Best use of diegetic music in a film?
08-03-14, 01:03 AM
#1
DVD Talk Legend
Thread Starter
Best use of diegetic music in a film?
My friend brought this up after Guardians of the Galaxy stating that it was the best use of diegetic music that he's ever seen.
For those unaware:
For more information on diegetic music vs non-diegetic/extra-diegetic music: http://www.filmmusicnotes.com/dieget...ource-scoring/
For those who haven't seen Guardians of the Galaxy, all of the songs featured on the film's soundtrack are played from a cassette tape owned by the main character.
I threw out Almost Famous and The Boat That Rocked (otherwise known to Americans as Pirate Radio) as films that shined in their use of diegetic music. Specifically scenes that involved sing-alongs from the cast and crew (Tiny Dancer in the former, Eleanor in the latter). Notably, both films' plots revolve around music.
So what other films also used diegetic music really well?
For those unaware:
Originally Posted by Wikipedia
Sound in films is termed diegetic if it is part of the narrative sphere of the film. For instance, if a character in the film is playing a piano, or turns on a CD player, the resulting sound is diegetic. The cantina band sequence in the original Star Wars is an example of diegetic music in film, with the band playing instruments and swaying to the beat, as patrons are heard reacting to the second piece the band plays. If, on the other hand, music plays in the background but cannot be heard by the film's characters, it is termed non-diegetic or extra-diegetic. Songs are commonly used in various film sequences to serve different purposes. They can be used to link scenes in the story where a character progresses through various stages towards a final goal. An example of this is in Rocky: Bill Conti's "Gonna Fly Now" plays non-diegetically as Rocky makes his way through his training regimen finishing on the top steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art with his hands famously raised in the air. A term sometimes used in the industry to describe such music is "source music".
For those who haven't seen Guardians of the Galaxy, all of the songs featured on the film's soundtrack are played from a cassette tape owned by the main character.
I threw out Almost Famous and The Boat That Rocked (otherwise known to Americans as Pirate Radio) as films that shined in their use of diegetic music. Specifically scenes that involved sing-alongs from the cast and crew (Tiny Dancer in the former, Eleanor in the latter). Notably, both films' plots revolve around music.
So what other films also used diegetic music really well?
08-03-14, 01:10 AM
#2
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Best use of diegetic music in a film?
It's extremely rare in films, but the HBO series The Wire only uses diegetic music, aside from the season finale montages. That technique really added to the verisimilitude of the show. I'm intrigued to hear that a science fiction opera used this approach, maybe I'll go see it next weekend.
08-03-14, 01:22 AM
#3
Re: Best use of diegetic music in a film?
I don't think it is rare at all. Nearly every movie I can think of that takes place after the invention of radio has a bar scene or party scene or driving in the car scene where the characters are listening to a record/radio/CD player.
I don't know for a fact, but I've read a claim American Graffiti was one of the first films to use this prominently. In the book Conversations Walter Murch describes recording the music tracks playing through shitty car speakers to use in the film, because he knew they couldn't have that crisp, right off the record sound.
I've never heard the term "diegetic" before, but one of the first that springs to my mind is the "Stuck in the Middle With You" scene in Reservoir Dogs. I love how the song fades away as Mr. Blonde walks outside, we hear the sound of the street; distant traffic, dog barking. You forget all about the music, so it's a real surprise when he springs the garage door open and the song is still playing away.
I don't know for a fact, but I've read a claim American Graffiti was one of the first films to use this prominently. In the book Conversations Walter Murch describes recording the music tracks playing through shitty car speakers to use in the film, because he knew they couldn't have that crisp, right off the record sound.
I've never heard the term "diegetic" before, but one of the first that springs to my mind is the "Stuck in the Middle With You" scene in Reservoir Dogs. I love how the song fades away as Mr. Blonde walks outside, we hear the sound of the street; distant traffic, dog barking. You forget all about the music, so it's a real surprise when he springs the garage door open and the song is still playing away.
08-03-14, 01:32 AM
#4
Re: Best use of diegetic music in a film?
I don't know about best use but I love this scene in Transformers (mainly because of the 80's song).
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08-03-14, 02:02 AM
#5
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Best use of diegetic music in a film?
The vast majority of music in movies has no contextual place within the scene. There are plenty of examples of diegetic music, but it is the exception, not the rule.
I love the scene in Se7en when Morgan Freeman is doing research in the library and the security guard turns up the classical piece that plays throughout the remainder of the sequence.
I love the scene in Se7en when Morgan Freeman is doing research in the library and the security guard turns up the classical piece that plays throughout the remainder of the sequence.
08-03-14, 05:58 AM
#6
Re: Best use of diegetic music in a film?
Anytime classical music is performed on camera, it's diegetic. One of the most distinct scenes of classical music performance in a film is the finale of HANGOVER SQUARE (1945), where Laird Cregar, as a composer with a murderous split personality, is performing a piano concerto with an orchestra when the concert hall catches fire (he had something to do with its cause, IIRC) and all the musicians flee, except for Cregar, who keeps playing until the building comes down around him. It's notable as the only instance of a piano concerto ending with a piano solo. The piece, composed for the film by Bernard Herrmann, has appeared on various Herrmann compilation albums.
Frank Sinatra performs a number of his signature songs on camera in YOUNG AT HEART (1954). It's quintessential Sinatra and should be seen to appreciate his standing in popular music in the postwar era and the way he so successfully reinvented himself after the bobby-soxer era.
Frank Sinatra performs a number of his signature songs on camera in YOUNG AT HEART (1954). It's quintessential Sinatra and should be seen to appreciate his standing in popular music in the postwar era and the way he so successfully reinvented himself after the bobby-soxer era.
08-03-14, 06:01 AM
#7
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Best use of diegetic music in a film?
I don't know if it's the best, but I loved it in Iron Eagle when I was younger.. That's what I immediately thought of for some reason when I read the op.
08-03-14, 07:17 AM
#10
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Best use of diegetic music in a film?
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Last edited by TGM; 08-03-14 at 07:25 AM.
08-03-14, 10:43 AM
#17
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Re: Best use of diegetic music in a film?
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08-03-14, 11:06 AM
#18
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Re: Best use of diegetic music in a film?
Mia in Pulp Fiction, twice.
08-03-14, 11:14 AM
#19
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
Re: Best use of diegetic music in a film?
Of the films that fit this topic that I've seen recently, The Competition, starring Richard Dreyfuss and Amy Irving, really blew me away. Amy Irving's "performance" of Prokofiev's Piano Concerto #3 was incredibly well-shot and edited. I'd never heard the piece before, and the film made me an immediate fan of it. I've probably listened to that piece dozens of times since I saw the film in April.
08-03-14, 11:41 AM
#21
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Re: Best use of diegetic music in a film?
Star Wars really is the winner. Every time the term comes up people define it by pointing to the cantina sequence.
08-03-14, 11:52 AM
#22
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Re: Best use of diegetic music in a film?
My favs-
Batman 89- Partyman ( museum scene), Trust ( Gotham celebration)
The Future is in the begining also but nowhere iconic as the two above.
Batman 89- Partyman ( museum scene), Trust ( Gotham celebration)
The Future is in the begining also but nowhere iconic as the two above.
08-03-14, 12:14 PM
#23
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Best use of diegetic music in a film?
From Dusk till Dawn - After Dark - Hayek's dance.
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08-03-14, 12:18 PM
#24
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Best use of diegetic music in a film?
The opening to Desperado:
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