Whistling Thursday

 

Last weekend, I watched another classic of film history, The Bridge on the River Kwai. The film is about a group of British prisoners of war in early 1943 in a Japanese camp in Burma who are ordered to build a wooden railway bridge. The film glorifies the steadfastness of the British officers and the capabilities of the soldiers, which contrasts with the reality that approximately 20% of the 80,000 British prisoners died due to poor nutrition and the climatic and hygienic conditions. 

What made the film unforgettable was the prisoners' march as they whistled Colonel Bogey March, a military song from the beginning of the last century. 

That inspired me to look for more whistled film scores. Another one is the main theme of  Sergio Leone's masterpiece The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. Ennio Morricone made a perfect soundtrack to the last showdown.

In 1979, the Monty Python troupe sparked what was probably the biggest controversy over blasphemy with their film Monty Python's Life of Brian. I loved the film because of its sarcasm. The crucifixion scene remains unforgettable.

For life is quite absurd

An death's the final word

You mus always face the curtain with a bow

Forget about your sin

Give the audience a grin

Enjoy it, it's your last chance anyhow

So always look on the brigt side of death

And finally a scene from Kill Bill where Deryl Hannah attempts to kill her comatose rival and is ultimately stopped by her lover Bill.

Next follows with songs that feature whistling at some point, whether as an intro, outro, or interlude. Be sure that you won't listen to Klaus Meine whistleing.