Film loves Italo Disco. Over the last twenty years the genre's classic tracks have played in dozens of films and TV series - from arthouse to blockbusters. Each appearance gives Italian hits new life and introduces them to a new audience. Here's how and why current directors use '80s music.
Why Directors Love Italo Disco
Italo Disco has a few qualities that make the genre perfect for cinema:
- Instant era recognition. If a scene needs to take place in the '80s, an Italo Disco track sets the context in seconds - no need to explain it's 1985.
- Emotional range. The genre can be danceable and cheerful, melancholy and sad, energetic and atmospheric. That gives directors flexibility in mood.
- Availability and cost. Rights for Italo Disco tracks are often cheaper than for American pop classics of the same period. For independent films, that's an important factor.
"Stranger Things": the Retro Renaissance
The Netflix series "Stranger Things," launched in 2016, largely kicked off the '80s retro wave in mass culture. The show is set in the '80s, and the soundtrack is built around the era's music. Italo Disco and neighboring genres are an important part of the sound design.
Across the seasons, tracks by Modern Talking, New Order, The Clash, and many others have played. Italo Disco isn't the main genre of the soundtrack but part of a broader retro context. For the show's young audience, it was a first encounter with the sound of the '80s overall.
"Drive" and Synthwave
Although Nicolas Winding Refn's "Drive" came out back in 2011, its influence on film music continues. The soundtrack, featuring Kavinsky's "Nightcall" and other synthwave tracks, revived interest in music tied to Italo Disco.
"Drive" showed how '80s aesthetics could work in contemporary film - not as parody or nostalgia but as a full-fledged artistic language. After that film, many directors began using similar approaches in their work.
"Atomic Blonde"
"Atomic Blonde" (2017) is another notable case of using '80s music in current cinema. The action is set in 1989, in Berlin before the wall fell, and the soundtrack is built around hits of the time. Among them are tracks close to the Italo Disco aesthetic - Nena's "99 Luftballons," David Bowie songs, synth-pop elements.
It's an example of a soundtrack becoming almost an independent character in a film. The music doesn't just accompany the action - it participates in building atmosphere alongside visuals and script.
"Oblivion" With Tom Cruise
The 2013 science fiction film "Oblivion" uses compositions close to instrumental Italo Disco and synthwave in its soundtrack. The music of M83, who scored the film, has clear parallels with the space disco of the '80s - Koto, Laserdance, and other instrumental projects of that era.
It's an example of how Italo Disco influences cinema not directly (through use of original tracks) but through inspiring contemporary composers.
Italian Cinema
Contemporary Italian cinema often draws on its own musical heritage. Films by Paolo Sorrentino, Luca Guadagnino, Matteo Garrone include Italo Disco tracks in their soundtracks - as nostalgic markers, cultural references, emotional anchors.
Sorrentino's "The Young Pope," Guadagnino's "Call Me by Your Name," series like "Suburra" and "Gomorra" - all these works treat '80s Italian music as an important part of the cultural code.
Films About Nostalgia
A whole subgenre of contemporary film is films about adults recalling their '80s youth. "Friday After Next," "The Notebook," "Eat Pray Love," and many others use retro soundtracks with Italo Disco elements to convey the atmosphere of memory.
In these films, music works as a time machine - for characters and viewers. Signature tracks instantly transport you to the past, create the sense of personal history, awaken emotions tied to those years.
Music Biopics
Contemporary biographical films about '80s and '90s pop stars often include Italo Disco in their soundtracks. "Bohemian Rhapsody" about Queen, "Rocketman" about Elton John, other music biopics build period context, including genres contemporary to the main characters.
Comedies and Rom-Coms
Comedy films also lean on Italo Disco. In entertainment cinema, signature tracks create a light, summery mood that suits rom-coms. European comedies especially often include '80s Italian hits in their soundtracks.
For French, German, Italian comedies of the last twenty years, using Italo Disco is almost a standard move. It builds a specific aesthetic link to the era of "la dolce vita" and an easy attitude to life.
Arthouse Experimenters
Serious arthouse cinema also sometimes turns to Italo Disco, but for more conceptual ends. Some directors use the genre as a device for estrangement, contrasting action and soundtrack.
When a cheerful Italo Disco track suddenly plays over a grim scene, a specific cognitive dissonance gets created that can serve as artistic method. Such contrasts show up in the work of independent directors looking for unusual solutions.
Music Supervision
A separate profession in contemporary filmmaking is the music supervisor. These specialists are responsible for selecting music for films and series. Working with retro soundtracks requires specialist knowledge - understanding of the genre, its history, its ties to the era.
Good music supervisors working with '80s material and Italo Disco know how to pick tracks not just by popularity but by emotional fit with a scene, by cultural context, by chronological accuracy. It's serious creative work.
The Rediscovery Effect
Every time a classic Italo Disco track ends up in a big film or series, an interesting effect occurs. Older audiences enjoy meeting familiar music. Younger audiences discover it for the first time. Streaming services get a spike in listens. Sometimes it leads to the artist returning to the stage.
"Stranger Things" reignited interest in a whole range of '80s artists. Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill" (formally not Italo Disco but from the same era) got incredible commercial success after the fourth season. Similar effects have happened with Italo Disco artists - after appearing in films, their tracks returned to the charts.
What's Ahead
Given the strength of retro aesthetic trends in contemporary film, Italo Disco's use in films and series will continue. Every new film about the '80s, every series with a nostalgic slant, every coming-of-age story set in that era needs the right soundtrack - and the genre will provide it.
The precedent is already there: in 2022, Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill," after its use in the fourth season of "Stranger Things," reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart 37 years after its original release. That showed the industry and platforms that a properly placed retro track in a major series can return a song to the top of the chart. For Italo Disco, it's an open opportunity: with the right scene, "Self Control," "Tarzan Boy," or "Dolce Vita" has a chance to repeat the trick. The only question is when a specific director happily coincides with a specific track.