The Influence Of Film Scores On Figure Skating

**Maofan7** · 12-20-2012, 01:19 AM

After 20 months of posting on this forum, its my 1000th post!!!!

As its the film awards season, I thought I would look at the influence of film scores on figure skating. Awhile back, the American Film Institute (AFI) produced a list of what it considered to be the 25 best film scores. Many of those on the list have inspired a number of figure skating programs, and here are some of them (numbered according to the AFI's list):-

1. Star Wars

Marina Anisina & Gwendal Peizerat - Exhibition

2. Gone With The Wind

Anna Rechnio - 1997/98 Short Program (1998 World Championships)

Tamar Katz - 2008/09 & 2009/10 Short Program (2009 World Championships)

3. Lawrence of Arabia

Alexei Yagudin - 1998/99 Free Program (1999 World Championships)

Marina Klimova & Sergei Ponomarenko - 1990/91 Free Dance (1991 World Championships)

5. The Godfather

Evgeni Plushenko - 2004/05 & 2005/06 Free Program (2006 Olympics)

8. The Magnificent Seven

Eric Millot - 1995/96 Free Program (1996 World Championships)

15. Out of Africa

Aliona Savchenko & Robin Szolkowy - 2009/10 Free Program (Skate Canada 2009)

20. The Pink Panther

Aliona Savchenko & Robin Szolkowy - 2010/11 Free Program (TEB 2010)

23. The Mission

Paul Wylie - 1989/90 Free Program (1990 U.S. Nationals)

Dorota Zagórska & Mariusz Siudek - 2004/05 & 2005/06 Free Program (Skate Canada 2004)

24. On Golden Pond

Denise Biellmann - 1993 World Professional Championships

Rudy Galindo - 1997 Jefferson Pilot Legends Figure Skating Challenge

So, what are your favourite film score inspired figure skating programs (regardless of whether the film score is on the AFI's list or not)? Please, if you can, provide YouTube links to them

**AxelAnnie** · 12-20-2012, 01:26 AM

Hey - congratulations on your 1,000th post!!

**lulu** · 12-20-2012, 01:43 AM

Congrats on your 1,000th post Maofan7!

**Moka-Ananas** · 12-20-2012, 02:29 AM

One of my all-time favorite soundtracks is "Romeo & Juliet" by Nino Rota.
Favorite programs to this music:
Susanna Pöykö's FP 2004/2005 (she also used it in the Olympic season but with different cuts)
Totmianina/Marinin's FP 2005/2006
Takahiko Kozuka's FP 2008/2009

Another great soundtrack is James Horner's "The Mask of Zorro" and my favorite version is Sergei Dobrin's FP 2005/2006

**TwizzlerS** · 12-20-2012, 04:17 AM

Matt Savoie 2006

Carolina Kostner 2006

a young Brian Joubert

Savchenko & Szolkowy

and Alissa Czisny

**Zemgirl** · 12-20-2012, 08:08 AM

Originally Posted by Maofan7

5. The Godfather

Evgeni Plushenko - 2004/05 & 2005/06 Free Program (2006 Olympics)

Congrats on your 100th post!

Tomas Verner also skated to The Godfather, and of course Philippe Candeloro. Faiella and Scali skated to the Immigrant theme, which is also from the Godfather trilogy.

Obviously there have been a lot of programs that used film scores not on the list. Some of my favorites include Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze's Chaplin program (I think the music was from Limelight) and Lady Caliph, Rahkamo and Kokko's 1995 Quickstep (Borsalino), Yuna Kim's Bond medley in 2009-10, Lu Chen's Last Emperor in 1995, Johnny Weir's Doctor Zhivago (I also liked P/B's SD to this), Takahashi's La Strada, Joubert's Matrix (I know, he recycled it a bit too much - but it was a good program for him), Savchenko and Szolkowy's amazing Pina LP, and I'm sure a bunch of others that I'm forgetting. Sometimes I like the film score a lot more than the program (e.g. DomShabs and The Double Life of Veronique). But I don't have time to look up the Youtube links, I'll try to do so later.

**Vash01** · 12-20-2012, 08:41 AM

**Jeschke** · 12-20-2012, 12:13 PM

Memoirs of a Geisha (one of the best recent scores ever)

Miki Ando 2008/2009 SP (what a brilliant SP, her 2nd best program after 2006olympics sp)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNz2_b-Ni-I

Yukari Nakano 2006/2007 SP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5YCi_TwuZo

Carolina Kostner 2006/2007 LP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dU9GejPSCoc

Shibutanis 2012/2013 FP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lci9qn6tJs

Mirai Nagasu 2010/2011 LP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=969PkcnMkdk

**Jeschke** · 12-20-2012, 12:24 PM

Schindler's List (again, but John Williams is just a genius

)

Irina Slutskaya 2000/2001 LP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAd9Lm75Qrs

Elene Gedevanishvili 2012/2013 SP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16PMdGFu5PA

Savchenko/Szolkowy 2008/2009 LP (maybe one of their best skates ever)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZJyY9s7P3g

Ilinykh/Katsalapov 2009/2010 FD (drama ending and how i love them for this season as juniors)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vjobRSN3Sk

Zaretski/Zaretski 2009/2010 FD (first program I ever liked of them)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zopww8J03Ko

**Jeschke** · 12-20-2012, 12:26 PM

one last time, and one absolutely underestimated music of John Williams: Munich
This score is absolutely adorable

Susanna Poykio
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bIM6h8e1uE

**Jeschke** · 12-20-2012, 12:29 PM

and the most overused, but still great music of Requiem for a dream but I´m too lazy to search skates to that, but we know, there are emotionally hundreds

**paskatefan** · 12-20-2012, 12:40 PM

Congrats for your 1,00th post, Maofan!

