Line #54 Main/TheFilmOfTheSong


1	[[quoteright:275:[[Film/PurplePeopleEater https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/purplepeopletroper.png]]]]
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3	The Film of the Song is, yes, a film that’s in some way based on a song, or at least its title, and is a rare sister of TheFilmOfTheBook or TheBookOfTheFilm. Bonus points if the song in question is NOT used in the movie soundtrack. While there are numerous examples of TheFilmOfTheBook, since songs tend to be short and sweet, films are rarely made from songs; they need a lot of expansion out to feature length. So if it does happen, it's all the more interesting.
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5	Note that this discussion is (mostly) restricted to feature-length films of some sort, such as films that take the actual plot from the song and expand it — music videos don't count, as they are generally more or less illustrations of the songs, not standalone media products in their own right. Nor does it count if the film’s ThemeTune becomes a hit in its own right — although if the tune becomes better known than the movie (it happens), and if it’s an ExpositoryThemeTune, it can be hard to tell the difference.
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7	There are three subtypes of this trope:
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9	* '''The Full Story Of The Song''''': An expansion of the song's narrative content into a movie.
10	* ''Song Name '''The Movie''''': The movie is TitledAfterTheSong, but not related by content; likely it's to capitalize on a recent hit.
11	* ''Their Greatest Hit '''The Movie''''': A {{Biopic}} of a notable singer or band, the movie is named for one of the singer's hits. {{Biopic}}s named after the singer or band themselves don't count.
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13	!''The Full Story Of The Song'':
14	* ''Film/AlicesRestaurant''
15	* ''The Black Fly Song'', made into cartoon ''WesternAnimation/{{Blackfly}}''
16	* ''Film/BornInEastLA''
17	* ''WesternAnimation/TheCatCameBack''
18	* ''Film/{{Convoy}}'', taken to the extreme because C.W. [=McCall=] redid the song for the movie, thus creating the Song of the Film of the Song.
19	* ''Frosty the Snowman'' was a song before a television special.
20	* ''The Erl King''
21	* ''The Gambler'' turned into an entire series of MadeForTV movies starring Music/KennyRogers.
22	* ''WesternAnimation/GrandmaGotRunOverByAReindeer''
23	* ''Harper Valley PTA'', which later became a TV series.
24	* ''I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus''
25	* ''Is There Life Out There'', a 1994 Creator/{{CBS}} TV movie starring Music/RebaMcEntire, based on her 1992 song of the same name
26	* ''The Indian Runner'', based on Music/BruceSpringsteen's song "Highway Patrolman"
27	* ''Jolene''
28	* ''La Suburban Dorada'', 1996 film based on the narcocorrido by Los Huracanes del Norte. Gives AdaptationDeviation to the events of the song (and AdaptationalNiceGuy to the Suburban's riders, from two-bit StupidCrooks to PapaWolf out to get his kidnapped son back alongside his Uncle Wolf brother) and turns the titular golden Suburban into a full-blown BMovie Film/JamesBond vehicle. Got a continuation, "[[RevengeOfTheSequel El Regreso de la Suburban Dorada]]".
29	* ''The Legend of Tom Dooley''
30	* ''The Log Driver's Waltz''
31	* ''Ode to Billy Joe''
32	* ''Purple People Eater''
33	* ''Rovaniemen markkinoilla'', a 1951 Finnish film based on a song by the same name. It was the GenrePopularizer for the ''Rillumarei'' film and live entertainment genre that drew from the musical ''couplet'' genre of light, cleverly written, often satirical songs. Many of these films were based on an existing song, or a song was specifically written to be the foundation of a film.
34	* "Unanswered Prayers", a LifetimeMovieOfTheWeek based on the Music/GarthBrooks song.
35	* ''WesternAnimation/YellowSubmarine'': A bit of a borderline case, as it does expand on the song and illustrates it at the same time.
36	* ''Santa, Baby!'', an animated Christmas special starring Creator/EarthaKitt, the original performer of the song.
37	* The 1945 song "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tubby_the_Tuba_(song) Tubby the Tuba]]", about a tuba who dreams of playing melodies, was adapted into film twice. In 1947 came a StopMotion animated short [[WesternAnimation/TubbyTheTuba1947 animated short]], which was followed by a cel animation feature [[WesternAnimation/TubbyTheTuba1975 in 1975]].
38	* The 1984 Spanish animated film ''WesternAnimation/KatyLaOruga'' (''Katy the Caterpillar'') was based on a hit single by Lucerito which came around months after the song's release. Later gained a sequel in 1987 called ''Katy, Kiki y Koko'' (known as ''Katy & The Katerpillar Kids'' in English).
39	* The plot of ''Film/TheDayOfTheBeast'' (1995) follows the lyrics of the 1994 song ''Apocalipsis 25-D'' by Ktulu, which describes three men obsessively searching for traces of the Beast throughout a city during Christmas as the Apocalypse is nearing. The song is included in the film's soundtrack and José María [[InUniverseSoundtrack plays it]] when he first meets Ángel.
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41	!!Counterexamples that you might expect to fit here, only they don't:
42	* ''I Never Promised You a Rose Garden'': Neither book nor film are connected to the song at all.
