Totally unconnected to books…
17 July 2013 
But, randomly I was thinking about movie soundtracks and the effect they have on the movie itself. Okay, it wasn’t totally random, I was watching a particular movie and thinking how much of an impact the music has. (I was watching Star Wars – in case you’re intrigued – the first one, by which I mean the actual first one and not the fourth one that is now called the first).
So, thinking about films there must be loads of examples where you can think of a film where you also love the music and more to the point how many films would you be able to guess instantly by just a short snippet of the music from the film. I think the following are good examples:
- Jaws – (Horror)
- The Good the Bad and the Ugly (Western)
- Pulp Fiction (Gangster)
- Lord of the Rings (Fantasy)
- Star Wars (Sci Fi)
Stuck on examples from comedy, romance and historical – feel free to chuck in some suggestions!
Books and travelling with Lynn 
Saturday Night Fever
Psycho
Dirty Harry
The Magnificent Seven
The Pink Panther… how could you forget that one!? 😉
Dagnabit – can I start again!!
Psycho!!! THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN! The Pink Panther. What was i thinking. Where is my head at?
Thanks Colin
Lynn 😀
(That being said Jaws is a pretty fine example!)
Not just Jaws and Stars Wars, but any movie soundtrack composed by John Williams would be a good example… Indiana Jones, Superman, Harry Potter… The soundtracks are a huge part of the movies and like you said – the songs are instantly recognizable.
Definitely, you could run a quiz just playing snippets of music – actually, I’d probably really enjoy that – ‘a snippet of music and snippet of books quiz’.
Lynn 😀
Loosely historical would be the Braveheart soundtrack.
LOTR is probably my favorite. I often catch myself humming that music.
For romance movies the soundtracks I like are really more song-filled than score-filled. French Kiss is by far my favorite of that kind of soundtrack. The soundtrack for Elizabethtown and for Juno are also great ones.
I love Juno and French Kiss – I’m not sure if I’ve seen Elizabethtown. Must go and have a look at that.
Of course, Braveheart! It’s so funny the way you think you’ll be able to come up with loads of examples and then pick out 4/5 and dry up!
Lynn 😀
Will I have to turn in my man card if I say James Horner’s score from Titanic?
I will say that the music from the Star Trek movies (classic and TNG) is among the most memorable and identifiable for me. Add in the musical cues from the original series as well and the theme songs for each one.
I’ll also have to say Ghostbusters, Back to the Future and Dirty Dancing.
And there are so many great John Williams scores….many of them already named.
I actually think you get points on your man card for being a man and putting forward the score from Titanic! Good on you.
How could I forget Ghostbusters!! Great suggestions – I think I’ll have a top 50 soon.
John Williams is a bit of a legend all things being equal.
Thanks Michael
Lynn 😀
I second Harry Potter, have you seen this? [It’s got spoilers, so I wouldn’t watch it if you haven’t read all the books yet.]
And if we’re talking about soundtracks, not just scores, I’m pretty sure I’d recognize a snippet from Singing in the Rain,The Sound of Music, Grease and Phantom of the Opera anywhere.
Apart, from those, you’ve already got everything else on my list. 🙂
OH. And even though I’m not a fan of the movies, James Bond! Any one. They’re so distinctive. Actually, I probably like the soundtracks more than I like the movies.
JAMES BOND – okay, I think that’s one of the really memorable ones. Everyone. Absolutely everyone. Knows that. That’s probably even better than the Jaws example!
Lynn 😀
OMG Singing in the Rain, The Sound of Music and Grease – brilliant! How could I forget – I know the songs from these films like the back of my hand!
Lynn 😀
Pulp fiction has a great soundtrack. the first movies that popped into my head were Platoon and the Last of the Mohicans (not sure I spelled that correctly and I’m too hot to care)–do they count as historical?
Yes, they absolutely count as historical! I loved Last of the Mohicans (or did I just like DDL in that film? mmmm let me think) Now I want to rewatch it.
Lynn 😀
Pretty much any disney movie or any musical? heh
But I always think of Love Actually when I hear Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides Now.
Any Quentin Tarantino movie has amazing music associated with it. I’m also impressed with how John Waters selects music for his movies as well.
My favorite movie soundtrack is the soundtrack for Kissing Jessica Stein.
Disney. I never thought of Disney. How is this possible. Brilliant suggestion.
Quentin Tarantino – he does have a knack for choosing some brilliant music doesn’t he!
Kissing Jessica Stein. I’m totally intrigued. I don’t think I’ve seen that but will now have to rectify the matter.
Thanks Grant.
Lynn 😀
I’m fond of the soundtrack for Pirates Of The Caribbean. Also, not a movie but the theme for Game Of Thrones is pretty awesome too. 😀
Ah, Pirates of the Caribbean – oh yes! Excellent – I’ve just been playing it now and it is bloody brilliant. You’d know the film straight away from just a little snippet wouldn’t you! It’s all uplifting and swashbuckling (can music be swashbuckling?, Oh well, you know what I mean!)
Game of Thrones – I’m going to have to check out the theme right now.
Lynn 😀
Good choices. I would also say Edward Scissor Hands, The Exorcist, The Last of the Mohicans, Dancing with Wolves, Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean. They are the ones that come instantly to mind anyway 🙂
This is such good fun – the music from The Exorcist – such a good choice. Last of the Mohicans another one (although i could be prejudiced because of DDL in the film!), just been listening to Pirates of the Caribbean – it is a really good soundtrack I must admit and well, Harry Potter – I could name that film in about 4 notes worth of that soundtrack (not because I’ve seen the film too many times, ahem!)
I’m going to have an excellent list at this rate.
Lynn 😀
Don’t worry Lynn I’ve re-watched all the Harry Potter films a lot! I think there just such a comfort watch 😛
I know what you mean. They’re the sort of film I can now put on and just watch snippets of and leave the room to get a drink, come back, carry on watching, etc, etc.
Lynn:D
Exactly!