Lots of great programs listed above. I'll add a few more favorites (I heart movie soundtracks). I've bought a number of them if I like the skater's program, even if I haven't seen the movie.

Elvis Stojko - Dragon, 1492

Todd Eldredge - Gettysburg, First Knight, 1492, Independence Day, Lord of the Rings

Hartshorn & Sweiding - 1492

Katarina Witt - Robin Hood Prince of Thieves

The Kween's East of Eden

**briancoogaert** · 12-20-2012, 12:43 PM

Originally Posted by Maofan7

24. On Golden Pond

Denise Biellmann - 1993 World Professional Championships

Rudy Galindo - 1997 Jefferson Pilot Legends Figure Skating Challenge

Another on Golden pond :
Brian Boitano 1984 Olympics Ex

**Zemgirl** · 12-20-2012, 01:04 PM

I'm surprised the music from the Lord of the Rings trilogy isn't used more often. Also, skaters tend to pick only a handful of Ennio Moriccone's scores, which is a shame.

Originally Posted by Jeschke

one last time, and one absolutely underestimated music of John Williams: Munich
This score is absolutely adorable

I don't think I would describe Munich as "adorable", but the score does have some beautiful sections. Florent Amodio also skated to it, his 2009-10 SP (I hope the quality is okay, I have my computer on mute at the moment).

I'm not a huge fan of most Schindler's List programs, especially I/K's on account of the tacky ending.

**falling_dance** · 12-20-2012, 01:38 PM

Cousins' Railway Children SP, Hughes' Serenade fur Klara SP, Kwan's The Feeling Begins SP and The Red Violin programs (exhibition and free skate), Lipinski's Anastasia SP

already mentioned: Savchenko/Szolkowy's Out of Africa FS, Savoie's The Mission FS, Slutskaya's Schindler's List exhibition, Takahashi's La Strada FS

**VarBar** · 12-20-2012, 01:53 PM

Yuna Kim - James Bond SP. Richard Dornbush - Sherlock Holmes FS. Armin Mahbanoozadeh - Avatar FS. Ross Miner, Maxim Kovtun - Casablanca FS.

**pat c** · 12-20-2012, 02:42 PM

Strictly Ballroom - Scott and Fran's paso doble has been used by many.

Mask of Zorro was very popular for a while.
Pirates of the Caribbean by Hans Zimmer
Mr. and Mrs. Smith Soundtrack - the Assassin's Tango - first time by Virtue and Moir
The Mask
Kill Bill
Dragonheart
1492 Conquest of Paradise - Elvis, Sav & Szol, Joubert.........
Rocky

**Vash01** · 12-20-2012, 06:19 PM

Originally Posted by Jeschke

Schindler's List (again, but John Williams is just a genius

)

Irina Slutskaya 2000/2001 LP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAd9Lm75Qrs

Elene Gedevanishvili 2012/2013 SP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16PMdGFu5PA

Savchenko/Szolkowy 2008/2009 LP (maybe one of their best skates ever)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZJyY9s7P3g

Ilinykh/Katsalapov 2009/2010 FD (drama ending and how i love them for this season as juniors)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vjobRSN3Sk

Zaretski/Zaretski 2009/2010 FD (first program I ever liked of them)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zopww8J03Ko

Katarina Witt once skated a pro routine to Schindler's list. I liked Irina's too. My most favorite still remains Paul Wylie's.

**aftershocks** · 12-21-2012, 01:48 AM

Too many to keep track of -- someone should write a book/ indexing them all from way back to the present.

This season, my current favorites:

Ross Miner -- Captain Blood (fp)

Denis Ten -- The Artist (sp and fp)

Jeremy Abbott's fp is to a specially orchestrated version of Les Mis' Bring Him Home (Broadway play prior to being made into a film of course), plus there's no doubt that Jeremy's sp is inspired by James Bond spy genre (his music: Nathan Lanier's Spy).

ETA:

Also, I think Richard Dornbush's 2011 U.S. Nationals skate to Sherlock Holmes, should be iconic if it isn't already.

Among those already mentioned too, I love Paul Wylie's many movie-themed programs, especially Schindler's List and On the Waterfront*; Matt Savoie's The Mission; Savchenko/ Szolkowy's The Mission & Schindler's List; Annisina/Peizarat's Romeo and Juliet; and Yagudin's Man in the Iron Mask.

*Mark Mitchell skated to On the Waterfront before Paul Wylie did

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3QetYpuzKU MM 1991 fp

I can't find Paul's version which is from a professional competition (he wears a red/black checkered jacket to match film/ longshoreman character theme)

IMO, Totmianina/ Marinin's best early skates were to The Cotton Club, and West Side Story.

**misskarne** · 12-21-2012, 10:08 AM

Chalk me up as another surprised that the Lord of the Rings soundtrack isn't used more often. Maybe everyone thought "Oh it's great but I bet everyone else will use that"?

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