Changing Tunes: The Use of Pre-existing Music in Film

The study of pre-existing film music is a well-established part of Film Studies, covering ’classical’ music and popular music. Generally, these broad musical types are studied in isolation. This anthology brings them together in twelve focused case studies. The first section explores art music; it revolves around the debate on the relation between the aural and visual tracks, and whether pre-existing music has an integrative function or not. The second section is devoted to popular music in film, and shows how very similar the functions of popular music in film are to the supposedly more ’elite’ classical music and opera.

The study of pre-existing film music is now a well-established part of Film Studies, covering ''classical'' music and popular music. Generally, these broad musical types are studied in isolation. This anthology brings them together in twelve focused case studies by a range of scholars, including Claudia Gorbman, Jeongwon Joe, Raymond Knapp, and Timothy Warner. The first section explores art music, both instrumental and operatic; it revolves around the debate on the relation between the aural and visual tracks, and whether pre-existing music has an integrative function or not. The second section is devoted to popular music in film, and shows how very similar the functions of popular music in film are to the supposedly more ''elite'' classical music and opera. Case studies in part 1: Eyes Wide Shut, Raging Bull, Brief Encounter, Détective, The Godfather Part III, three versions of the Carmen story (DeMille''s, Preminger''s and Rosi''s), Amadeus, The Birth of a Nation, M: Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder, Needful Things, Rat Race. Case studies in part 2: various films by Almodóvar, Young Frankenstein, Pulp Fiction, Trainspotting, Amélie, High Fidelity, Ghost World, Heavenly Creatures, The Virgin Suicides, and the video Timber by Coldcut.