This is a clip from 'Good Morning, Vietnam', a film from 1987 directed by Barry Levinson. I haven't seen the film, but I found this clip when I was looking for the use of contrapuntal sound in films.
In this clip, it comes when Williams, who plays Adrian Cronauer, a new DJ for Armed Forces Radio, plays Louis Armstrong's 'What a Wonderful World' for the troops heading into danger. We see cross-cuts between the troops setting off on their journey and the Vietnamese people going about their everyday lives peacefully and calmly. 1:05 minutes into the clip, we see a handheld pan on a helicopter, and then there is a montage of clips of devastation and destruction, and the 'trees of green' next to homes being blown up and burnt, whilst over the top, 'What a Wonderful World' is still playing. While we see an image of an angry protest and the clash between the protesters and the police, we hear the lyrics 'I see friends shaking hands saying "how do you do"; they're really saying "I love you"' - the music couldn't really be more contrapuntal to the action, and it makes the sequence much more effective.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
More Contrapuntal Sound
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