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I was already trying to come up with a list of the best musical numbers in non-musical movies before it occurred to me that someone may have already put together such a list. But after a quick Google search revealed samples from the likes of Premiere Magazine rather blah assortment* and this particularly smugly joyless counterpart, I knew it was high time to get the ball rolling myself. Especially as neither list included any of my candidates.
MAGNOLIA:
I actually saw this video before I saw the film itself. I avoided MAGNOLIA for fear that it would be a pretentious crapfest, and dear god, did I ever hate PTA's follow-up, PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE. Dear lord, did I hate that film. But my bottomless adoration for THERE WILL BE BLOOD--coupled by a tribute by Flight of the Chonchords--led me to watch the video on its own, without having seen the film. I'm not quite sure why I started to break down in tears by the end, but I knew I had to see the film.
I eventually did, and I still enjoy it it decidedly more than I think I should, but the key to the whole film is that song, a song which I probably wouldn't like if I just heard it on its own. But the synthesis of song and actors and direction just come together powerfully, which is why I'm amazed it isn't on either of the lists.
BODY DOUBLE (NSFW!!!):
That entrance? That's how I want to enter every room. Sometimes, I do it anyway, and play the music in my head. Then I get the weird looks. I don't care.
I seriously don't get the love for Brian De Palma (other than PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE), particularly when it comes to his 80's films of "hey, let's totally pay tribute to Hitchcock by lifting whole scenes/concepts of his and add tits!" But I will always love BODY DOUBLE for this one scene, which came out of fucking nowhere when I first saw it. Craig Wasson goes undercover as a porn star to meet up with an actress (Melanie Griffifth) who may or may not have information that'll help him solve a murder. You would have no way of knowing that watching this. I don't care. Let Frankie bid you willkommen.
Also, which famous voice actor utters the last line? Give you a hint: ANIMANIACS.
ROCKY IV:
As if Paulie Getting A Robot (and then marrying it, YOU CAN'T TELL ME THAT ISN'T WHAT HAPPENED) wasn't enough clue that ROCKY IV was a loooooooong way away from the humble blue collar roots of the original ROCKY, this scene happened. For me, this is a clear example of what makes the ROCKY saga brilliant, taken both as films and as meta.
It speaks to the over-the-top ridiculousness of everything Rocky himself has become (which is to say, he's fully entered Apollo's world where a man can enter the ring dressed as George Washington and no one bats an eye), while also being a grand glorious flag-waving spectacle of Reagan in the face of a humorless and somewhat befuddled Ivan Drago, who watches the whole thing with a mixture of "Not impressed," and "Seriously, what the hell are you people doing?"
When I saw the trailer for the Gerard Butler action film GAMER, there was a very brief shot of Michael C. Hall leading mind-controlled convicts in what seemed to be a dance number of evil. I prayed that this would be the case. While I still haven't--and likely will never--see GAMER, its existence has been validated by this scene, because yes, that's exactly what's happening here.
Watch Gamer (2009) - Dance Scene in Entertainment | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com
If the video doesn't work, by all means check out the video at the end of the AV Club's article, "GAMER: I WATCHED THIS ON PURPOSE."
Oh! And Henchgirl reminded me of one more. How could I have forgotten BLUE VELVET?
I love showing people BLUE VELVET. They start off hating the film as being hackneyed, corny, cheezy, and just plain boring as hell. Then Dennis Hopper shows up, and as Gene Siskel once put it, the audience realizes they're in over their head. But none of that prepares you for the WTF-ness of Dean Stockwell's character, and this legendary scene. Orbison's song has been forever ruined, but god damn, what a way to go.
What do you guys think? What else belongs on this list? What are your favorite musical moments in non-musicals?
*Half of which I'd never willingly watch in the first place; I want (500) DAYS OF SUMMER's very concept to take corporeal form just so I could stab it)
MAGNOLIA:
I actually saw this video before I saw the film itself. I avoided MAGNOLIA for fear that it would be a pretentious crapfest, and dear god, did I ever hate PTA's follow-up, PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE. Dear lord, did I hate that film. But my bottomless adoration for THERE WILL BE BLOOD--coupled by a tribute by Flight of the Chonchords--led me to watch the video on its own, without having seen the film. I'm not quite sure why I started to break down in tears by the end, but I knew I had to see the film.
I eventually did, and I still enjoy it it decidedly more than I think I should, but the key to the whole film is that song, a song which I probably wouldn't like if I just heard it on its own. But the synthesis of song and actors and direction just come together powerfully, which is why I'm amazed it isn't on either of the lists.
BODY DOUBLE (NSFW!!!):
That entrance? That's how I want to enter every room. Sometimes, I do it anyway, and play the music in my head. Then I get the weird looks. I don't care.
I seriously don't get the love for Brian De Palma (other than PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE), particularly when it comes to his 80's films of "hey, let's totally pay tribute to Hitchcock by lifting whole scenes/concepts of his and add tits!" But I will always love BODY DOUBLE for this one scene, which came out of fucking nowhere when I first saw it. Craig Wasson goes undercover as a porn star to meet up with an actress (Melanie Griffifth) who may or may not have information that'll help him solve a murder. You would have no way of knowing that watching this. I don't care. Let Frankie bid you willkommen.
Also, which famous voice actor utters the last line? Give you a hint: ANIMANIACS.
ROCKY IV:
As if Paulie Getting A Robot (and then marrying it, YOU CAN'T TELL ME THAT ISN'T WHAT HAPPENED) wasn't enough clue that ROCKY IV was a loooooooong way away from the humble blue collar roots of the original ROCKY, this scene happened. For me, this is a clear example of what makes the ROCKY saga brilliant, taken both as films and as meta.
It speaks to the over-the-top ridiculousness of everything Rocky himself has become (which is to say, he's fully entered Apollo's world where a man can enter the ring dressed as George Washington and no one bats an eye), while also being a grand glorious flag-waving spectacle of Reagan in the face of a humorless and somewhat befuddled Ivan Drago, who watches the whole thing with a mixture of "Not impressed," and "Seriously, what the hell are you people doing?"
When I saw the trailer for the Gerard Butler action film GAMER, there was a very brief shot of Michael C. Hall leading mind-controlled convicts in what seemed to be a dance number of evil. I prayed that this would be the case. While I still haven't--and likely will never--see GAMER, its existence has been validated by this scene, because yes, that's exactly what's happening here.
Watch Gamer (2009) - Dance Scene in Entertainment | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com
If the video doesn't work, by all means check out the video at the end of the AV Club's article, "GAMER: I WATCHED THIS ON PURPOSE."
Oh! And Henchgirl reminded me of one more. How could I have forgotten BLUE VELVET?
I love showing people BLUE VELVET. They start off hating the film as being hackneyed, corny, cheezy, and just plain boring as hell. Then Dennis Hopper shows up, and as Gene Siskel once put it, the audience realizes they're in over their head. But none of that prepares you for the WTF-ness of Dean Stockwell's character, and this legendary scene. Orbison's song has been forever ruined, but god damn, what a way to go.
What do you guys think? What else belongs on this list? What are your favorite musical moments in non-musicals?
*Half of which I'd never willingly watch in the first place; I want (500) DAYS OF SUMMER's very concept to take corporeal form just so I could stab it)
