long Ago (and Far Away)" is the most popular number from the film, sung by Kelly and Hayworth's characters, albeit with the latter dubbed by singer Martha Mears. The song hasn't lasted through the decades, but it was heavily covered throughout the 1940s by artists like Bing Crosby and Jo Stafford.
Woody Allen's most famous film, the Oscar-winning "Annie Hall," had a memorable sequence in which Diane Keaton's character (the eponymous Annie Hall) performs the popular 1940s song "Seems Like Old Times" for an audience. Keaton won Best Actress at the Oscars, and the song was repopularized by its inclusion in the film.
Writer-director Mel Brooks generally includes comedic musical numbers in his films, and one of the earliest and most famous examples is featured in the 1974 film "Young Frankenstein." Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) and his monster (Peter Boyle) sing and tap dance to the classic song "Puttin' on the Ritz," with the monster hilariously shouting incoherent words while Wilder's Frankenstein mostly plays it straight. In the film, the performance doesn't end well, but real-life audiences found the scene quite memorable and funny.
One of the many iconic numbers from Rodgers and Hammerstein's classic musical "The Sound of Music" has the character of Maria, played by Julie Andrews, teach the von Trapp children about the musical scale using mnemonic devices. The film version of the song finds Maria and the children riding their bikes and frolicking through Salzburg, with the song getting a reprise later in the movie. The song gained a life of its own, and even now it's often used as a fun tool for musical education.
The iconic climax of the film "Dirty Dancing" features Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey dancing to the Frank Previte-written song "(I've Had) The Time of My Life," which itself became a pop culture phenomenon. The song was written for the movie and featured a Grammy-winning duet between Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes. It went on to win the Oscar for Best Original Song. "Dirty Dancing" is parodied to this day, with "The Time of My Life" almost always accompanying said parodies.
The song "Come What May" has a somewhat serendipitous history within the filmography of director Baz Luhrmann; while originally intended for his film "Romeo + Juliet," the song eventually found its way into "Moulin Rouge!" Not only did the song become a hit, but it holds importance to the film's story and characters. It serves as the romantic theme between the characters played by Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman, with the two using the song to declare their love for one another.
Most popular songs to come out of 1940s Hollywood were showstoppers that carried a sense of optimism, but the 1946 film "Gilda," starring Rita Hayworth, had a bit of a darker edge. The titular character of Gilda sings the song "Put the Blame on Mame," which connects the titular character to some of the most destructive and cataclysmic disasters in American history, like the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The song helps characterize Hayworth as a femme fatale, even though singer Anita Ellis dubbed over Hayworth's voice for the song.
After terrifying the denizens of Munchkinland and the Emerald City, the Wicked Witch of the West is finally defeated by Dorothy (Judy Garland) and friends. Immediately after, the Munchkins burst into song to spread the news. The ensuing tune is just one of the many iconic songs and sequences from the film, which is already full of such popular characters and scenes. Even today, the song is used by the general public to express distaste for anyone who has been recently defeated.
Robert Altman's epic film "Nashville" featured a number of different characters and vantage points depicting the country and gospel music scenes, with the film leading up to a gala concert. "I'm Easy" was written and performed by actor Keith Carradine, who performs the song in character and leads several different women to believe that the performance was for them. "I'm Easy" won the Oscar for Best Original Song in 1976 and continued to be a hit that year.
The comedy "Arthur" focused on a drunken New York billionaire who falls in love with an ordinary girl, even though he is promised to someone else via an arranged marriage. With the lyrics "When you get caught between the moon and New York City," the theme song from Christopher Cross summed up the character and the personality of the title character. The song was covered by Fitz and the Tantrums when the film was remade in 2011.
The centerpiece of not only the film "9 to 5," but also one of Dolly Parton's top albums. The song "9 to 5" helped skyrocket the singer to national fame. She also stars in the film, which focuses on three women outwitting their sexist and egotistical boss. The fast and catchy theme song quickly hit the Billboard Country Chart and was nominated for an Academy Award. It's experiencing something of a modern resurgence in 2020 as a popular theme for Tik Tok creators. 2ff7e9595c
Comments