Music plays such a crucial role in movies, and yet its importance is often overlooked simply because the best music doesn’t really draw attention to itself in a film. But there are so many movies that would come across in a completely different way without the corresponding soundtrack. I fully believe that if it wasn’t for John Williams’ epic score, Star Wars would have been laughed right out of theatres in 1977.

The writers of Bullz-Eye have come up with an interesting list of what they consider to be the 40 greatest musical moments in film history. In this case they have chosen to count only pop songs (not scores), and only pre-existing songs that were not written specifically for the movie. There are some interesting choices here, although there are many more that have been left out (wouldn’t this make a great top 5 list or online poll?). Here are a few of their selections; the full list is linked below. What do you think?

39. “The Promise,” When In Rome – Napoleon Dynamite
36. “Closer,” Nine Inch Nails – Se7en
32. “Sweet Emotion,” Aerosmith – Dazed and Confused
31. “Oh Yeah,” Yello – Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
28. “Jump in the Line,” Harry Belafonte – Beetlejuice
23. “Where Is My Mind,” The Pixies – Fight Club
19. “Tequila,” The Champs – Pee Wee’s Big Adventure
14. “Misirlou,” Dick Dale – Pulp Fiction
9. “The End,” The Doors – Apocalypse Now
6. “Stuck in the Middle with You,” Stealer’s Wheel – Reservoir Dogs
5. “Tiny Dancer,” Elton John – Almost Famous
4. “Damn It Feels Good 2 Be A Gangsta,” The Geto Boys – Office Space
3. “Twist and Shout,” The Beatles – Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
2. “In Your Eyes,” Peter Gabriel – Say Anything
1. “Bohemian Rhapsody,” Queen – Wayne’s World

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