FANFLASH: The Art of Movie Trailer Music

By Jordan Tunney
April 13, 2009

I am a movie trailer junkie. I’ll watch any trailer for any movie. Typically I hold my tongue about whether a movie is any good or not till I see the whole thing, but a good trailer can get me pumped up for a movie, and a bad one can lead me into a predetermined view that a movie won’t be any good. Sometimes a great trailer is filled with various aspects that successfully get the audience psyched for a flick, like the scenes they choose, how much of the story they convey, whether the graphics look good, or if there is one of those “did I just see that?” moments. For me, though, I’m all about the music.

Some movie trailer songs get stuck in my head and I can’t help but have to find them and download them. One of them is Iron Fisted Mutha by BT. It played in the Speed Racer theatrical trailer and made for a great song to coincide with the epic scale of the races as well as the frantic and stylistic movements of the cars in the movie. When I got my new car last year, I put that song on a CD and went driving back from a town out east. It completely works as a great song to listen to while driving, but when I saw the odometer I had to change tracks.

I’m not going to lie, I didn’t like Miami Vice. And unless you’re Colin Farrell or Don Johnson, chances are you didn’t either. However, the trailer showed awesome action and was mixed very well with great music. Encore by Jay-Z and Linkin Park is a great combination of music styles, and the harmony of Numb and Jay-Z’s smooth rapping play great with the intensity of the trailer.

As a history major, I enjoy a good history movie. Although I am not particularly a fan of Cate Blanchett, I do like Clive Owen and Geoffrey Rush and movies about royalty. My Name is Lincoln by Steve Jablonsky was originally scored for the soundtrack to The Island, but it works best for the movie trailer to Elizabeth: The Golden Age.

As soon as I watched the Public Enemies trailer, I loved the song near the end of the trailer. It’s a banjo/electric guitar song that has a 1920′s Midwest feel to it, perfect for a story about John Dillinger. Then it dawned on me, I must really like Michael Mann trailers, as Miami Vice and Public Enemies already made the list. The Kingdom earns an honorable mention.

One of my favorite songs is Sweet Child O’ Mine by Guns & Roses. When I first saw the trailer for The Last House on the Left, I was blown away by Taken by Tree’s cover. For the trailer, it adds to an eerie and sinister sound, playing up the whole family aspect of the film. By itself, it could put a baby to sleep. And that’s the sign of a good song.

If you have seen an epic movie trailer, video game, or TV commercial, you’ve heard this song. Many know it as Requiem for a Dream, it was first composed for that movie for the score. It then was placed in several movie trailers, including an altered version for Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. The reason I selected Sunshine’s use of the song is that it is greatly edited with the hectic footage of the crew’s attempt to jump-start the sun.

Below are a list of links to watch the trailers for these movies and hear the music that makes them so appealing. After you watch the trailers leave us some feedback as to what your favorite trailers are that utilize great music.

Speed Racer – Iron Fisted Mutha by BT – 1:09
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehpxIrCNiVI

Miami Vice – Encore by Jay-Z and Linkin Park – 0:38
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4xSA7_aEtI

Elizabeth: The Golden Age – My Name is Lincoln – Steve Jablonsky – throughout
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFojixOc8Hc

Public Enemies – Ten Million Slaves – Otis Taylor – 1:55
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BawY4gjAdM

The Last House on the Left – Sweet Child of Mine – Taken by Trees – 1:24
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl2lmFPBGN8

Sunshine – Lux Aeterna (Requiem For a Dream) – Clint Mansell – 0:40
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZ2-xR54UDU