Picture perfect

What are the best ever uses of classical music masterpieces in film? From heartbreaking love stories to apocalyptic visions, we select our top 12

- MICHAEL BEEK, JEREMY POUND, CHARLOTTE SMITH & STEVE WRIGHT

Where would movies be without music? Sure, images, story and dialogue are all important. But cinematic soundtracks provide that human connection – the key to character motivation and emotional truth. Of course, many directors employ talented composers to write dedicated scores for their films, and we can all be thankful for such cinematic luminaries as Morricone, Herrmann, John Williams and Hans Zimmer. But directors often make use of existing music, too, from jukebox pop to esoteric jazz. And when visionary film makers choose a piece of classical music as the soundtrack for their scene, the result is often mesmerising.

So, we at BBC Music Magazine have put our heads together to come up with 12 unforgettable uses of classical music in film. To narrow the field, we've eliminated movies about classical music – if Amadeus, Hilary and Jackie or Maestro were eligible, we'd exhaust the list describing just the opening credits. Instead, we've chosen films exploring non-musical subjects – but where a piece of classical music has elevated the story to unforgettable emotional heights. So, stand by, everyone. Lights, camera, action... and music!

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Richard Strauss Also sprach Zarathustra

Right from its opening notes (that bone-rattling fanfare of timpani, brass and organ), Strauss's tone poem becomes far more than a backdrop to Kubrick's visionary cosmic journey through time. Though the film also uses music by Ligeti, Khachaturian and Johann Strauss II, it's