Favorite cinematic build up with music

[Truls Skare]

What is your favorite cinematic build-up moment where the picture and music is in perfect harmony building each other up?

It is usually these moments that gets to me, giving me goosebumps.

One method that gets used a lot is to apply reverb to the music and making the reverb longer and longer, more distant. For instance used in David Mullens Jennifer´s Body when the band has the concert. Does anyone have other examples where this method is used?

 

[Joe G.]

In Fearless, the sequence with U2 Street With No Name and the car crashing.

Every musical sequence in The Good, The Bad and the Ugly.

Most of Moulin Rouge.

The sequences in To Die For

Some specialized delivery in Across the Universe.

Many many many...

 

[Tim Whitcomb]

the use (and reuse) of "As time goes by" in Casablanca

EDIT: it sells happiness at one pace. spells impending doom the next.

MASTERFUL SCORE

 

[David Mullen ASC]

The opening of "Excalibur", cut to Wagner:

Especially how it cuts to the next morning:

Also, lots of bits in Kubrick movies cut to classical music.

Now these scenes were not necessarily cut to music, but the music and picture are so well matched:

The scene near the end of "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" as Eli Wallach runs through the graveyard looking for the grave with treasure.

The whole final act of "Close Encounters" continuing through the end credits.

 

[Kevin Wild]

A little sappy, but Christmas night they were showing E.T. and that ending is pretty awesome with the music. We only watched the last 30 minutes...my 8 year old son suddenly excused himself to go play at the very end. Just too much drama for him.

Another obvious choice is Rocky. No better mix of picture and music, in my opinion.

 

[David Mullen ASC]

The climax to "E.T." was actually cut to Howard Hanson's Symphony #2 (The Romantic), which was also used for the end titles to "Alien". If you play the last section of the symphony, the horns come in just as they do in the bicycle chase music by Williams, and the Hanson music even pauses briefly during the crescendo just as William's music does as the door closes on the spaceship, building again as it takes off.

 

[Elsie N]

For me it was "Patton". I hear the music in my mind and visualize a George C. Scott scene from that movie immediately.

 

[David Mullen ASC]

The music for the climax of "Black Narcissus" was composed in advance and played during the shooting so that the actresses' movements were timed to the music.

 

[Frank Weeks]

There is something about Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" in the safe opening scene of Die Hard that I love.

 

[Roberto Lequeux]

No Country For Old Men

 

[Pietro Impagliazzo]

No Country For Old Men

Since there's no score in that film (maybe only tension that is built through sublte sound design)...

What moment are you referring to? Maybe a moment with diegetic music?

 

[Roberto Lequeux]

It was meant to be a joke, and at the same time a very big compliment.

 

[Tanner Stauss]

The climax scene in "28 Days Later" right up to where he gouges the guys eyes out.

 

[Tim Whitcomb]

What is your favorite cinematic build-up moment where the picture and music is in perfect harmony building each other up?

It is usually these moments that gets to me, giving me goosebumps.

One method that gets used a lot is to apply reverb to the music and making the reverb longer and longer, more distant. For instance used in David Mullens Jennifer´s Body when the band has the concert. Does anyone have other examples where this method is used?

I also think the Bicycle Paper Boys Chase Scene in Savage Steve Holland's "Better Off Dead" is a brilliant COMEDIC cinematic build-up...
with hints of "Pyshco"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GztyFfoiKi0&feature=related

That said, I cant believe I forgot Excalibur, top 5 fave film, probably my all time favorite score...

 

[Sean Lee]

I saw "The Last of the Mohicans" years and years ago but I remember being really caught up in the final sequence of the film where the heroes of the movie were giving chase up the side of a mountain in an attempt to save their kidnapped women. It was a Scottish-sounding music with a rhythm that really drove the tension and the built up in the scene to the very end.

 

[Mark Allen]

In Fearless, the sequence with U2 Street With No Name and the car crashing.

In Fearless the entire end sequence with the Gorecki symphony is pretty remarkable use of pre-recorded music and cinema working beautifully.

Another example is Ryuchi Sakamoto's song used in Babel (for which I think the movie got awarded the Academy Award for best music when it was really a pre-record)... but that song for the ending and other moments was incredibly harmonious.

 

[chris.karageorgiou]

For me, it would have to be the scene in The Fountain when the star Xibalba dies.

 

[Pietro Impagliazzo]

It was meant to be a joke, and at the same time a very big compliment.

I suck at getting subtle jokes.

:bigear:

 

[Truls Skare]

Tim: The two dollars scene was funny

For me, it would have to be the scene in The Fountain when the star Xibalba dies.

Yeah, thats one of my favorites as well. I have played that scene quite a few times on high volume!

The intro to The fall is also great, and I love how its giving clues to what happens throughout the film.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4DgxnHAYRg

Tarsem actually used the same score for a reebok commercial which was similar.

Donnie darko has also some great moments

The intro:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnXek_O88Ww

I love that the red car shows up when he sings killing time and the speed ramping with the leafblower.

The high school scene:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWJPa0bvWnM

and of course the ending.

 

[Truls Skare]

Another favorite, the railroad sequence in stalker

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rk1PxpZ-hfE

The soundtrack is amazing, the rail sounds fading into delayed ambients synth bleeps. Soo hypnotizing