Thread: Film Scores ripping off Classical

I always find it amusing whenever I'm watching a movie and suddenly I hear music similar to classical pieces but not quite them. Thought I'd start a list of plagerisms I've heard over the years, and would be happy for any contributions.

Mozart: Ave Verum Corpus. Found in the Lion King.
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3, 1st movt. Found in The Dark Knight.
Beethoven: Symphony #5, 2nd movt. Found in Restoration.
Beethoven: Piano Concerto #5, 1st movt. Found in My Best Friends Wedding
Schumann: Symphony #3, 1st movt. Found in Willow.
Dvorak: Symphony #9, 4th movt. Found in Jaws
Tchaikovsky: Symphony #4, 2nd movt. Found in Willow.
Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition. Found in Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back.
Holst: The Planets, Mars. Found in Gladiator (most blatantly, and a lot elsewhere- just the rhythmic pattern).
Sibelius: Finlandia. Found in Air Force One.
Sibelius: Symphony #3, 1st Movt. Found in Lord of the Rings.
Prokofiev: Ivan the Terrible. Found in Glory
Prokofiev: Violin Concerto #2, 1st Movt. Found in A Beautiful Mind.
Vaughan Williams: Tallis Fantasia. Found in Glory.


Ok wow... didn't expect to think of so many. If you'd like links, I'd be happy to provide them, but not going to take the effort before I know if someone is interested or not.

There is clear rip-off from Verdi's Aida (dance from in teh middle of triumphant march) in Richard Lester's The Three Musketeers. Music was by Lalo Schifrin.

It makes me wonder if the producers would have saved any money if they had just paid for the rights to the original pieces rather than pay someone to write an "original" score.

Or, for that matter, if the producers were even aware that the score might not be entirely original.

Originally Posted by Nix

Holst: The Planets, Mars. Found in Gladiator (most blatantly, and a lot elsewhere- just the rhythmic pattern).

Not just the rhythmic pattern, but even the melody (changed from 5/4 to a sort of fast 3/8 if I recall). Unfortunately Zimmer somehow got off the hook on that one-- so bloody obvious.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pf0C5tzcQlg

I feel like I've mentioned these already, but I'll mention them again; many are, according to the film music composer, known to be intentional.

The "montage" from Silvestri's Quick and the Dead has a very similar 5/4 rhythm as that from "Mars" in Holst's Planets suite (but it is much more anticlimactic than the Bringer of War).

Parts of (and by that I mean a few key chords played by woodwinds) in Williams' score for the Patriot sound a lot like what is heard at the beginning of Copland's Lincoln Portrait (not sure whether Williams was conscious of this similarity when composing the score, but I would be very surprised if he wasn't).

Part of the overture of Verdi's 'La forza del destino' is the theme for Jean de Florette (& the Stella adverts)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pb53zlIISOo

Just proves that some of the best film composers didn't rip off anybody. I'm talking of guys like Nino Rota, Bernard Hermann, Miklos Rozsa, Max Steiner, etc. They may have been influenced by others, but their music retains a highly individual style and sense of melody. Just listen to Rota's suite from La Strada (The Street) - it is a masterpiece. Not to mention classical composers like Honegger, Shostakovich, Korngold, Malcolm Arnold, Walton and Auric (& Arvo Part & Gubaidulina too, I believe) who composed dozens of scores, mainly as a sideline to their concert output. These are the kind of film composers I am interested in getting into, not the ones who rip others off very blatantly.

Originally Posted by Andre

Just proves that some of the best film composers didn't rip off anybody. I'm talking of guys like Nino Rota, Bernard Hermann, Miklos Rozsa, Max Steiner, etc. They may have been influenced by others, but their music retains a highly individual style and sense of melody. Just listen to Rota's suite from La Strada (The Street) - it is a masterpiece. Not to mention classical composers like Honegger, Shostakovich, Korngold, Malcolm Arnold, Walton and Auric (& Arvo Part & Gubaidulina too, I believe) who composed dozens of scores, mainly as a sideline to their concert output. These are the kind of film composers I am interested in getting into, not the ones who rip others off very blatantly.

You can add Prokofiev, Alwyn and Takemitsu to that list.

The forceful section from Tchaikovsky 6th ist movment sounds like passages fom Gladiator

Terry Gilliam's Time bandits has a score which disgracefully rips off Mahler 6 if I remember correctly.

Also I find that Lord of the Rings is heavily derivative at times of Gliere - Symphony 3, Sibelius - Kullervo, and Bruckner 9th

People probably don't listen to Philip Glass alot but check this out:
Glass's Violin Concerto 2nd movement (mid section)
VS.
Requiem for a dream

Am I the only one who thinks they are similar?

Originally Posted by sospiro

Part of the overture of Verdi's 'La forza del destino' is the theme for Jean de Florette (& the Stella adverts)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pb53zlIISOo

Its credited, the film never claimed that it is original.

Not sure what the average age of members on this forum is, and this was ripped off by a Saturday morning cartoon, but:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqTuy9trijw


The intro theme to Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?! Mozart just went up a few more notches in my book (not that i wasn't a fan beforehand)... I had no idea he made that. Just awesome.

Earlier today I watched Creation (with Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connolly), a sort of biopic on Charles Darwin. Very good film, however I was annoyed that the soundtrack blatantly rips off Arvo Part's In Memory of Benjamin Britten-- why not just use the original piece? (no, I already know the answer-- money)