8. O Brother Where Art Thou? – Fire Scene
This was a tricky one to pick a song from, because musical scenes play such an important role in this film. The other obvious choices would have been Man of Constant Sorrow, the Siren song, and that really bizarre KKK rally blues chorus.
We settled on this one though because Chris Thomas King playing Tommy Johnson is one of the bluesiest performances we’ve ever seen in a modern film. The Cohen brothers demonstrate their genius yet again with perfect casting, song selection and this lovely little scene listening to the blues around a fire.
Including the legend of Robert Johnson (even though they call him Tommy) in this story was one of the real bits of imagination that make this such a good film. If you haven’t seen it then sort your life out and go watch it. We guarantee you will be speaking like a hillbilly for days afterwards.
And on a final note – how jammed do they look in this scene? No one has ever made camping with a satanist look like such good vibes.
Hot damn son! I believe you did sell your soul to the devil!
7. Anchorman – The Jazz Flute
Ron Burgundy tearing it up on the jazz flute was always going to be a strong contender, and here he is in all his glory.
As stupid and funny as this film is, this is a really good piece of music – even when he starts crawling on the floor and shooting fireballs out the end of his flute. I think most professional musicians wish they could do that.
I think any man reading this will have wished he could pull something like this out of the bag on a date. I mean I can juggle and make a few things with origami, but these days having party tricks like that end you up in a police cell with people asking if you were on television in the 70s.
The other problem that a lot of us have is that the only establishments that know me well enough to demand that I play Jazz Flute on request, are the local off-licence and Dallas Chicken – none of which usually have a live jazz band.
There is also the fact that it’s hard to pull off a line like “Jerry, let’s take the bassline for a walk” when all you can play is London Bridge is Burning Down on the recorder.
Still, we can dream.
☛ More Quirky Lists of Films – 21 Great Films You Haven’t Heard Of
6. A Day At The Races – Chico & Harpo Marx
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBk5Ne5x1hQ
The old ones are the best ones.
The Marx Brothers came from a time when actors had to be all-round performers. Harpo, Chico and Groucho performed all their own stunts, gags and music. They came from the stages of Vaudeville with a slapstick, wise-cracking humour that has inspired almost every comedian from Woody Allen through to Will Ferrell.
For those of you who have never come across the Marx Brothers, this might seem a bit dated and cliché – but that’s because they invented the clichés!
I don’t think anyone will ever again make a scene where someone smashes a piano to pieces and then makes a harp out of the strings. They don’t make ’em like this any more kids, I tell you that!
5. Crossroads – Guitar Duel
Another great film based on the great Robert Johnson.
For those of you who don’t know, Robert Johnson was a blues musician from Mississippi who, as legend has it, sold his soul to the Devil in return for becoming a great blues guitarist. Johnson supposedly met the Devil at a crossroads at midnight to secure this deal.
Crossroads is a 1986 film that uses this story to bring you none other than Karate Kid Ralph Maccio playing a smooth slide guitar playing douche bag on a mission to not be a douche bag – essentially the main theme of Karate Kid but with the Karate swapped for the blues.
Bitchiness aside, it is a really good film and some of the music is genuinely outrageous in how good it is. The famous guitar duel scene was written by Ry Cooder and Steve Vai, with Vai playing the Devil’s guitarist. Try find a link for the whole film because YouTube doesn’t seem to have the duel in it’s entirety.
