There's a little fragment of a waltz -- it lasts less than four seconds -- inserted in Alfred Newman's overture for "The Diary of Anne Frank" that speaks of genteel European civilization, and the lives the Franks and the rest of those trapped in that Amsterdam attic once lived and took for granted, crushed under the boot of Nazi occupation and the longing for all that's been lost.
For all its brevity, Newman's creative decision is a devastating musical commentary on the ordeal these people, and all the world endured.
I love the Goldsmith (most here know that the entire BOYS FROM BRAZIL score is written in 3/4), Elfman, and Goldenthal examples already given, and would add Herrmann’s lovely “Memory Waltz” from ANNA KARENINA.
You mean the Memory Waltz from SNOWS OF KILIMANJARO. That said, I absolutely adore Constant Lambert's evocative score fo the Vivien Leigh KARENINA, to which I was introduced via Herrmann's lovely suite that he conducted.
Right you are about the film in question. I knew something seemed off when I posted.
Was completely enveloped in McCreary's music for BSG once again and listening to the beautiful Roslin and Adama track from Season 2, when it struck me that this piece qualifies as a waltz...
“Vita e Malavita” from Storie de Vita e Malavita, guest-appearing on Endless Game and most recently picked for Morricone Segreto, is a fantastically grotesque waltz.
I love the near ending scene in Argo when the plane takes off. I am always surprised that Affleck or maybe Desplat decided to back up that scene with a gorgeous waltz. Yet somehow, it all fits. Starts at 2:48.