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 Posted:   Jun 6, 2010 - 4:51 PM   
 By:   BasilFSM   (Member)

I was having a hard time trying to sleep last night, and the idea for this topic suddenly popped into my head.

What are some movies that point out or make fun of its own background score, songs or source music?





I'll start:

THE BRAVE LITTLE TOASTER (1987) - The very beginning of the film, right after the main titles end. Jon Lovitz, who voices the radio, blurts out this line:





"Good morning, good morning, good morning! That was a billion and one strings playing one of your all-time favorite tunes!"

 
 
 Posted:   Jun 6, 2010 - 4:54 PM   
 By:   maximus_rh   (Member)

I think the character Bolt in, er, 'Bolt' hums John Powell's theme. He does on the album anyway.

 
 Posted:   Jun 6, 2010 - 5:02 PM   
 By:   BasilFSM   (Member)

FYI, that's Mark Walton (as Rhino) who hums the theme. John Travolta voices Bolt.

 
 Posted:   Jun 6, 2010 - 5:04 PM   
 By:   Maestro   (Member)

Rocky III has a scene where the theme is played inside the universe of the film.

 
 
 Posted:   Jun 6, 2010 - 5:41 PM   
 By:   Marcato   (Member)

Other famous Quote are the charming JB Tune in Octopussy.

Spider-man Song in part 2 and 3. (Spider-man Spider-man - does whatever a Spider can)

 
 Posted:   Jun 6, 2010 - 5:52 PM   
 By:   mastadge   (Member)

I believe that in Wanted, one of the characters has a ringtone that's the theme of the movie.

And you can't forget the Life Day song Carrie Fisher sings in the Star Wars Holiday Special, set to the tune of Star Wars Theme.

 
 Posted:   Jun 6, 2010 - 5:53 PM   
 By:   DeputyRiley   (Member)

Oh great question Basil!

In the movie BEYOND RANGOON, a mother is singing Hans Zimmer's beautiful main theme to her baby while holding her. I love that about the score and movie. Love it.

In the end concert scene from the movie THE EYE, Jessica Alba's character is playing lead violin on Marco Beltrami's main theme for the movie with a full orchestra.

Towards the beginning of the movie DIE HARD, Alan Rickman's character Hans Gruber hums/sings Beethoven's piece that plays so prominently in the movie.

The fictional tv show Badge of Honor in the movie L.A. CONFIDENTIAL is provided a score by Jerry Goldsmith, much in the vein of his score for the actual movie.

On the TV show SCRUBS there's a running joke where Zach Braff's fantasy-and-daydream-obsessed character relies on a short piano piece of score to emphasize his touching moments with his mentor, Dr. Cox.

In the BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER musical episode, long-running series composer Christophe Beck is seen on the show playing his music on piano wearing a tux.

In the movie GROSSE POINTE BLANK a Guns 'N Roses song is playing on the soundtrack and when John Cusack's character steps into a 7-11 gas station the song immediately morphs into the Muzak version.

In LEGENDS OF THE FALL the youngest brother is playing one of James Horner's main "family" themes on the piano for his family.

Of course either this movie makes reference to its own music, or vice versa...but in THE 'BURBS Jerry Goldsmith employs a synthesized barking dog to accompany a dog's romp through suburbia.

This might be a stretch...in the movie THE FACULTY (scored by Marco Beltrami), a character is listening to Beltrami's own cue "NC-17" from his score to SCREAM on his headphones. It's kind of cool actually, the cue "NC-17" from the SCREAM score is playing over dialogue between two characters during the movie THE FACULTY, and the next shot is of a football player in the same room listening to that very music on his headphones, which are promptly yanked from his head by the alien teacher and the music abruptly stops. Kinda funny.

I'm probably really stretching it...but in the movie SCREAM 2 they show footage from the fictional STAB movie which pokes fun at both the original SCREAM movie and its score by Marco Beltrami.

I also think of the little girl (?) humming the main theme to PAN'S LABRYNTH...

...and the mother and daughter singing the tribal hymn to each other that is one of the themes for the movie they're in, Horner's MIGHTY JOE YOUNG.

 
 
 Posted:   Jun 6, 2010 - 5:55 PM   
 By:   antipodean   (Member)

It happens twice in Iwashiro's "Red Cliff (Part 1)" where parts of his score appear in a diegetic context: first when a little boy is playing the main theme on a flute, and later when Zhou Yu also hums the tune.

 
 
 Posted:   Jun 6, 2010 - 6:05 PM   
 By:   TerraEpon   (Member)

I know there was a thread similar to this before.

The most amusing thing that comes to mind is the episode of Family Guy were Peter gets his own theme music. Not /quite/ the same, but still.
(And then of course, the Star Wars episiode with "John Williams and the London Symphony Orchestra everyone!" "John Williams! Oh no, now we have to do this thing with Danny Elfman!")

 
 Posted:   Jun 6, 2010 - 6:07 PM   
 By:   robertmro   (Member)

"The High and the Mighty" of course.

The Duke whistles the theme.

 
 
 Posted:   Jun 6, 2010 - 6:16 PM   
 By:   GMP   (Member)

AMADEUS

 
 
 Posted:   Jun 7, 2010 - 2:04 AM   
 By:   Thor   (Member)

We've had this topic (or similar) a few times over the years, like this one:

http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cfm?threadID=26203&forumID=1&archive=1

 
 Posted:   Jun 7, 2010 - 2:08 AM   
 By:   kingtolkien   (Member)

Jack Nicholson whistling The witches of Eastwick theme in The witches of Eastwick when he goes in a store to buy ice-cream. By the way as far as I know the one who actually whistles the theme, is John Williams

 
 
 Posted:   Jun 7, 2010 - 4:13 AM   
 By:   joffa   (Member)


Carter Burwell's themes for 'Raising Arizona' pop up diagetically a few times in that film, most often in muzak versions playing over the PA system in convenience stores...

 
 Posted:   Jun 7, 2010 - 5:26 AM   
 By:   Ray Faiola   (Member)

My favorite:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5NI21xUnQ4&feature=related

 
 Posted:   Jun 7, 2010 - 5:42 AM   
 By:   David-R.   (Member)

I like when in THE INCREDIBLES, Mr. Incredible comes in the house late at night after his heroics w/ Frozone and hums The Incredibles theme.

 
 
 Posted:   Jun 7, 2010 - 5:47 AM   
 By:   Adoy   (Member)

Gremlins. Gizmo sings one of the themes as it's played on a keyboard by Billy.

 
 Posted:   Jun 7, 2010 - 5:59 AM   
 By:   edern   (Member)

Great topic!

From Hell by Trevor Jones: Ian Holm's character listens to his own theme on a wax cylinder (The Compass & The Ruler track).

Monster House by Douglas Pipes: Eliza's Song is written as if the character was singing over the underscore music.

 
 
 Posted:   Jun 7, 2010 - 3:53 PM   
 By:   joffa   (Member)

Gremlins. Gizmo sings one of the themes as it's played on a keyboard by Billy.

Of course! Also, the Gremlins sing their own 'Gremlin Rag' to Mrs. Deagle later in the film.

 
 
 Posted:   Jun 7, 2010 - 3:56 PM   
 By:   Imperialsound   (Member)

My favorite:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5NI21xUnQ4&feature=related


That's fantastic!

 
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