by Renee S

Created on: February 09, 2007   Last Updated: April 02, 2007

Music within film is very important. Not only it helps to create the ambience of the film and its plot, it also helps to evoke the emotions of the characters, so that the audience gets to feel the same thing. If anyone has watched Gus Van Sant's The Elephant, you'd remember the part where the student plays Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata before he goes on his school killing rampage. This was a brilliant choice of song simply because it marks an emotional moment of the film, and it creates an eerie feeling like you know something bad is going to happen.

And if you watch any of Hitchcock's suspense thrillers, the music evokes the horror sensation of the plot. Without music, the film won't have as much of an impact as it does with music. Music also helps you to relate to a certain situation within the movie, a sad song resonates with the sadness felt by the characters, for example. And a happy song lifts the mood of the film. In turn, the audience feels the same.

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