"HERRMANN AND HITCHCOCK: THE TORN CURTAIN" in Horror Music Forum

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"HERRMANN AND HITCHCOCK: THE TORN CURTAIN"

Author	Comment
Steve Vertlieb	"HERRMANN AND HITCHCOCK: THE TORN CURTAIN"	Lead	[-]
Aug 13 12 4:35 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	This published account of the long and turbulent collaboration between Bernard Herrmann and his most popular director, Alfred Hitchcock, may be perused at the official website of The Bernard Herrmann Society... http://www.bernardherrmann.org/articles/misc-torncurtain/ Steve
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Dr Acula		#1	[-]
Aug 13 12 12:14 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Thanks - this is a good piece! My God, what's Bond doing?... I think he's attempting re-entry, sir. http://www.eccentric-cinema.com/ Cole's Comics: All About Jack Cole http://colescomics.blogspot.com/
Steve Vertlieb		#2	[-]
Aug 13 12 5:15 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	My pleasure, my friend. I'm delighted that you found value in these efforts. Steve
Friend of Daniel		#3	[-]
Aug 13 12 8:25 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Great article, Steve! Hitchcock's emotional and mental decline from the mid '60s to his death is such a tragic story. By contrast Benny really seemed to be undergoing a true renaissance at the time of his untimely death. As sad as the Hitchcock/Herrmann break up was the collaboration I really wished he had continued was with Harryhausen and Scheer. While it would have been nice to have Herrmann scores for TOPAZ, FRENZY, and FAMILY PLOT I would have much preferred to hear his scores for THE FIRST MEN IN THE MOON, THE VALLEY OF GWANGI, ONE MILLION YEARS BC, and THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD. SINBAD would have been particularly interesting since it would have been Benny's first (and only) score for a sequel. I've wondered if he would have reused (reuse music? HERRMANN??!? )and expanded material from 7TH VOYAGE or would have come up with something completely different.
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Steve Vertlieb		#4	[-]
Aug 13 12 9:25 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Many thanks for your kindness and most intelligent observations. The severing of the Herrmann/Hitchcock collaboration is one of the saddest dissolutions of creative partnership in film history. Herrmann did, indeed, flower after the breakup with Hitchcock, but his output also diminished due to increasing health difficulties and a world film community that turned a deaf ear on the beauty of traditional melodic motion picture scores, favoring the wall to wall noise that continues to proliferate film soundtracks to this day. John Williams and Jerry Goldsmith wielded enough power to continue writing beautiful music but, for the most part, the musical styles of Bernard Herrmann and Miklos Rozsa came to be looked down upon by the Hollywood establishment. Herrmann hated repeating himself even if he sometimes unconsciously did just that. Consequently, it's doubtful that he would have used his original "7th Voyage" themes for a new "Sinbad" film. His music remains, however, a testament to the eloquence and majesty of original symphonic music written expressly for the screen. Steve Last Edited By: Steve Vertlieb Aug 14 12 4:08 AM. Edited 1 times.
Crow T Robot		#5	[-]
Aug 14 12 10:24 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Things change. Times change. Look at film music today. I remember seeing the first Harry Potter movie and being surprised When I heard the John Williams score. It was almost out of place. Not out of place in the movie itself. I guess i had seen so many movies that just have almost droning scores to them. Not "real" music - just something that plays in the background that doesn't stay with you. Herrmann was in some ways out of style with then "modern" movies. Can you imagine a Herrmann score for Easy Rider? I guess Hitchcock had his ideas and Herrmann had his ideas and for a time they melded and worked together beautifully. Films are a group effort with the director for the most part calling the shots. It is sad they couldn't see eye to eye. What "music" they could have made together.
Steve Vertlieb		#6	[-]
Aug 14 12 6:25 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I fear for a world in which beauty and artistic eloquence have no place. John Williams, despite his advancing years, continues to write inspired motion picture music. His score for Steven Spielberg's "War Horse" last year brought me to tears, while Mark McKenzie's exquisite music for the independently produced animated film "The Greatest Miracle" shared honors with Williams as the most gorgeous scores of the year. I'm drooling in anticipation of hearing John Williams' "Americana" themes for Spielberg's long awaited release of "Lincoln" at Christmas time. In my opinion, the current state of motion picture music is pathetic and uninspired with boring, assembly line wrap around scores that shun both melody and thematic structure. Perhaps I'm behind the times, but the music of composers such as Bernard Herrmann, Miklos Rozsa, Alfred Newman, Dimitri Tiomkin, Franz Waxman, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Max Steiner, Victor Young, Hugo Friedhofer, Elmer Bernstein, John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, Bronislau Kaper, Lee Holdridge, and John Barry brought the movies to vivid, unforgettable life and inspired my youthful dreams with wistful imaginings. Their combined legacy created much of the most wondrous, significant symphonic music of the twentieth century and shall never be eclipsed or forgotten, despite crass and unimaginative styles or trends of the moment. Steve Last Edited By: Steve Vertlieb Aug 15 12 4:15 AM. Edited 1 times.
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