Music often inspires emotional responses, however, while a song may naturally spark joy or sadness, some films have been able toreframe them in entirely new ways. Anything that gets deep into the senses has the ability to leave a mark and make an impression. A familiar smell can transport you back in time, sights and sounds can trigger a memory, but with music, it has the power to attach itself to multiple moments.
There’s a reason thatsoundtracks are so important for films, and people may even choose a handful of songs that become part of their own soundtrack.But while music is highly emotive, it can also evolve, and trigger different emotions over time. For instance, when an upbeat happy song is used to underscore a tense moment, or a laid-back tune is applied to a violent situation. Several films take familiar songs and give them a whole new meaning and life by using them in unusual or innovative ways.
8Stuck in the Middle with You
Reservoir Dogs
First on the list,Reservoir Dogsstands out as one of the most popular Quentin Tarantino films ever made.Having released in 1992, the film helped to establish Tarantino as a serious director, with the potential to make incredibly tense crime films.
Cast
Quentin Tarantino’s feature-length debut Reservoir Dogs is an ensemble movie starring Harvey Keitel, Michael Madsen, Tim Roth, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney, Chris Penn, and Edward Bunker. The 1992 film centers around a group of criminals who begin to suspect one of them is an undercover cop when their supposedly perfect diamond heist goes wrong.
His characters were well-defined, and the adventures that took place took the audience on a journey.But Tarantino also used his work to subvert expectations.
Quentin Tarantino’s First Movie Could Have Been Entirely Different Thanks To Another Iconic Director
Quentin Tarantino’s first movie was Reservoir Dogs, but this could have been completely different had another iconic director made a different choice.
This can be seen in one scene when Mr. Blonde is torturing a cop.While brandishing a razor blade, Mr. Blonde turns on the radio, and gets into the mood with an upbeat, cheerful tune, “Stuck in the Middle With You.” He dances, sings along, and gets into the groove, all while preparing to mutilate and injure the man tied up in front of him. Undoubtedly, this creepy scene has changed the song into a reminder of something much more sinister.
7Don’t Stop Me Now
Shaun of the Dead
Queen is one of the most popular bands of all time, having released a series of hits throughout the 1970s and 1980s.Their music often provides upbeat, joyful, and ecstatic tones that are empowering and encouraging. However, in Edgar Wright’sShaun of the Dead, “Don’t Stop Me Now” becomes a beacon which brings a swarm of zombies to a pub where survivors are hiding.
From director Edgar Wright, Shaun of the Dead stars Simon Pegg as Shaun, an ambitionless slacker who one day finds his world overrun by zombies. From a script by Wright and Pegg, Shaun of the Dead injects comedy into a typically horror-focused subgenre as Shaun and his lazy friend Ed (Nick Frost) attempt to rescue Shaun’s estranged girlfriend and make it through the apocalypse unscathed.
While trying to find a way to stop the music, Shaun and company are forced to fight a zombie who breaks into the pub, and as they pelt him with pool cues, they find themselves moving in time with the music and each other.
This moment is clearly set up for comedy, and it does a great job at delivering that.However, it has forever made this song, in particular one that brings to mindvisions of Simon Pegg beating up an old man with a pool cue. It’s still as peppy as ever, but the context of the song is forever changed.
6Mr. Blue Sky
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
James Gunn is known for his wonderful taste in music and the way that he inserts that into his films.Throughout theGuardians of the Galaxyfranchise, there are dozens of great classic songs and hidden gems that get their moment to shine in the films.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 continues the adventures of Peter Quill and his eclectic crew as they navigate complex family dynamics and revelations about Quill’s mysterious heritage. Set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the film explores themes of family and identity against a backdrop of intergalactic adventure.
However, during the opening ofGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, as Baby Groot finds himself dancing around a large arena while his friends fight a terrifying monster,the song “Mr. Blue Sky” transforms.The song is already a fun and jovial piece that lifts spirits and moods, but in this setting, it serves as a distraction to young Groot that actually puts him in danger.
10 Most Impressive Displays Of Power In The MCU’s Guardians Of The Galaxy Movies
Guardians of the Galaxy have included some of the most powerful beings in the MCU, and fittingly includes a swathe of incredible displays of power.
While the rest of the Guardians are fighting for their lives, Groot is lost in the music, dancing, and narrowly avoiding certain death.But despite his reckless behavior, the team look out for the youngest member, and continue to push him to safety, and out of harms way.
5Free Bird
Kingsman: The Secret Service
“Free Bird” by Lynyrd Skynrd is one of the most infectious and exhilarating guitar songs out there.The song delivers a sense of freedom, joy, and whimsy. However, when it appears as a backing track to the violent outbreak inKingsman: The Secret Service, the song becomes a different type of infectious. As Harry,played by Colin Firth, sits in on a vitriolic church sermon which spouts nothing but hatred, the villains of the film test out a new technology on the congregation.
