The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou

From today’s b, the paper

What makes a movie great? Is it a star-studded cast, great dialogue, amazing shots, great lighting or intense visual effects? Generally it’s a combination of all these things, but we are missing one key element that makes a film a film: music. Take “Star Wars,” for example. You know that every time you hear the “Imperial March,” Darth Vader is about to appear, and the same goes for when you hear the good guys’ theme. Any movie that John Williams is involved with is usually well respected and very recognizable. “Indiana Jones,” anybody?

A film score can make you scared, build suspense, make you cry or make you happy. The first time I really noticed this was after seeing the original “The Omen.” Whenever the two Dobermans appeared, I would freak out.

I love it most when a film has a rocking sound track, like many of Martin Scorsese’s classic films. “Goodfellas” is a perfect example of using music to make a film great. As Henry Hill ages, the music changes with the times. The sound track includes classics by Bobby Darin, Aretha Franklin and Dean Martin but also uses tracks from The Rolling Stones, Cream and George Harrison. And who could forget the scene where Scorsese shows us a parade of dead gangsters set to the piano solo in “Layla”?

More recently, director Wes Anderson has been combining great film scores, courtesy of Mark Mothersbaugh (Devo), with deep classic cuts and new tunes that will blow your mind. The brain behind “Bottle Rocket,” “The Royal Tenenbaums” and “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou” makes sure to include great music with awesome visuals and dry, cutting humor. Tonight Ben Harsel and I will chat about why Anderson is his favorite filmmaker and how some of the songs used in his films have become favorites.

The Who “A Quick One While He’s Away”
Paul Simon “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard”
The Rolling Stones “She Smiled Sweetly”
Nico “These Days”
Elliott Smith “Needle in the Hay”
Seu Jorge “Rebel Rebel”
The Rolling Stones “Play With Fire”
The Kinks “This Time Tomorrow”
The Kinks “Strangers”
The Kinks “Powerman”

Check out the Thursday Night Mix Tape tonight with Tyler Laporte at 8 p.m. on 89.7 WTMD, public radio from Towson University. Submit your own Mix Tape at wtmd.org.

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