Image via Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer By Michael Block Published Jul 21, 2026, 12:05 AM EDT Michael Block is a 14 time GLAM Award nominated writer, producer, and host of the podcast Block Talk. Throughout his time in the entertainment industry, he has worked on and off Broadway as a stage manager, written several produced plays, critiqued hundreds of theatrical performances, drag and cabaret shows, and has produced events randing from drag competitoons to variety concerts! On Block Talk, he interviews nightlife personalities, covers the wide world of entertainment through features, ranking episodes, and recaps ALL of Drag Race, as well as Dragula and Survivor. He has interviewed hundreds of RuGirls that span the globe at DragCon NYC, DragCon LA, and DragCon UK. In his free time, he makes one-of-a-kind jewelry and gift baskets with his mom. He is a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community. Sign in to your Collider account Add Us Summary Generate a summary of this story Like Like follow Follow followed Followed Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap A great movie has the ability to transport you to a place beyond our present. Sometimes it’s to places beyond our wildest imaginations. A great movie should make you feel something. Maybe it’s a powerful monologue or a visceral image. Or, perhaps the perfect song at the perfect moment. It’s these songs that, when you hear them outside the film, transport you back . It’s a mark of something special.
Throughout Hollywood history, we have been inundated by some of the greatest songs from movie soundtracks . Thematically perfect or perfectly situated within a moment, these songs have stuck with us for generations. There are certainly countless songs that could join this list, but these 20 represent a wide spectrum of styles, eras, and film genres. Though your favorite may have missed the list, let’s celebrate these other monumental hits.
Very few pop songs operate as a recurring musical theme in a film. Oftentimes, you hear them once at the top of the movie, during the closing credits, or within the film itself. Then there was “Take My Breath Away” by Berlin . Not only did you hear it within the film, but it then served as the romantic anchor for the story. It was such a powerful song that producers actually went back and reshot a steamy bedroom scene in silhouette between Maverick ( Tom Cruise ) and Charlie ( Kelly McGillis ) just to provide a visual worthy of the song's emotional weight . The iconic 1986 film Top Gun , Lieutenant Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Cruise), a reckless, cocky Navy fighter pilot who attends the elite TOPGUN school. He must compete to be the best, overcome personal tragedy, and learn the value of teamwork in a celebration of military aviation. Top Gun was a high-octane action film, and the song provided a much-needed emotional balance.
“Take My Breath Away” is a dreamy synthesizer-driven track with aching vocals by Terri Nunn , providing an anthem that went well beyond the film. It helped represent the decade. There’s a calming sense of intimacy innate to the track. The song has a weightlessness to it that counterbalances some of the bigger, more bombastic tracks from the film, including “Danger Zone.” Nunn’s breathy, restrained delivery evokes a deep yearning that, when the song is underscored, four times, in fact, it alerts the audience to the importance of the i…