Line #100 Main/EnnioMorriconePastiche


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14	[[quoteright:185:[[Webcomic/{{Xkcd}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_showdown.png]]]]
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16	[[AC:For the best reading experience, play the music from [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFa1-kciCb4 this clip]] while reading.]]
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18	A popular StockParody in the field of soundtracks. A scene depicting cowboys or just a character posing as a badass or facing a potential threat is accompanied by music similar to Music/EnnioMorricone's score for the {{spaghetti Western}}s by Creator/SergioLeone. [[StandardSnippet Usually]] the theme from ''Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly'' is quoted ("ayiayiaaaay") or the harmonica theme from ''Film/OnceUponATimeInTheWest''.
19
20	Typical features include, but are not limited to:
21	* A strong focus on string instruments, especially the electric guitar.
22	* Similarly, brass, especially the trumpet.
23	* Whistling is practically a signature feature in any Morricone pastiche.
24	* Jew's harp
25	* Sound effects and shouts baked into the soundtrack, primarily ones that hail from westerns (ex. gunshots, a whipcrack, a rattlesnake's rattle, etc.)
26	* If characters are having a ShowdownAtHighNoon, expect to hear [[ForDoomTheBellTolls church bells]] somewhere in the music.
27	* The beat typically has a galloping rhythm, akin to a horse's gallop.
28
29	Also popular whenever [[TheExpyWithNoName a parody]] of Creator/ClintEastwood is shown.
30
31	Compare ShowdownAtHighNoon.
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33	----
34	!!Examples:
35	[[foldercontrol]]
36
37	[[folder:Advertising]]
38	* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKgC_-BM5_o This]] "Got Milk?" ad uses the actual Morricone music from ''Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly.''
39	* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOJeYbpyDSM This 2013 advert]] for "Tampax Pearl" also uses a Morriconesque musical queue when Mother Nature faces a young woman in a stand-off.
40	[[/folder]]
41
42	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
43	* ''Anime/CowboyBebop'': "Go Go Cactus Man!", the {{leitmotif}} of Cowboy Andy from the episode "[[Recap/CowboyBebopSession22CowboyFunk Cowboy Funk]]", is a pretty blatant homage to the theme from ''Film/ForAFewDollarsMore''.
44	* ''Franchise/LupinIII'': "Tornado", a recurring theme of Daisuke Jigen, has a very Morricone feel to it. The character's concept was inspired by gangster and western flicks.
45	[[/folder]]
46
47	[[folder:Film -- Animation]]
48	* The duel between Mister Fox and Rat in ''WesternAnimation/FantasticMrFox'' features a theme strongly reminiscent of the track from ''For A Few Dollars More''- complete with galloping pace and spring and whistle sounds.
49	* ''WesternAnimation/MadagascarEscape2Africa'' has the ''The Good, The Bad and the Ugly'' theme in a "standoff" between Alex and the [[WhenEldersAttack Nana]] -- albeit instead of the gun showdown the song usually scores, it's a straight-up physical fight. To fit the faster pace of the scene, the music is sped up and set to a polka beat.
50	* In ''WesternAnimation/PussInBootsTheLastWish'': A Morricone-esque track plays as the cast stares each other down in a MexicanStandoff during the FinalBattle.
51	* The whole soundtrack of ''WesternAnimation/{{Rango}}'', given it's an AffectionateParody of the SpaghettiWestern. At a certain point, one of the owl [[GreekChorus mariachi chorus]] [[LeftTheBackgroundMusicOn is seen playing the guitar from the soundtrack]].
52	[[/folder]]
53
54	[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
55	* The [[https://youtu.be/VwgoybJNTXQ opening]] of ''Film/DelusionsOfGrandeur''. Michel Polnareff's soundtrack is a deliberate homage to Morricone.
56	* Done in the film ''Film/HababamSinifi'' (1975) where the iconic music from ''Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly'' is used in the scene where the class members confront the bright guys chosen for the quiz.
57	* Done with a cowboy scene in the film ''Film/{{Innerspace}}''.
58	* In ''Film/InspectorGadget1999'', the ''GBU'' theme is used as Gadget and [=RoboGadget=] enter a "duel stance" on a bridge.
59	* In ''Film/KellysHeroes'' Morricone-style music accompanies Creator/ClintEastwood, Creator/TellySavalas and Creator/DonaldSutherland (wearing WWII American army uniforms with side arms in holsters) as they walk side-by-side slowly along a dusty street in a deserted village towards a German Tiger tank that is rotating its turret.
