It is a truth universally acknowledged that any movie hoping to show change, progress, or passing of time in a nice, little, three minute package will deploy a montage. This most time honoured of techniques tends to involve a sequence of short shots showing time go by as the athlete trains for his big match, the dancer learns a difficult routine, or Twilight’s Bella sits and watches the seasons change without Edward by her side.

It reached its apex in the eighties as the montages became accompanied by the conventions of stirring power rock songs with dramatic key changes in the final chorus, and the wonderful Montage Song from Team America: World Police rightly adds that is also necessary to “always fade out in a montage (montage)/ if you fade out/ it makes it seem like more time has passed in a montage (montage).”

Admittedly much parodied for being overused in sports movies, or for using songs with overly inspirational and on the nose lyrics, montage sequences have nevertheless brought us some of cinema’s most memorable and rousing anthems, and I think they deserve to be celebrated.

For the second episode of Martes at the Movies I bring you my top ten songs used in movie montages.

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What are your opinions? Agree or disagree? What did I miss out or judge too harshly?

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Youtube playlist of this week’s songs: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRSnYeGHZ2VrpFMb9wOw6HT7gfW-oR1IB