The latest CineTV Contest is out now and if you'd like to participate in it all you have to do is think of your favourite song used in a film and tell us about it.
To celebrate a new partnership and the release of a new NFT on the game Video Vic, it's no wonder that this contest revolves around music.
@cinetv/cinetv-special-contest-cinetv-rising-star-card-contest
There's a link to the competition.
On With My Post
A film's soundtrack is one of, if not the most memorable thing about most films and can even pick artists and songs out of obscurity and launch them back into the public collective consciousness. The right song for the fight scene can really make it all work together, it can make you sad, happy, scared or excited. All of these emotions can keep you glued to the screen and I think choosing the right song for the right scene is one of the most important aspects of film production. It helps to direct the audience's mind, letting them know what they should be feeling while they're watching it.
Snatch has some of the best examples of how a soundtrack can really make a scene.
Honorable Mention
Angel by Massive Attack, works unbelievably well in the scene where Brick Tops henchmen are sent after Tommy and Turkish, while they also go after Mickey's Mum, burning out her caravan... While she was asleep in it.
My Pick For This Contest
But, that's not the song I want to talk about for Snatch. The one that gets me every time I see it is.
Fuckin' In The Bushes by Oasis is used during the final fight scene. The whole film has built up to this conflict. The film has been a rocky rollercoaster with an ensemble of actors who bring each scene and the movie as a whole to life.
This scene though, with this song just gets you pumped. The use of non-digenic noise and sounds when the music stops is great to emphasize Mickey's mental state with each punch he takes. The song cuts back in throughout as the scene goes on.
Even the use of distorted voices helps to put us in the mind of Mickey while he is being beaten in the bare-knuckle boxing match. Even the underwater section of this scene is a great choice as it's almost a hallucination of the main character.
The end of the fight leads back to the first song I mention, Angel by Massive Attack which works so well both times it's used in this film. The reason I mentioned it was foreshadowing as it is used in the main scene I wanted to talk about.
That song ends and brings back Fuckin' In The Bushes by Oasis to give us one last blast of energy while the twist occurs.
To close the scene and come to the end of this messed up adventure we are given one of my favourite lines of dialogue ever.
Brick Top: "Pete! Talk to me!"
Mickey's friend aims a shotgun at Pete's throat and answers his phone.
Mickey's Friend: "If you want your friend to hear ya, you'll have to talk a lot louder than that."
Shotgun Blast
Before I End This Post
I'd like to add a quick mention of Digenic and Non-Digenic Sound.
Digenic sound is anything in a film or tv show that the actor can hear. Someone screaming, a loud bang or some creepy music box that starts playing and startles an actor. If you see an actor react to a sound, or dance to music at a party. Then it's Digenic.
The non-Digenic sound however is all the stuff that only we, the audience can hear. So that sudden screech of a violin that makes you jump in a horror movie, or a piece of music used to pump us up in a soundtrack or score of a film. Is Non-Digenic.
Digenic and Non-Digenic, doesn't just apply to sound, however, for example.
I heard a great quote from the cinematographer of the lord of the rings, Andrew Lesnie.
Sean Astin, who played Samwell Gamgee asked him. "Where does the lighting come from?"
Andrew Lesnie answered. "The same place the music comes from."
It was used a few times to talk about how films and tv shows can do something right. As opposed to Game of Thrones, Battle of Winterfell in the final season where we can barely see what's going on in it.
I just thought while talking about films and music I may as well mention Digenic and Non-Digenic sound and how it doesn't just apply to sound in film.
Conclusion
Snatch is one of my favourite films and if you have never seen it. Crawl out from the rock you're hiding under and give it a watch. It's on Netflix and I can guarantee you won't be disappointed.