60	* In ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsEnd''. Morricone-style music (titled "Parley") is heard when Will, Jack and Norrington face their opponents on a deserted island.
61	* ''Film/TheQuickAndTheDead'': Mimicks Morricone music.
62	* ''Film/RobinHoodMenInTights'': The Clint Eastwood caricature type villain is accompanied by Morriconesque music.
63	* ''Film/StayTuned'': Also imitated.
64	[[/folder]]
65
66	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
67	* ''Series/TheATeam'': Murdock once dressed up as a cowboy, while Morricone style music was playing.
68	* Used in an episode of ''Series/BassieEnAdriaan'': "Het Geheim van de Sleutel", when they are visiting Spain.
69	* The ''Series/DoctorWho'' Series 9 episode "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E12HellBent Hell Bent]]" has the Twelfth Doctor returning to Gallifrey, in order to settle some old scores. Not only do several scenes invoke Spaghetti Western tropes, but Murray Gold's score for the ep includes a new arrangement of "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyIP5nrJ8gY The Doctor's Theme]]" (used originally for the Ninth Doctor). Said [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05JO0FgzC9U new]] [[https://youtu.be/Ku26WoGCfCI?t=264 arrangement]] has "Morricone" written all over it.
70	* ''Series/Goosebumps1995'': In the episode "[[Recap/Goosebumps1995S3E5Click Click]]", At school, Seth uses the remote to knock his friend Kevin off his ass. He then handles the remote as if it were a six shooter, blowing at the end before "holstering" it in his pocket. This is accompanied by a Wild West jingle.
71	* The theme song for the ''Franchise/StarWars'' streaming series ''Series/TheMandalorian'' is a homage to the style, with some SpaceWestern vibes sprinkled on top. [[https://youtu.be/2YDKxcdIXBs Have a listen]].
72	* ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'': Whistled by the show's hosts while watching "Gamera Vs. Barugon", "The Crawling Hand", "The Crawling Eye", "The Atomic Brain", "Village Of The Giants", "12ToMoon", "Last Of The Wild Horses", "It Conquered The World", "Overdrawn At The Memory Bank" and "The Sidehackers".
73	[[/folder]]
74
75	[[folder:Music]]
76	* Broken Bells' "Mongrel Heart" contains a very Morricone-like midsection. The band themselves admitted they went a bit over-the-top with it, but said it would have been a shame to leave it on the cutting room floor:
77	---> "It's not like we're trying to hide that it's this Morricone feel to it. I would hate to have not had it on there and then been, like, oh, but you've got to hear the version that had the horn on it. It was just over the top and crazy. So we just left it."
78	* Music/DeadKennedys use horn and guitar on their album ''Music/{{Frankenchrist}}'' to create a Morriconesque feel.
79	* Seminal PostRock act Music/GodspeedYouBlackEmperor have done this quite a few times, with one of their earliest examples being fittingly named "The Cowboy". Another early example is "Kicking Horse on Brokenhill". Their latest album (as of 2020), ''"Luciferian Towers"'', also has examples with "Bosses Hang" and the second half of "Anthem for No State".
80	* Music/{{Gorillaz}}: Tuco's leitmotif is quoted at the start of the song "Clint Eastwood", from ''[[Music/GorillazAlbum Gorillaz]]''.
81	* Music/HavalinaRailCo have the Morricone-inspired song "Dark Skies" on their GenreRoulette album ''America''. The liner notes have brief explanations for each song, and the one for "Dark Skies" just reads:
82	-->''The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly'' is one of the finest westerns ever made. I think westerns have had a huge influence on him.
83	* Jonny & The Baptists' Edinburgh Fringe song about Clint Eastwood's speech at the 2012 National Republican Convention starts out like this, before suddenly seguing into the theme from ''Series/{{Rawhide}}''.
84	* German {{Progressive\|Metal}} BlackMetal band Nagelfar's song [[https://nagelfar.bandcamp.com/track/meuterei "Meuterei"]] ("Mutiny") is essentially an attempt to answer the question, "What if Morricone wrote a black metal song?" It's got all the requisite elements: the dramatic Old West-style acoustic guitar, the horns, the dramatic chanted vocals. And it is ''awesome''.
85	* {{Music/Ministry}}'s "Happy Dust" - an instrumental featuring a galloping rhythm, clean electric guitars, and synthesized brass. It was used as intro/outro music for a tour, and later saw official release as a BSide.
