By Louie Ferrera

Since the dawn of cinema, music and the movies have been integral to one another. Even before the advent of sound, films would be accompanied by live musicians in the theater. Back then a movie theater was a palace, the viewing of a film a shared experience in the dark.

Directors choose specific songs and musical styles for their films in order to best get their point across. They understand, as do we, that music can convey a wide range of emotions. Images are powerful and so is music. When the two are effectively combined the experience is unforgettable and becomes indelibly etched into the mind of the viewer. The music and the image accompanying it become one and the same.

When I had the idea for this essay, I began to think about the music/film combinations that have the greatest effect on me. There have been so many. For my money though, the following two films are particularly spot on in their use of music. The fit is so perfect that one could not exist without the other.

Harold and Maude (1971)

Director: Hal Ashby

Music: Cat Stevens

Harold and Maude tells the story of the unlikely May/December romance between morose teenager Harold (Bud Cort) and the ever optimistic septuagenerian Maude (Ruth Gordon). In Harold’s world, the glass is always half empty. He sees no point in living and throughout the film stages a series of mock suicides in order to get the attention of his cold, self possessed mother (Vivian Pickles). After a chance meeting with Maude (at a funeral)! Harold’s life is changed forever. In Maude’s world the glass is overflowing and she helps Harold to see and appreciate the often overlooked beauty that surrounds us all and tries to impress upon him the importance of living each day to its fullest. In all the film’s important scenes the music of Cat Stevens is there to effectively drive these points home, his songs are seamlessly integrated throughout. The message in the film’s key songs (Don’t Be Shy, If You Want To Sing Out, Trouble) is to be yourself and let your emotions out, whatever they may be; feel your feelings, live! Stevens’ gentle, plaintive vocals and honest lyrics seem to speak directly through Maude to Harold. This is a sweet, life affirming film and a textbook example of the use of music in film.

The Graduate (1967)

Director: Mike Nichols

Music: Simon and Garfunkel

Over the opening credits of The Graduate, we see a close-up of Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) on the moving floor at the airport. The Sound of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel is playing and sets the tone for one of the seminal films of the 1960s. Benjamin’s isolation and bewildered expression coupled with the music, perfectly captures that post-college feeling of “what do I do next?” Benjamin is a microcosm for the angst that young people were experiencing during that turbulent decade. His affair with the much older Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft) further adds to his confusion.

What really gives this film much of its power are the songs of Paul Simon. Scarborough Fair is heard throughout the film, adding emotional weight to several key scenes. April Come She Will is used in that wonderful scene where Benjamin goes from jumping out of the pool at his house to jumping onto Mrs. Robinson in their hotel room bed. Of course Mrs. Robinson’s eponymous song is prominently featured. And who could ever forget that final scene? Benjamin has just kidnapped Elaine (Katharine Ross) from her wedding. They run from the church, hop on a city bus and drive away into an unknown future to the strains, once again, of The Sound Of Silence. These songs are perfectly crafted, beautifully performed and impossible to listen to anytime without thinking of The Graduate.

Honorable mention:

For sheer, unbridled joy, it’s hard to top the Twist and Shout scene from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Ferris (Matthew Broderick) finds himself atop a float in a parade through downtown Chicago. With microphone in hand he lip-syncs and gyrates his way through that timeless classic by The Beatles. He’s joined by everyone from a baby in a stroller to a window washer on a scaffold until the entire street becomes one hip swaying, booty shaking sea of humanity.

No film has ever captured the nuances of a romantic relationship better than Woody Allen’s Annie Hall. Diane Keaton’s bittersweet rendition of Seems Like Old Times over the closing narration by Alvy (Woody Allen) is the perfect grace note to one of Allen’s most beloved films. 

In the opening scene of Martin Scorsese’s magnum opus gangster film Goodfellas, Henry (Ray Liotta), Jimmy (Robert De Niro), and Tommy (Joe Pesci) are on their way to bury the guy in the trunk of their car whom they think they’ve successfully “wacked”. Noises from the trunk cause them to pull over and find that the guy is still alive. With a  butcher knife and pistol, Tommy and Jimmy finish the job. As the last shot rings out, Henry exclaims in a voiceover, “As far back as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to be a gangster.” Cue, Rags To Riches by Tony Bennett and you’ve got the ideal song to kick start this genre defining film.

In The Big Chill, a group of old college friends have reunited for the funeral of their friend Alex. At the conclusion of the service Karen (Jo Beth Williams) is invited up to play one of Alex’s favorite songs. She seats herself at the organ and proceeds to play You Can’t Always Get What You Want. The camera slowly pans to the faces of Alex’s friends, each one breaks into a knowing smile as they recognize the song. As the pallbearers are loading the casket into the hearse, the solo organ segues seamlessly into The Rolling Stones recording of the song. Talk about a big chill, I get goosebumps just thinking about this moment.

George Lucas’ 1973 film American Graffiti is a love letter to the early days of rock and roll. The songs are vibrant and hopeful, they perfectly capture the innocence of post-Elvis, pre-Beatles America before the events of November 22, 1963 changed us forever. Virtually every song in this film is a classic of the genre, however there’s one song that tugs at my heart strings every time.

The film follows the exploits of a group of California teenagers over the course of one long summer night. Curt (Richard Dreyfuss) spends the bulk of that night waffling back and forth about leaving for college the next day while at the same time searching for an elusive blonde in a white T-bird, as if finding her will somehow help him decide what to do with his life. He eventually decides on school. In the final scene we find Curt gazing out the window of an airplane at that white T-bird cruising down below. The camera pans to a blue sky as the Beach Boys’ All Summer Long plays over the closing credits. It’s a beautifully poetic end to an unforgettable film.

What are your faves? Leave a comment, I’d love to hear.