Classical Music in Films

[Karl Henning]

And we the normal, just differently ill! (Woof.)

[mc ukrneal]

Hamlet is some nicely obscure Tchaikovsky to make use of!

I don't think Hamlet is as obscure as you think it is, Karl. It is, however, a fantastic work. I'm anxious to hear it again as it's been years since I've heard it.

I think you both may be right. The issue here is that there are two Hamlets. There is an overture-fantasy and there is overture and incidental music. I believe the overture in the incidental music is taken from the overture-fantasy (at least in part, with cuts and modifications). It is a slimmed down version at roughly half the length. On record, there are a limited number of Hamlet overture and incidental music recordings (2 that I can think of). But there are numerous recordings of the overture-fantasy. To complicate matters worse, they are both Op 67 - one being 67a (overture-fantasy) and the other 67b (overture and incidental music). TO make matters worse, some seem to refer to op 67a as just op 67 and op67b as op 67a (sometimes 67bis)! I cannot say for sure who is right with the labeling, but is sure does confuse matters. So you see, you may both be right on this one.

EDIT: And as I did a brief search on the opus numbering, I found evidence that there may be two versions, which may explain the above discrepency. It looks like 67 and 67a may be the more common.
EDIT2: For those desiring the incidental music, the Chandos disc on Amazon MP can be had for under $10 Including US shipping.

[Szykneij]

I went to see The Dark Knight Rises tonight and was surprised to hear Ravel's Pavane pour une Infante Défunte featured prominently during one of the scenes.

[Ataraxia]

I went to see The Dark Knight Rises tonight and was surprised to hear Ravel's Pavane pour une Infante Défunte featured prominently during one of the scenes.

I <3 that tune.

[North Star]

I went to see The Dark Knight Rises tonight and was surprised to hear Ravel's Pavane pour une Infante Défunte featured prominently during one of the scenes.

Cool! I can't wait to see the movie, probably I'll wait for the BD release, though.

[snyprrr]

Is that Liszt's Leibestraume (sic) I hear playing in White Zombie?

[TheGSMoeller]

http://www.youtube.com/v/H2w8Fhs64Zo http://www.youtube.com/v/lFkyAD9gS6g http://www.youtube.com/v/fhj4b5CzyhU

Three examples of Wagner's Vorspiel from Das Rheingold being used in film.
The first one is from Werner Herzog's 1979 remake of Nosferatu. This takes place during Harker's initial journey to the Count's home. Sorry for the dark and grainy video, it's all I could find online.
The second example is from Terrance Malick's 2005 epic, The New World. The first video is in the beginning with their arrival to Virginia and the Native's reaction. The second use of Wagner's music from The New World is in it's closing frames. I won't give too much away in case you haven't seen it, not any major spoilers, but I know some might not like to see the final minutes of film without seeing the rest. But it's quite a lovely marriage of sight and sound.
It's interesting to see how this particular cut from Wagner's opera is utilized, all three have very little dialogue and there is constant visual movement, whether its the clouds, boats, people or even the camera. The flowing sense from the music is well represented. There's a sense of discovery in each clip.
Malick is a master at using classical music in his films. He has used Orff, Saint-Saens, Ives, Faure and Berlioz to name a few. The poetic nature of his cinematic narrative thrives here with Wagner's rising lines.

[Mirror Image]

Cool! I can't wait to see the movie, probsbly I'll wait for the BD release, though.

+1