86	* Music/{{Muse}}'s "Music/KnightsOfCydonia" sounds as though Matt Bellamy read this article while composing it in order to make sure it contained as many necessary elements as would fit. Focus on guitar? Check. Trumpets? Check. Sound effects from Westerns? Check. Galloping rhythm? That's a ''big'' check. Just in case you didn't get it, live versions since 2008 have contained a quote from "L'uomo dell'armonica" ("The Man with a Harmonica") from ''Film/OnceUponATimeInTheWest'' (although the song's main melody seems more inspired by the main theme from ''Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly'').
87	* PlayedForDrama in Music/PoetsOfTheFall's [[https://youtu.be/il3c14eR9C8?list=PLjACqN5i5sDUEienDV52g85W6J7chzLXV "The Ballad of Jeremiah Peacekeeper"]] a {{Western}} inspired tale about an implicitly {{Messianic\|Archetype}}, ReluctantWarrior lawman that borrows Morricone's tone.
88	* Music/{{Sabaton}}’s song "To Hell And Back" (the one about Creator/AudieMurphy) features Morricone-style whistles.
89	* Secret Chiefs 3 took their already western-sounding song "The Exile" and rearranged it with heavy guitars to sound more Morricone-ish, retitling the result "The Western Exile". They also had an unintentional example with "Book T: Exodus"--Trey Spruance took Ernest Gold's main theme from ''Film/Exodus1960'' and rearranged it for "surf band and orchestra". Many, many reviewers thought the result sounded a lot like Morricone.
90	* Norwegian group Vazelina Bilopphøggers use Blondie's theme in their song "Duellen i La"
91	* "The Big Gundown" (1985) by Music/JohnZorn reinvents several movie soundtracks for which Ennio Morricone wrote the scores.
92	[[/folder]]
93
94	[[folder:Radio]]
95	* ''Radio/BleakExpectations:'' When Pip Bin gets drawn into a showdown at high noon in America (well, half-past nine, actually), the ambient noises around him soon start turning into an a-capella version of the theme from ''The Good, The Bad and The Ugly''.
96	[[/folder]]
97
98	[[folder:Video Games]]
99	* ''VideoGame/BloodBros'', being set in the Wild West, naturally uses the "ayiayiaaaa" riff... but only as a part of the ''game over jingle''.
100	* ''VideoGame/DandyDungeon'': Yamada's rival programmer Bronson Kawada is always introduced by a Morricone-esque riff.
101	* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
102	** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'' has the Hidden Village, an OutOfGenreExperience where Link clears a SpaghettiWestern-style town of monsters with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3s39EvaqEY Morricone-style music]] as the soundtrack.
103	** ''VideoGame/CadenceOfHyrule'': The "peaceful" arrangements[[note]]There are two different versions of this arrangement, one with an organ and one without, but they are otherwise identical[[/note]] of the Gerudo Desert theme[[note]]based on the Gerudo Valley theme from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'', which was originally arranged in a flamenco style[[/note]] goes down this route, and just in case you hadn't already figured out that it was a Morricone tribute, the arrangement quotes the first five notes of his main theme from ''Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly'' near the end of each loop. The Morricone quote ''only'' appears in the peaceful arrangements, notably; the other arrangements, which aren't Morricone pastiches, don't have it.
104	* ''Fistful Of Gun'' has a song "The Devil's Broadside". It is a pastiche to "Ecstasy of Gold", complete with the same instruments and song progression.
105	* "Sunny's Theme" from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots''.
106	* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZVg9ZmP8PM "Windy Day"]] from ''VideoGame/MetalSlug 5''.
107	* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZVg9ZmP8PM Jake Marshall's theme]] in ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney''.
108	* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'': The tumbleweed-themed Pokémon Bramblin has a cry that sounds like the iconic whistle from ''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'' theme.
109	* In ''VideoGame/RedDeadRevolver'', the soundtrack has a Morricone style feeling to it.
110	* ''VideoGame/SonicMania'''s Mirage Saloon Zone has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uu5BsNKI1hQ these]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzxEtBOgil4 three]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kd3Ab2lyVlA tracks]], each one containing the famous whistle leitmotif from ''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly''.
111	* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'', [[JustForFun/TropeOverdosed naturally]]:
112	** Befitting the game's own SouthernFriedGenius is the song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NTfCbfvwM8 "More Gun,"]] the theme of the Engineer. It starts off as a cozy campfire ditty before transitioning to a tense ShowdownAtHighNoon-esque progression, the latter half carrying the genre's signature electric guitar and brass instruments.
