One of Bernard Herrmann's best scores?
I loved this movie as a kid. Herrmann's score gives the film the right amount of suspense... at least for a kid watching it in the 60's and 70's.
Thanks....
I adore the work of Bernard ("Bennie") Herrmann, so I find this a highly interesting topic, but also a difficult question to answer. The main title, featuring the ever--seemingly eternally--descending motif, with the instrumentation going lower and lower and deeper and deeper and ever more menacing, is certainly one of his most evocative themes, and if I listen to it too closely, it actually scares me...despite oft-repeated listening. Also, I love the music that plays when our heroes discover--with help, unfortunately, from Count Saknussemm--the gallery naturally lit by bio-luminescence. I'm not sure, however, how I would rate this score alongside some of my other favorites of the versatile Mr. Herrmann. How does it stack up with Citizen Kane? With The Day the Earth Stood Still? With North by Northwest? With one of my personal loves, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad?
I would certainly call it a powerful score, and I love it in large part because of my great affection for the movie itself. I guess I find it hard to separate the two, so I really can't give you an objective answer.
You play that kling-kling-kling jazz, or you won’t get paid tonight!
You got it dead on. I just said to my wife as we were watching this on AMC this past week. The opening is chilling and makes you feel as if you were decending into Hell! Very ominous opening title.
I too think he was a soundtrack genius. In addition to the titles you mentioned, my all time favorite is the theme to Taxi Driver. That gives me a chill up my spine. And it has that hypnotic saxophone that makes you want to have drink in your hand.
Herrmann was such a prolific and consistently superb composer it would be hard to choose one piece over another. Vertigo? Psycho? North By Northwest? Obsession? The list is endless.But I do remember reading that when Herrmann was asked which was his personal favorite he said his score for "The Ghost And Mrs. Muir".
shareHuh, really? I had to go and listen to it on YouTube. It's nice but kind of bland really. I guess as a composer there are subtle things that he liked doing for that tune. I agree with you about so many to choose from. It makes it hard. Still, Taxi Driver gives me chills. Maybe I'm biased because I have driven a taxi years ago. LOL