4 Times Directors Used Beatles Songs Properly in Movies

The Beatles have offered their songs to a few movies through the years, including films of their own. However, not every Beatles song is suitable for a particular film. That being said, these four Beatles songs were used perfectly in movies and lent even more powerful messages to the films themselves. Let’s take a look!

1. “Come Together” in ‘A Bronx Tale’

Robert De Niro’s directorial debut was an excellent one, and A Bronx Tale from 1993 is still a deeply loved coming-of-age film today. It was a smart move to include “Come Together” in the film’s iconic fight scene as well. 

“Come Together” may have originally been written as a campaign song, but the instrumentation gets pretty chaotic at the song’s climax. It’s the perfect song for a fight scene, we’d have to say.

2. “I Saw Her Standing There” in ‘Rain Man’

Just one verse is used in this particular scene from the 1988 comedy-drama Rain Man. The actual track doesn’t make an appearance; rather, the two main characters sing it together. And that’s really all that was needed. It’s such an impactful part of the song to use and a memorable part of the film’s plot as well.

3. “Twist And Shout” in ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’

Few soundtracks are as iconic as the list of songs that made it to Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. “Twist And Shout” makes an appearance in the film, and the whole of Chicago can’t help but get down to the iconic Beatles tune as Ferris Bueller himself belts it out, accompanied by a marching band. 

4. “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” in ‘Across The Universe’

Beatles songs get used in movies all the time, but “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” was given a whole new meaning in the musical film Across The Universe in 2007. The original tune was written about John Lennon’s desire and love for Yoko Ono, with the lyric “She’s so heavy” used to refer to Ono’s enigmatic personality. 

That heaviness was given a whole new meaning in the film. The song plays as one of the main characters and a group of other young soldiers symbolically carry the Statue of Liberty on their backs after getting drafted in the Vietnam War.

Photo by Fiona Adams/Redferns

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