“And Then He Kissed Me” by The Crystals from “Goodfellas”
An all-time hall-of-fame tracking shot gets an all-time hall-of-fame musical accompaniment, and a peerless example of Scorsese’s ability to magnify an already great scene through use of carefully selected classic bubblegum pop. We could have filled the entire list with cuts from “Goodfellas” but if we had to choose just one, this would be it, a blissful cinematic headrush that is the essence of Scorsese’s unparalleled genius. Would it even have made no. 2 on our list of the 20 Greatest Long Takes ever with different music? Thankfully, we never have to find out.
“Gimme Shelter” by The Rolling Stones from ” The Departed”
Scorsese’s love of the Rolling Stones is well documented. He made the documentary “Shine A Light,” tracing the band’s career. And no track typifies that like “Gimme Shelter” which he has used in three different films —it’s practically a sonic calling card. It first popped up in “Goodfellas,” and then again in “Casino,” but it’s probably most effective the first time it’s used in “The Departed,” mythologizing the film’s intro of Jack Nicholson as his voiceover relates his character’s toxic worldview over smooth gliding shots that tell us everything we need to know about the reptilian Frank Costello.
“Late for the Sky” by Jackson Browne from “Taxi Driver”
In a film that is musically mostly characterized by Bernard Hermann‘s unforgettable score, which ranges from sleazy and unsettling to warm and dreamy, Scorsese uses this one piece of sourced music to tremendous psychological effect. Travis Bickle mimics shooting his gun at TV footage of the song playing, and as though distracted by the congruence of the track’s themes of loneliness with his own isolation, Bickle watches it play out, and we can read everything or nothing into his vacant expression. It’s the kind of moment no one would think to capture except Scorsese.
“I’m Shipping up to Boston” by Dropkick Murphys from “The Departed”
If “The Departed” doesn’t quite feel like top-tier Scorsese in terms of its use of music, it might be because Scorsese atypically reuses his tracks a few times over, to lessening effect each time. It happens with “Gimme Shelter,” but even more intrusively with this more intrusive track from the Boston-area Celtic punk band. But its first use is quite brilliant, slithering in before the opening title as Leonardo DiCaprio makes his Faustian pact and tracing his incarceration and eventual release in a fluid series of left-to-right tracking shots. This sets up the film’s raucous, hard-drinking, hard-fighting Boston Irish vibe perfectly.
“Janie Jones” by The Clash from “Bringing out the Dead”
One of Scorsese’s strangest, most under-appreciated films, this paramedics-gone-wild yarn is worth searching out for being among the most focused of Nicolas Cage‘s off-the-leash performances, as well as its looser, more experimental vibe. And it also has a kick-ass soundtrack, featuring unlikely songs from REM and UB40, and a couple of cuts from The Clash, most notably this use of “Janie Jones.” Accompanying an unraveling Cage careening his ambulance through the city (with Scorsese’s voice on the radio and the film even flipping over at one point), this moment perfectly fits the film’s combustible, atonal, strung-out nerviness.