What a Wonderful World as a zombie soundtrack

Louis Armstrong meets zombies in this machinima clip that sets the brilliant zombie game Left 4 Dead to the "What a Wonderful World."

What a Wonderful L4D (via Wonderland)

[#1 posted by das memsen, August 18, 2009 2:44 PM]

Michael Moore did that in Bowling for Columbine- same exact song, even- but as social commentary, not as geek-masturbation-material. Not only is the zombie thing an unoriginal rip-off, it also lacks any substance/intelligence.

If you really want to nitpick, Devo did it even better with their "Beautiful World" video many years ago.

I'm sure there are other examples. But zombies and video games? Really?

[#2 posted by Marcelo, August 18, 2009 3:00 PM]

12 Monkeys had it as the closing credits music, after (spoiler!!!) the virus is unleashed and young Bruce Willis sees his adult self get shot.

[#3 posted by Yamara, August 18, 2009 3:15 PM]

Actually, a lot of songs go with zombies.

They just need their lyrics tweaked a little:

http://zombaritaville.blogspot.com/

[#4 posted by Sijay, August 18, 2009 3:17 PM]

Also featured over a montage of airstrikes, riots and ARVN executions in Good Morning Vietnam.

Really, I think using "Wonderful World" ironically is something any film student tries at least once.

[#5 posted by jinxprotocol, August 18, 2009 4:11 PM]

I think it's very fitting, considering Louis Armstrong sounds very much like a zombie himself.

[#6 posted by Brainspore, August 18, 2009 4:22 PM]

No disrespect to those who like the video game (haven't played it myself) but nothing about this seems very original to me. Zombies as social commentary and "What a Wonderful World" as ironic soundtrack have both been done to death, reanimated, and done to death again.

[#7 posted by getjustin, August 18, 2009 4:47 PM]

Slow-motion footage? Go with "What A Wonderful World". For sped-up video, try "Yakkity Sax."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjPkf_YVLjY

[#8 posted by lumpi, August 18, 2009 5:09 PM]

"This video is not available in your country due to copyright restrictions."

Sigh........................

[#9 posted by samuelk, August 18, 2009 5:11 PM]

For those of you who are commenting on how unoriginal this video is, I think you're missing the point: this isn't a social commentary at all. It is merely a tribute to the idea of the ironic song choice. Movies like Good Morning, Vietnam weren't the first mediums to make ironic use of this song, either.

I think the editor did a good job of playing off of the song's lyrics (especially the "colors of the rainbow" and "I love you" lines).

[#10 posted by Anonymous, August 18, 2009 5:54 PM]

Yeah, frankly I prefer the Left 4 Dead Thriller main menu mod. It is much more topical.

http://www.gametrailers.com/user-movie/left-4-dead-thriller-menu/315112

[#11 posted by randee, August 18, 2009 6:42 PM]

Can we please have a moratorium on using this song in an ironic way in a montage? "Good Morning Vietnam" did it yonks ago and by now it's cliche. Yawn.

[#12 posted by Brainspore, August 18, 2009 7:19 PM]

I guess zombie-slaughtering video games have been a cliché for almost a quarter of a century now too. Maybe this video is actually intended as some sort of meta-cliché. Throw in some vampires as a metaphor for teen angst and you're golden.

[#13 posted by Anonymous, August 18, 2009 8:39 PM]

I find "Night of the Living Dead" by The Misfits a bit more appropriate:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpjW08b8KpI

[#14 posted by Anonymous, August 18, 2009 11:18 PM]

I do always love a bit of contrapuntal music (my favourite instance will always be in Metropolis with can't stop loving you).

However I wouldn't really class this as machinima as it's really just a music video.

[#15 posted by Projekt, August 19, 2009 2:16 AM]

It may be a cliche but it's still very effective, especially if you play L4D. I had several little frissons of recognition as I was watching it. The Witch moving towards Francis caused a shiver, as did some of the shots of the infected rushing directly at the camera.

I don't think monkeyjunkie160 was being ironic, to be honest, but it still works for me. You might have to enjoy zombie games (and have gone through the meat grinder that is L4D) to actually get the impact, however derivative it can be said to be, that this can have.

Another zombie-related Machinima work from monkeyjunkie160 is this Zombie Panic instructional video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNMcoD4KDMo

[#16 posted by samuelk, August 19, 2009 4:45 AM]

"However I wouldn't really class this as machinima as it's really just a music video."

I think it classifies as machinima. Many of the scenes in the video were staged specifically to get the right shot. It's not just gameplay that has been edited together.

[#17 posted by Moriarty, August 19, 2009 7:27 AM]

The Wikipedia article on the song lists a large number of ironic uses, the earliest mentioned being in 1978, for the radio broadcast of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Hence, at this point, using it unironically is itself ironic, causing one to fold into oneself in an ironic vortex.

[#18 posted by stabby13, August 19, 2009 10:09 AM]

Haven't watche the L4D clip yet, but the intro to Fallout II did the same, and it was super creepy. My favorite version of the song is performed by Nick Cave and Shane McGowan. Look it up on the youtube... its pretty surreal.