Based on the comic book series of the same name, Kingsman: The Secret Service tells the story of rebellious teen Eggsy (Taron Egerton) as he’s inducted into a top-secret spy agency by a man codenamed Galahad (Colin Firth). After learning that billionaire Richmond Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson) plans to destroy the world, Eggsy and Galahad set out to avert international disaster and uncover widespread corruption that threatens to consume the Kingsman agency itself.
Their powerful radio waves inspire the congregation to behave erratically, and extremely violently, turning on one another and Harry.However, Harry is a trained elite agent, and he takes down the competition with relative ease. The ensuing fight is bloody and brutal, with “Free Bird” highlighting the intensity and action of the scene.
4Hallelujah
Shrek
“Hallelujah” is a religious song which depicts a biblical story.However, when it appears inShrek, that same worshipful melody is transformed into an emotional, heart-wrenching ballad about loneliness, isolation, and distance. After Shrek retrieves Princess Fiona, he finds himself feeling deeply upset by the thought of not seeing her again. Despite being an ugly green Ogre, Fiona saw something in him that made him see more in himself.
Shrek is a 2001 animated film featuring a solitary ogre named Shrek, voiced by Mike Myers, who embarks on a quest to rescue Princess Fiona, voiced by Cameron Diaz, from a dragon-guarded castle. Accompanied by Donkey, voiced by Eddie Murphy, Shrek sets out to fulfill a bargain with Lord Farquaad.
Regardless, overwhelmed by emotion, Shrek turns on Donkey, and he returns to his swamp alone. And as the music plays, it elevates the scene, making Shrek’s heartbreak into a shared experience. While the movie may be silly, goofy, and aimed at kids, it absolutely packs a punch in this tragic moment before Shrek decides to pursue Fiona.
3Singin' In The Rain
A Clockwork Orange
“Singin' in the Rain” debuted in 1952 as the titular song of the popular Gene Kelly film. And like the film, the soong captures romance, fun, and music in a charming and catchy tune. However, the cheerful ditty is taken to a much darker place when it is reused in 1971sA Clockwork Orange. This dystopian horrorstarring Malcolm McDowellfollows a group of young thugs in a hellish alternate reality.
Directed by Stanley Kubrick, the film adaptation of Anthony Burgess’s 1962 dystopian novel A Clockwork Orange presents a dark future where violent gangs roam the streets. Alex DeLarge (Malcolm McDowell) is a sadistic gang member who gets arrested and subjected to a controversial form of behavior therapy.
McDowell plays Alex, the leader of his group, and on quiet evenings, the group chooses to partake in what they call ultra-violence. They commit heinous crimes, break into homes, and cause havoc. And when they force themselves into the home of a kind young couple, Alex decides to cheerfully sing this show tune while performing degrading and cruel actions. It’s absolutely harrowing, and a departure from the source material of the highest level.
2Heroes
The Perks of Being A Wallflower
David Bowie is a masterful storyteller and artist, with music that resonated around the world.However, some of his music can be quirky, alternative, and challenging to find a clear meaning in. This was in some ways the case for “Heroes,” a powerful ballad that feels like a call to action. However, when the song appears inThe Perks of Being a Wallflower, it becomes much more clear the undertones of connection, strength, overcoming challenges.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Based on the novel by Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower tells the story of Charlie Kelmeckis, a high school freshman with a troubled past and history of mental health issues whose friendship with two seniors comes to define his first year of high school in surprising and dramatic ways. Logan Lerman stars as Charlies, alongside Emma Watson and Ezra Miller.
For many, this may have been the message they got from the song immediately, but the context of the film, and the pain and suffering felt by the protagonists, makes it abundantly clear just how much of an anthem this song can be.Since first seeing the film, the song has never played without reminding me of that iconic scene driving through a tunnel with Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, and Ezra Miller.
1Hip To Be Square
American Psycho
Christian Bale is a stunningly talented actorwho elevates characters beyond the page into living, breathing things that exude emotion and intensity.This came to light early in his career when he landed the starring role inAmerican Psychoas Patrick Bateman, and he slowly unravels over the course of the film. But one of the defining attributes of the murderous Bateman is his obsession with music, style, and being generally considered hip and in the know.
Based on the book of the same name by Bret Easton Ellis, American Psycho follows Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) an investment banker in New York in 1987 who leads a double life as a serial killer. As investigators circle Bateman after the disappearance of a colleague, he finds himself trapped in a spiral of murder and excess, unable to stop himself from giving in to his increasingly dark urges. Also stars Willem Dafoe, Jared Leto, Justin Theroux, and Reese Witherspoon.
Bateman emphasizes this at several points in the film, and the movie masterfully sees Bateman try to juggle these intense obsessions and his darker nature. But in the scene when Bateman brings a work rival back to his apartment, he discusses his love for Huey Lewis and the News, and then murders his guest with an axe. The song continues to play, and the juxtaposition and symmetry is wild, creating yet another song that has forever been transformed by the film it appears in.
