Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Five classical music clips in the movies

Some lesser known classical music appearances in the movies

Alex and friends in Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange
Alex and friends in Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange
Video:

Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini

...from <em>Somewhere in Time</em>

...from Somewhere in Time

With the massive celebration of pop culture over (Comic Con), I’ve been inspired to take a look at the best use of classical music in movies. This is not about original motion picture scores but about the use of previously composed music in the movies.

Video:

Excalibur

...symphonic ending

...symphonic ending

I’ve chosen five here based on nothing in particular except that they are somewhat off the beaten path. These five are not the end all be all. There will be more in the future.

Somewhere in Time, starring Christopher Reeve, Christopher Plummer, and Jane Seymour, introduced Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini to the country at large. The movie is a fantasy about a romance created by self-hypnosis. Forgive the wretched second half of this clip.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Video:

A Night at the Opera

...from <em>Life Is Beautiful</em>

...from Life Is Beautiful

Excalibur is a cult classic and lines up well with the Comic Con zeitgeist. It uses Carl Orff’s Carmina BuranaI’m not a fan — and Wagner’s prelude to Tristan und Isolde, but it is Siegfried’s funeral march from Götterdämmerung that concludes the movie.

Video:

Ravel's Bolero

...from <em>10</em>

...from 10

Life is Beautiful was the moment many Americans realized Italy makes movies. Don’t believe me? Ask anyone to name an Italian movie and keep track of the answers. I guarantee it’s La vita e bella and Cinema Paradiso. It’s interesting that the classical music in Life is Beautiful is by the French composer Jacques Offenbach and not an Italian.

Video:

Beethoven's Symphony No. 9

...from <em>A Clockwork Orange</em>

...from A Clockwork Orange

Ravel's Bolero from 1979’s 10 became connected with the sexuality of the early '80s. Suddenly the rhythmic monotony of Ravel became a most happy repetition.

Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange uses Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 but not in its traditional, fully endowed form. The piece shows up in a shopping mall while Alex observes girls devouring phallic popsicles. I shall allow Slavoj Žižek to do the explaining.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

The Art Of Dr. Seuss, Boarded: A New Pirate Adventure, Wild Horses Festival

Events December 26-December 30, 2024
Next Article

East San Diego County has only one bike lane

So you can get out of town – from Santee to Tierrasanta
Alex and friends in Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange
Alex and friends in Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange
Video:

Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini

...from <em>Somewhere in Time</em>

...from Somewhere in Time

With the massive celebration of pop culture over (Comic Con), I’ve been inspired to take a look at the best use of classical music in movies. This is not about original motion picture scores but about the use of previously composed music in the movies.

Video:

Excalibur

...symphonic ending

...symphonic ending

I’ve chosen five here based on nothing in particular except that they are somewhat off the beaten path. These five are not the end all be all. There will be more in the future.

Somewhere in Time, starring Christopher Reeve, Christopher Plummer, and Jane Seymour, introduced Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini to the country at large. The movie is a fantasy about a romance created by self-hypnosis. Forgive the wretched second half of this clip.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Video:

A Night at the Opera

...from <em>Life Is Beautiful</em>

...from Life Is Beautiful

Excalibur is a cult classic and lines up well with the Comic Con zeitgeist. It uses Carl Orff’s Carmina BuranaI’m not a fan — and Wagner’s prelude to Tristan und Isolde, but it is Siegfried’s funeral march from Götterdämmerung that concludes the movie.

Video:

Ravel's Bolero

...from <em>10</em>

...from 10

Life is Beautiful was the moment many Americans realized Italy makes movies. Don’t believe me? Ask anyone to name an Italian movie and keep track of the answers. I guarantee it’s La vita e bella and Cinema Paradiso. It’s interesting that the classical music in Life is Beautiful is by the French composer Jacques Offenbach and not an Italian.

Video:

Beethoven's Symphony No. 9

...from <em>A Clockwork Orange</em>

...from A Clockwork Orange

Ravel's Bolero from 1979’s 10 became connected with the sexuality of the early '80s. Suddenly the rhythmic monotony of Ravel became a most happy repetition.

Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange uses Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 but not in its traditional, fully endowed form. The piece shows up in a shopping mall while Alex observes girls devouring phallic popsicles. I shall allow Slavoj Žižek to do the explaining.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Too $hort & DJ Symphony, Peppermint Beach Club, Holidays at the Zoo

Events December 19-December 21, 2024
Next Article

Victorian Christmas Tours, Jingle Bell Cruises

Events December 22-December 25, 2024
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader