Music in Film

La di da

Hello my friends!!

I last wrote to you as the earth warmed up and the sun turned her cheeky little smile towards us. What a glorious summer it was! I got to swim and dance and travel. What more could a girl ask for?

We’re now in the season where, as a 22 year old, I still expect to be in school and my brain can’t comprehend that I’m not. No more syllabi to half read and no more textbooks to buy and then never use (sorry mom and dad). No more laughing with friends on campus and studying in the warm library as snow falls outside. Even though I’ve been a graduate for over a year now, I wonder how long it will take to deprogram myself from 16 years of school.

The leaves are slowly turning as animals find their shelters for the cold months ahead. On my way home one day I saw a bunny and a fox. I hope they’re friends. I wonder if they too are shocked by the quick change of the winds and the sun’s sudden coldness. Soon, they will burrow for the winter and peacefully sleep as fall turns to winter and then winter turns to spring. The seasons are changing and I can’t help but feel like I’m changing even faster.

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Anyways, I’m here today to share some of my really important and groundbreaking thought on music and sound in film. Here’s my hot take: I love music! It’s so awesome and I love to sing and dance to songs that sound good in my brain and my heart.

Ronee Blakely singing her heart out in Nashville (1975)

Music extends past other modes of communication. Stories can be told through sounds and beats in ways that can’t be done in any other medium. It’s really amazing how evocative and meaningful music can be. People can hear the same sounds and have totally singular experiences and understandings. You don’t need to speak any language to understand music; music accepts us all. On the other hand, sometimes music is a pile of sounds that don’t make any sense and sound really bad. Such is life.

Film class time! Music in film (sound in general) can be diegetic or non-diegetic. Meaning that we’re either hearing music that the characters are hearing as well (diegetic) or we’re hearing a song/soundtrack/score/sounds that does not exist in the story world (non-diegetic). Musicals exist in their own world- sometimes music is acknowledged as part of the story when characters break into song, but it’s usually another mode of communication between characters. Sometimes it’s even both. The characters in West Side Story aren’t gearing up for a song every 3 minutes in their story world, song is just another way they communicate. In the High School Musical trilogy, Gabriella and Troy sing together in the school’s musical and also communicate through music. There are very few rules.

Sound in film is very interesting as filmmakers can use it to trick us. They say that seeing is believing, but what about hearing? Oftentimes, we convince ourselves into believing that we must have heard something wrong. When we can’t see the source of sounds, we’re forced to reconcile what we’re seeing on screen with sounds that may not fit into our understanding of the story world. Sound motifs and repetition can trick viewers into believing anything.

On the other hand, music in film can be used to evoke feelings or stories that do not need to be said. A really good soundtrack can take a good movie and make it unstoppable. When there’s a disconnect between the soundtrack and the story world it can be so off-putting that it literally takes viewers outside of the film and has them thinking exclusively about the choice of music. While reality tv is not comparable to film, we’ve all heard the absurd songs playing in between reality tv scenes. While it’s hilarious, you sometimes end up thinking about those strange and oddly specific songs more than the show itself. The art of music in film is truly that- an art.

Velvet Goldmine (1998)

I have always been a bit of a theatre kid and I really love musicals. I played Maria in West Side Story and Donna in Mamma Mia! back at sleepover camp. I had so much fun. I watched Mamma Mia! every single day for multiple months in a row when I was 9. I even went through a phase in middle school of watching Pitch Perfect daily for a few weeks. In high school, La La Land took over my life and the soundtrack still runs through my brain basically always. I love to sing and I love to dance and I love to watch people who are much better than me at singing and dancing.

I’m now going to give you a rundown of some of my favourite musicals and then some of my favourite movies that have amazing soundtracks or musical elements. You’re getting two for the price of one today. I might say a bit about some of the movies and I also might not- as you all know by now, it’s my blog and I can do whatever I want. I’m also not 100% confident in my grouping of musical vs. non-musical. It’s pretty hard to discern what is classified as a musical vs. a movie with a music theme so I’m putting them wherever I want because - you guessed it! - it’s my blog and I can do whatever I want.

Maia’s Favourite Musicals (in no particular order)

• West Side Story (1961) directed by Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise

• Nashville (1975) directed by Robert Altman

• Mary Poppins (1964) directed by Robert Stevenson

I was so obsessed with this musical when I was a kid. I just remember being infatuated with Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke and their dynamic. It’s truly an electric movie and while I don’t typically love movies from this period, I will always have a soft spot for this one.

• Velvet Goldmine (1998) directed by Todd Haynes

I wrote a paper about this film in my first year of university. Todd Haynes is incredible and this movie is amazing, please give it a watch if you haven’t!

• All That Jazz (1979) directed by Bob Fosse

• Saturday Night Fever (1977) directed by John Badham

• The Sound of Music (1965) directed by Robert Wise

• The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) directed by Jacques Demy

• La la Land (2016) directed by Damien Chazelle

It’s hard to describe the love I have for this movie. Everything about it is perfect and the songs are one in a billion. Chazelle is a genius and I cannot believe how lucky we are to be alive at the same time as people creating stuff like this. And no, we will not be discussing the Oscars here.

• Mamma Mia! (2008) directed by Phyllida Lloyd

• School of Rock (2003) directed by Richard Linklater

• Grease (1968) directed by Randal Kleiser

• Moulin Rouge! (2001) directed by Baz Luhrmann

• Chicago (2002) directed by Rob Marshall

I got to be Paparazzi #6 at my sleepover camp production of Chicago. I thought it was so scandalous and I practically revered the lead girls. Once I got home and watched the real thing I was obsessed. Still am.

• Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) directed by Mel Stuart

• Funny Girl (1968) directed by William Wyler

Barbara Streisand. That’s it, that’s all I have to say about this one.

• La Vie en Rose (2007) directed by Olivier Dahan

• Tick, Tick… Boom! (2021) directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda

Musicals from my childhood that I will still rewatch

• Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009) directed by Peter Chelsom

• Hairspray (2007) directed by Adam Shankman

This is an objectively good musical. While it’s equally absurd as it is good, I think about Queen Latifah singing “I know where I’ve been” all the time it’s a mesmerizing song and turning point in the movie.

• Camp Rock (2008) directed by Matthew Diamond

• Pitch Perfect (2012) directed by Jason Moore

• High School Musical trilogy (2006-2008) directed by Kenny Ortega

Yes people, duality exists. I love Pitch Perfect and HSM and I also love Altman’s Nashville and that’s ok.

Maia’s Favourite Movies With Good Soundtracks or Movies That Have Musical Elements That I Like or Movies That Are Musical in Any Way And Not Considered A Musical By Me (in no particular order)

• Whiplash (2014) directed by Damien Chazelle

One of my favourite movies of all time! Chazelle’s history and love for jazz is so awesome. Such a talented cast.

• Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) directed by Ethan Coen and Joel Coen

• Dazed and Confused (1993) directed by Richard Linklater

• Amy (2015) directed by Asif Kapadia

Duh!!!!! Amy forever <3

• John Early: Now More Than Ever (2023) directed by Leah Hennessy and Emily Allan

• The Beatles: Get Back (2021) directed by Peter Jackson

• Submarine (2010) directed by Richard Ayoade

Alex Turner from the Arctic Monkeys went solo for this soundtrack. There’s some amazing songs in this movie that really push along the vibe and story in this movie. So well done and perfect for the time.

• The Last Waltz (1978) directed by Martin Scorsese

• Ladies & Gentleman, The Rolling Stones (1973) directed by Rollin Binzer

• Trainspotting (1996) directed by Danny Boyle

Really really good soundtrack. Fits the atmosphere of the film and incorporates great songs from the period. Also doesn’t use music to sensationalize or glorify the tough subject matter.

• Empire Records (1995) directed by Allan Moyle

• Dirty Dancing (1987) directed by Emile Ardolino

• Almost Famous (2000) directed by Cameron Crowe

The music in this film is just too good. One of my favourite movies ever.

BEST. CASTING. EVER.

• Daisy Jones and the Six (2023) directed by

Ok this isn’t a movie but the music they created for this series is amazing and worth a listen.

• Tar (2022) directed by Todd Field

• Footloose (2011) directed by Craig Brewer

I have something to say about this movie…. I LOVE IT! And yes, I know, the original is better or blah blah blah. I don’t care. I watch this movie every single year and every time I am just as happy as the first. I don’t even think it’s a good movie and I love it nonetheless. Let me live, people!

• Step Up (2006) directed by Anne Fletcher

• Sound of Metal (2019) directed by Darius Marder

• 54 (1998) directed by Mark Christopher

• The Graduate (1968) directed by Mike Nichols

Simon & Garfunkel fans unite! This soundtrack features 5 songs from my favourite duo, most notably “April Come She Will,” one of the best songs ever.

• Fair Play (2023) directed by Chloe Dumont

This movie randomly has an amazing soundtrack of 50s and 60s music from the likes of Sherell Townsend, Charles Hodges, The Passionettes, Birdlegs & Paulina, and others. I think it plays beautifully in contrast to the modern story world and reminds us that the issue of domestic abuse is not a modern issue.

• Marie Antoinette (2006) directed by Sofia Coppola

• Interstellar (2014) directed by Christopher Nolan

Nolan has done a formidable job at creating a defining sound genre for his films. While that is thanks to the genius of Hans Zimmer, we all know and love the music associated with his movies.

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I could keep going! Music is such an integral part of my life and I feel so strongly about music and sound in film. It’s interesting to me that while I don’t typically love movies from the 1940s-1970s period, some of the best musicals of all time were created during those years and have played such a formative role in my film and music taste.

I grew up not being able to articulate a lot of my feelings without connecting them to something I saw on the screen or something I heard in a song. When those worlds come together, I feel understood on a level I never knew possible. Music is us and we are music.

Thank you for reading and joining me. I hope you sing and dance to your heart’s music <3