3 of the Best Uses of David Bowie Songs in Film

Because David Bowie‘s catalog is so vast and so beloved, his songs have been used many times in film. Nothing orients a viewer to the gravity of a moment better than a timeless Bowie track. Find three of the best uses of Bowie songs in movies, below.

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3 of the Best Uses of David Bowie Songs in Film

1. “Fashion” – Clueless

What better use for Bowie’s “Fashion” than Clueless. The film’s titular character has a closet of dream-like proportions. The filmmakers used this track to underscore the film’s opening montage. It was the perfect needle drop for this stylish movie.

There’s a brand new dance
But I don’t know its name
That people from bad homes
Do again and again
It’s big and it’s bland
Full of tension and fear
They do it over there
But we don’t do it here

Fashion, turn to the left
Fashion, turn to the right
Ooh fashion
We are the goon squad and we’re coming to town

2. “Heroes” – The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Everyone needs their personal anthem. For the characters in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, that anthem is “Heroes.” While the unlikely trio at the center of the film are pretending to fly through a tunnel, their fuel for that romanticism is this Bowie hit. It’s just the ticket to give the moment below an emotional edge.

I, I wish you could swim
Like the dolphins, like dolphins can swim
Though nothing, nothing will keep us together
We can beat them, for ever and ever
Oh we can be Heroes, just for one day

I, I will be king
And you, you will be queen
Though nothing will drive them away
We can be Heroes, just for one day
We can be us, just for one day

3. “Starman” – The Martian

Matt Damon is an unfortunate “Starman” in The Martian. After his space mission goes awry, he finds himself stuck on Mars, trying to find a way to make the barren planet livable. Naturally, Bowie’s “Starman” had to pop up in the plot somewhere. It comes at the right moment to convey the main character’s epic adventure.

There’s a starman waiting in the sky
He’d like to come and meet us
But he thinks he’d blow our minds
There’s a starman waiting in the sky
He’s told us not to blow it
‘Cause he knows it’s all worthwhile
He told me
“Let the children lose it
Let the children use it
Let all the children boogie”

(Photo by Evening Standard/Getty Images)