An der schönen blauen Donau (known as The Blue Danube in English) – a masterpiece composed by Johann Strauss in 1866/67 and widely acclaimed even during his lifetime – is without doubt an integral part of Austrian identity. No New Year celebration or flight with Austrian Airlines is complete without the most famous of all waltzes. However, he also achieved cult status far beyond the country’s borders. After all, his music has provided the backdrop for numerous iconic scenes from older and more recent movie and television history. Let’s take a foray into that history.

Strauss on the big screen

A particularly lengthy sequence of the Danube Waltz can be heard in Stanley Kubrick’s science fiction classic 2001: A Space Odyssey. At the beginning of the movie, the waltz accompanies a spectacular scene in which a spaceship weighing several tons docks seemingly effortlessly on a spinning space station, with the sequence precisely matched to the length and rhythm of the waltz – a genuine homage to Strauss’ masterful composition. The Danube Waltz is used again during the end credits of the 1968 film.

However, the Danube waltz found its way into American cinema much earlier. Grand Hotel, a box office hit dating from 1932 and starring Greta Garbo, which won the Oscar for Best Picture, focuses on the fate of various guests at the Grand Hotel in Berlin. “The Blue Danube” accompanies the opening scene in the lobby and can also be heard at the end of the movie.

Hollywood continued to enjoy the world-renowned waltz from Vienna. It also plays a prominent role in the movie Titanic. The Danube Waltz accompanies one of the most famous scenes in James Cameron’s 1997 Oscar-winning film epic about the sinking of the luxury liner: when Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio meet on the grand staircase in the first class section for an elegant dinner. The waltz is played by I Salonisti, a Swiss quintet that portrays the famous Titanic band in the movie.

© C20TH FOX / Mary Evans / picturedesk.com

Film fans will be familiar with the Danube Waltz from scenes in many other films. These include the animated film Horton Hears a Who! (2008) and a well-known film adaptation of The Jungle Book by Walt Disney (1994). This list could go on and on.

Strauss in cult TV

Even fans of the legendary yellow TV family The Simpsons can’t miss the Danube Waltz. Johann Strauss’ most famous creation is alluded to or incorporated into the story in several episodes. One of the most famous scenes comes from “The Color Yellow” (season 21, episode 13), when the ball guests waltz across the dance floor (“I don’t like this new Viennese dance craze, the ‘waltz’.”), much to the displeasure of Mr. Burns, who wants the waltz in four-four time. The episode “Deep Space Homer” (season 5, episode 15), in which Homer is sent into space by NASA, is a reference to “2001: A Space Odyssey”. The Danube Waltz appears in these two and other episodes of The Simpsons, the longest-running cartoon and primetime series in American history.

Yet the Danube Waltz was being used in cartoons and animated films long before the Simpsons. The American cartoon series about the legendary cat and mouse duo Tom and Jerry was produced between 1940 and 1967. In the 1953 short film Johann Mouse, Tom the cat tries his hand at the piano and plays a waltz, while Jerry the mouse glides around in three-four time.

Squid Game has enjoyed huge popularity in recent years. In 2021, the South Korean drama series achieved the most successful launch of a Netflix series ever, with 142 million viewers in 28 days worldwide. The nine-part series reached number one in 94 countries. Season two will follow towards the end of 2024. “The Blue Danube” is played several times from the loudspeakers to accompany the gruesome games that the participants play in the series.

© YOUNGKYU PARK / AFP / picturedesk.com

As theme music

The waltz is not only used in films and series to accompany the action, it is also used as the theme music. In Austria, everyone recognizes the familiar opening notes of Zeit im Bild programs, the country’s most prominent TV news programs on the public broadcaster ORF. Various versions of the striking opening of the Danube Waltz have been heard at the beginning of the broadcasts since 1984.

One of Austria’s most famous TV exports has achieved worldwide fame: Inspector Rex. The German Shepherd was in service with the Vienna police for ten seasons between 1994 and 2004. The episodes were filmed almost exclusively in Vienna and in locations that were characteristic of the city. The Danube Waltz is played at the very beginning of the opening sequence accompanied by images of St. Stephen’s Cathedral, ensuring that it was broadcast all over the world: Inspector Rex was aired in more than 100 countries.