43	* ''WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer'' might be worth mentioning as not counting, since it went [[Literature/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer book-song-TV special]]. [[AdaptationDisplacement Most people don't know about the book.]]
44	* ''Film/ScottPilgrimVsTheWorld'' was based on the [[ComicBook/ScottPilgrim graphic novel series]] with a title character named for the Plumtree song.
45	* ''Film/TheNightTheLightsWentOutInGeorgia'' is about a singer and his manager/sister. At one point they sing the song. The soundtrack also includes a version of the lyrics that refer to the movie's story.
46	* ''Film/RocketMan1997'' has nothing to do with the Music/EltonJohn song (though the song does play in the credits), nor Sir Elton's [[Film/RocketMan2019 2019 biopic of the same name]] (see below). Rather, it's a Harland Williams vehicle where he plays a goofy astronaut.
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48
49	!! Movies that are very close to this:
50	* Arguably, ''Literature/TheHuntingOfTheSnark'' musical by Jeff Beck is a close relative, as it's "The Musical of the Poem".
51	* Also, film versions of ancient epics, such as ''Literature/TheOdyssey'' or ''Literature/TheDivineComedy'', would apply, since the original is essentially a very long song.
52	* ''Linear'' (2009), a 58-minute film by Creator/AntonCorbijn, is effectively "The Film of the Album" of Music/{{U2}}'s ''No Line on the Horizon'' (2009), featuring 10 of the 11 songs from the album and one other song that was cut from the final album. Corbijn [[http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2009/april/u2-linear-its-not-a-music-video-2 has insisted]] that the film is not an extended music video, but rather "a new way to listen to a record -- a new way to use film to connect to music," making it an example of this.
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54	!''Song Name '''The Movie''''':
55	* ''Film/GirlsJustWantToHaveFun'': Creator/SarahJessicaParker likes to dance. Her father disagrees. The song, needless to say, is by Music/CyndiLauper (who declined [[Creator/RogerCorman New World Pictures]] rights to use her recording, so the film uses a cover).
56	* ''Film/DriveMeCrazy'': Creator/MelissaJoanHart RomanticComedy, sort of named for a Fine Young Cannibals song but more in honour of the Music/BritneySpears song "Crazy". On top of being TheFilmOfTheSong, it's also The Film Of The Novel ("How I Created My Perfect Prom Date").
57	* ''Bird on the Wire'': Song by Music/LeonardCohen, the film is an Action Comedy starring Creator/GoldieHawn, Creator/MelGibson and David Carradine.
58	* ''Film/CantBuyMeLove'' and its remake ''Film/LoveDontCostAThing'', each named after a different song.
59	** The original was able to license the song by Music/TheBeatles, whereas the remake doesn't include the Music/JenniferLopez track - unlike ''Girls Just Want to Have Fun'', it doesn't even appear in a cover.
60	* ''Film/SweetHomeAlabama''.
61	* ''Film/AHardDaysNight''
62	* ''Film/{{Help}}''
63	* ''My Boyfriend's Back'': A romantic horror-comedy about a young man who comes back from the dead after a botched attempt at EngineeredHeroics in the hopes of confessing his love to his long-time crush.
64	* ''Film/JumpinJackFlash'': Secret agent parody starring Creator/WhoopiGoldberg.
65	* ''Film/DazedAndConfused''
66	* ''Film/TheCryingGame''
67	* ''Take Me Home Tonight''
68	* ''Feeling Minnesota''--named after a lyric from, and partly inspired by, Music/Soundgarden's "Outshined"
69	* ''Film/{{Monster Mash\|1995}}'' (1995): A live-action comedy horror loosely based on Bobby Pickett's hit song The Monster Mash as well as a musical play Pickett co-wrote called ''Theatre/ImSorryTheBridgeIsOutYoullHaveToSpendTheNight''. Notably had Pickett himself play Dr. Frankenstein. The actual song plays three times in the film.
70	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Monster Mash\|2000}}'' (2000): A DirectToVideo animated film where Dracula, Frankenstein's monster and the Wolfman have to prove that they still have what it takes to be scary in spite of how much they've aged. This one also uses the original song.
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72	!''Their Greatest Hit '''The Movie'''''
73	* ''Film/BeyondTheSea'': Music/BobbyDarin
74	* ''Film/CoalMinersDaughter'': Loretta Lynn
75	* ''De-Lovely'': Music/ColePorter
76	* ''Film/GreatBallsOfFire'': Music/JerryLeeLewis
77	* ''Film/LaBamba'': Music/RitchieValens
78	* ''Film/WalkTheLine'': Music/JohnnyCash
79	* ''Sweet Dreams'': Patsy Cline
80	* ''I'm Your Man'': Not quite a {{biopic}}. Music/LeonardCohen interviews and singers such as Rufus and Martha Wainwright or Antony performing Cohen's songs.
81	* ''Film/WhatsLoveGotToDoWithIt1993'': Tina Turner
82	* ''Film/StraightOuttaCompton'': Music/{{NWA}}
83	* ''Film/BohemianRhapsody'': Music/{{Queen}}

Context Main / TheFilmOfTheSong