113	** There's [[https://youtu.be/A2QpThyVL8s "The Calm,"]] the theme to the Mann vs. Machine trailer. Towards the end, though, [[FutureMusic it opts for a more theremin-heavy retro sci-fi feel]], which makes sense given the [[RobotWar nature of the]] [[TheWarSequence gamemode being announced]].
114	** The music of the official-fanmade update [[https://youtu.be/tXnPT0uyDoE?t=534 "End of the Line"]] has an Ennio Morricone segment near the end. Lots of whistling and brass is used for it.
115	* ''VideoGame/Timesplitters2'' has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWtqc4ERo4A this]] for its wild west level, and it practically embodies every element ever used in a spaghetti western song. Whistling, church bells, trumpets, whipcracks, the electric guitar, all of it is there.
116	* ''Franchise/TouhouProject'': [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxowfL5cl9s This]] remix of Sanae Kochiya's theme.
117	* ''VideoGame/{{Unrailed}}'': There is a song "Once Upon A Trail", featuring galloping rhythm, whistling as the main melody, jew's harp and even the famous rhythm.
118	* The soundtrack of the ''VideoGame/WildArms'' franchise (more specifically the works scored by Michiko Naruke) seems to have been heavily inspired by Morricone's work.
119	[[/folder]]
120
121	[[folder:Web Animation]]
122	* ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner:'' In [[Recap/HomestarRunnerMarshmallowsLastStand "Marshmallow's Last Stand"]], the riff from ''The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly'' gets quoted during an {{Eyedscreen}} shot.
123	* In ''Webanimation/RedVsBlue'', once Jax Jones said "I just discovered the anamorphic setting on my camera! This is gonna look epic!", along with the [[EyedScreen black bars reminiscent of Leone]] the soundtrack started blasting Morricone-style guitars.
124	* ''WebAnimation/RWBYChibi'' Episode 5 has Ruby and Weiss face off, complete with the music and Zwei going by like a tumbleweed. Then they dramatically leap forward for... A SlapFight.
125	[[/folder]]
126
127	[[folder:Web Original]]
128	* ''WebVideo/TheCinemaSnob'': Near the end of his review of "Ricky-Oh: The Story of Ricky" Brad decides to fight against ''WebVideo/KungTaiTed''. After defeating him he walks off triumphantly while carrying his gun, as the music quotes the theme from ''Film/AFistfulOfDollars''.
129	* ''WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic'': Done in his anniversary video "Battle of Epic Proportions".
130	* ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue''’s soundtrack is practically a love letter to Ennio Moricone, but special mention goes to Temple’s (unreleased) theme in Season 15. It’s textbook Morricone, but with a twist in that the instruments are all bass registers. Switch the bass for a guitar and the tuba for a trumpet and you’ve got yourself a perfect match
131	[[/folder]]
132
133	[[folder:Western Animation]]
134	%% * ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': Done in "The Silence Of The Clamps".
135	* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': When he's not partying, Cheese Sandwich is a parody of Clint Eastwood's character from the Film/DollarsTrilogy, so it's only natural he's always accompanied by Morricone-esque folk instrumentals.
136	%% * ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'': Just wow.
137	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
138	** In the episode "Brush With Greatness" Homer walks towards the weight scale while the soundtrack quotes ''Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly''.
139	** Mr. Bergstrom in "Lisa's Substitute" walks in the classroom dressed as a cowboy, accompanied by similar music.
140	** "The Front": When Grandpa dreams about the Old West similar music is heard.
141	** "Homer Loves Flanders": Flanders whistles the music during a dream sequence.
142	** In the episode [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E9ElViajeMisteriosoDeNuestroJomer "El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer)"]] similar music is heard when Homer returns for revenge after being ridiculed by Chief Wiggum for trying to eat extremely hot chili.
143	** "The Lastest Gun In The West"
144	** "The Seemingly Never-Ending Story": Spoofs the Mexican standoff scene from "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" with spoofing ominous music.
145	** "All Singing, All Dancing": The ShowWithinAShow "Paint Your Wagon" starts with Clint Eastwood entering a small desert town, accompanied by guitar and whistling... before switching to an upbeat CrowdSong about painting his wagon (The movie is [[Film/PaintYourWagon real]], and it really was a musical starring Clint Eastwood, but the song itself was an original work).
146	* ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriends'': In some episodes between Seasons 3 and 7, there is a music cue for when something is about to go wrong or there is a standoff between two characters. It sounds like something out of the Film/DollarsTrilogy.
147	[[/folder]]

Context Main / EnnioMorriconePastiche