Classical Music In The Movies Trivia Quiz

Answer: "Also sprach zarathustra" by Richard Strauss

"Also sprach zarathustra" was a tone poem by Richard Strauss, loosely based on the work of Friedrich Nietzsche. Nietzsche was a nineteenth century German philosopher who believed in the concept of a superman. This philosophy laid the groundwork for the concept of the Aryan race used by Nazis.

The other classical piece used in the film is "The Blue Danube Waltz", used as spaceships are traveling between space ports near the beginning of the story.

Answer: Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta

The portion used here is from the third movement of the work, called "adagio." The music is played several times in the movie, including when Danny sees the twins and tries to get into room 237.

Answer: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2

This piece is frequently used in cartoons and seemed a logical choice for Daffy Duck and Donald Duck's musical war on stage at the Ink and Paint Club. Liszt wrote six Hungarian rhapsodies in his lifetime.

Answer: "Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta" by Bela Bartok

This time, it's the second movement of Bartok's piece, called the "allegro." It is used in the opening scene, while Craig works a marionette, and later, when he is controlling Malkovich. In contrast to the movement used in "The Shining," this movement is very loud and exciting, whereas the third movement is subdued and intense.

Answer: Platoon

In "Apocalypse Now", we hear the music during the helicopter scene. In "The Blues Brothers", it plays while the Nazis are chasing them, and as the Nazis fall about a mile into the streets of Chicago. During "Birth Of A Nation" it is heard during the charge of the Ku Klux Klan.

It's amazing how the work of an anti-Semetic composer like Wagner can be used in scenes involving Nazis, the KKK, and the Vietnam war. Go figure.

Answer: The Marriage Of Figaro

"Le Nozze di Figaro" can be seen on the album cover as Andy is putting the record on the player, which translates to "The Marriage Of Figaro." The story is a sequel to "The Barber Of Seville", which was later made into an opera by Giaocchino Rossini.

Answer: The Rite Of Spring

"The Rite Of Spring" was a ballet about primitive cultures. The final scene of the ballet had a virgin sacrifice, where the subject had to dance herself to death. When the ballet premiered in 1917, the audience rioted because they hated it so much. It is now considered one of, if not THE, most important work of the twentieth century.

Answer: "Symphony No 8 (Unfinished)" by Franz Schubert

Schubert only completed two movements of this symphony before his death. Its use in the movie is a kind of joke, with the cops trying to put together "unfinished images" to the tune of the "unfinished symphony."

Answer: "The William Tell Overture" by Gioacchino Rossini

"The William Tell Overture" is perhaps best known as the theme song to "The Lone Ranger", but came from Rossini's opera about the Switzerland national hero who shot an apple off of his son's head with an arrow. Some father.

Answer: "Goldberg Variations" by JS Bach

The "Golberg Variations" were written by JS Bach for a court musician named Johann Gottlieb Goldberg in 1742. In the movie, they are used to calm the psychotic killer as he regurgitates his handcuff key and after he brutally attacks his guards.