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'Dog Day Afternoon' (1975) -

Based on a real-life event, 'Dog Day Afternoon' sees Al Pacino turn in a virtuoso performance as one of two bank robbers whose bungled heist turns into a dangerous hostage situation.

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'Dog Day Afternoon' (1975) -

Director Sidney Lumet chose not to alleviate any of the high drama with a musical score. Instead, it's the narrative alone that drives along this biographical crime drama to its unfortunate conclusion.

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'The Birds' (1963) -

Though acclaimed film music composer Bernard Herrmann was hired by director Alfred Hitchcock as a "sound consultant" for this seminal horror-thriller, there's no discerning soundtrack noticeable throughout the entire 119 minutes.

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'The Birds' (1963) -

Instead, the "Master of Suspense" made do with a series of sound effects to create bird noises using obscure instruments like the trautonium, an early synthesizer invented in the 1930s.

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'No Country for Old Men' (2007) -

Written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, 'No Country for Old Men' is set in the desert landscape of 1980's West Texas.

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'No Country for Old Men' (2007) -

The film's possessed of an almost indiscernible score, sparse ambient hums that reflect the minimalist sound sculpture that perfectly complements the dark, dry, and often suffocating tone of the picture.

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'Network' (1976) -

'Network' centers on a fictional TV news station that's experiencing low ratings. As a result, an anchorman is fired. The station then cynically exploits the sacked journalist for commercial gain, but with tragic results.

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'Network' (1976) -

The only music emanating from this satirical black comedy is that provided by the jingles accompanying the messages flashing up on screen during the shocking climax.

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'M' (1931) -

Ironically, Fritz Lang's first sound movie is bereft of music. Instead, the Austrian-German filmmaker allows the quietness to intensify the drama.

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'M' (1931) -

Actor Peter Lorre portrays child serial killer Hans Beckert with a chilling coldness, and it's Beckert that provides the film with its single melody—a whistling rendition of 'In the Hall of the Mountain King' by Edvard Grieg.

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'The Blair Witch Project' (1999) -

A supernatural horror movie presented as a found-footage documentary, 'The Blair Witch Project' is one of the most successful independent films of all time, eventually collecting a worldwide gross of US$250 million.

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'The Blair Witch Project' (1999) -

The purportedly "recovered footage" found after three student filmmakers go missing is the film the viewer sees. Had music been added, the audience would have realized the whole thing was a hoax.

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'Interiors' (1978) -

The previously comedic Woody Allen turned to drama with 'Interiors,' a story about three sisters who find their lives spinning out of control in the wake of their parents' sudden, unexpected divorce.

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'Interiors' (1978) -

Allen's change of direction meant music was sacrificed in favor of greater emotional depth and darker exploration of the human condition.

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'Rope' (1948) -

Alfred Hitchcock's psychological crime thriller takes place in a single location, a Manhattan apartment in which the body of a murder victim has been hidden.

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'Rope' (1948) -

The "limited setting" of the film heightens the claustrophobic atmosphere while the lack of music, save for a scene where a piano is briefly played, amplifies the sense of suspense.

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'The Defiant Ones' (1958) -

This adventure drama follows the exploits of two escaped prisoners, one white and one black (Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier), who are shackled together and who must co-operate in order to survive.

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'The Defiant Ones' (1958) -

There is just one piece of music in the movie, a ballad sung by Cullen (Poitier) at the beginning of the film and which serves as the theme for the picture and sets the mood for the entire duration.

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'Winter Light' (1963) -

A cold, harsh, and bitingly cold winter in rural Sweden serves as the bleak backdrop to Ingmar Bergman's drama about a small town pastor and his struggle with a distressing existential crisis and lingering doubt about his Christianity.

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'Winter Light' (1963) -

Bereft almost entirely of any musical interludes save for the occasional pipes of an organ floating on the wind, 'Winter Lights' is a dark and brooding tour de force from the Swedish auteur.

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'Two Days, One Night' (2014) -

The Dardenne Brothers—the Belgium duo of Luc and Jean-Pierre—wrote and directed this bizarre tale of a factory worker whose work colleagues accept a monetary bonus in exchange for her dismissal.

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'Two Days, One Night' (2014) -

Anyone familiar with the Dardenne canon will know of the siblings' disdain for employing music to heighten the audience's emotion. 'Two Days, One Night' is no exception.

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'The Homecoming' (1973) -

Back in 1973, English theater director Peter Hall made this British-American drama based on the play by Harold Pinter. As a playwright, Pinter's work is all about words. So who was Hall to entertain the thought of adding music?

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'The Homecoming' (1973) -

Indeed, 'The Homecoming' is a piece of theater made on location. Much of the story takes place indoors, with the characters confined to one room.

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'Once Upon a Time in Anatolia' (2011) -

Co-winner of the Grand Prix at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, 'Once Upon a Time in Anatolia' is a Turkish production that tells the story of a group of men who search for a corpse on the Anatolian steppe.

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'Once Upon a Time in Anatolia' (2011) -

The men, from different backgrounds and social classes, discuss a myriad of issues during their quest for the missing corpse. In fact, the conversation is so interesting and stimulating that music would only serve as a distraction. 

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'The White Ribbon' (2009) -

Shot in black and white to underpin its dark depiction of society and family in a northern German village just before the outbreak of the First World War, 'The White Ribbon' is written and directed by Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke.

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'The White Ribbon' (2009) -

Christian Berger's rich, sober cinematography is simply exquisite. Narrated speech over and above the dialogue does away with any need for musical interpretation.

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'A Separation' (2011) -

In 'A Separation,' Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi focuses on an Iranian middle-age couple who split up, and the devastating effect it has on their daughter.

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'A Separation' (2011) -

As the guilt and morality of divorce is explored, there's little need for any underlying music score to emphasize the anger and tension that slowly bubbles up throughout the film.

Sources: (New York Post) (Better Marketing)

See also: Ugly celebrity divorces that will make you cringe

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