New on DVD: A 'Journey' remake and more Oct 31, 2008
The impersonally directed but fondly remembered 1959 movie of Jules Verne's yarn boasted a prime Bernard Herrmann score plus the contrasting acting styles of Pat Boone and James Mason. This screen rehash from the summer panders more to teens by casting Bridge to Terabithia's Josh Hutcherson opposite Brendan Fraser. (USA Today -- Life)
Making mix discs for your creeptastic party? Pick from our Halloween 50 Oct 26, 2008
Halloween Theme, John Carpenter Bernard Herrmann s strings-slashing theme from Psycho is probably more recognizable, Mike Oldfield s Tubular Bells (aka the theme from The Exorcist ) possibly more creepy. You should have em all on your mix discs, and maybe leave room for Jaws, too. (La Crosse Tribune, WI)
Sounds of silence Jul 24, 2008
It's a mixed blessing; a little too rich for that Roman history podcast, but just the thing for an old Bernard Herrmann movie score. At a time of economic peril, it seems difficult to justify a pair of $400 headphones, or even $100 for some earbuds. (Boston Globe)
Flaming Lips Unspool Avant-Garde Xmas Flick Jul 8, 2008
"Elements of it sound very much like Bernard Herrmann in a room with Igor Stravinsky, and they hashed out, you take this scene, I'll take this scene," Coyne says. "Christmas on Mars" officially premiered in May at the Sasquatch festival in Washington state, and festival founder Adam Zacks saw firsthand how Coyne's connection with the audience enhanced the viewing experience. (Billboard.com)
The sounds of Scorsese Mar 27, 2008
The last film scored by the great Bernard Herrmann is arguably undermined by the very voluptuousness of that score. Taken on its own, the music is a lush meditation on the snaky-noir jazz of Charles Mingus, all loops and coils, suggesting the serpentine involutions of the city that makes the titular cabbie, Travis Bickle, into the dangerous creature he is. (Independent)
'Sweeney Todd' guide Dec 20, 2007
Its score was by Bernard Herrmann, Alfred Hitchcock's composer of choice (Psycho, The Birds, etc. whose work stuck with young Stephen and became a motif for the Sweeney Todd score, most notably in the shrill chord that announces each of Sweeney's throat-slittings. (The Palm Beach Post)
Burton re-invents the movie musical Dec 18, 2007
But for Depp, who loves old movie soundtracks, it was too different a project to say no. "It's not Broadway. It's hard to think of it as a 'musical' in a weird way. It's certainly not show tunes," he said, calling it "beautifully cinematic. Sondheim says to think of it almost as a Bernard Herrmann score. Its transitions from dialogue to song didn't ever feel shocking -- you get so lost in the music. There is no jolt.". Luckily, Sondheim proved open-minded about (the right) people taking liberty... (Los Angeles Times)
New on DVD: 'Evan Almighty' is a mighty disappointment Oct 13, 2007
Back story: A composer talented enough for Bernard Herrmann to have composed this movie's score is killing Londoners in 1903 during periodic blackouts. Laird Cregar played him after dramatically shedding a third of the 300 pounds he felt typecast him as villains. (USA Today -- Life)
New on DVD: Ken Burns delivers his 'War' Oct 5, 2007
Due Tuesday: High-octane Bernard Herrmann in Hangover Square; conversation-making (or maybe -stopping) Crazy Love; expanded version of Grindhouse's lesser half: Planet Terror. Share this story. (USA Today -- Life)
The Sacrifice: Just a little too slick Sep 25, 2007
Tippett, Berg, Strauss and the film music of Bernard Herrmann are all evoked in the dense late Romantic idiom. There's a sweet love duet. (Telegraph.co.uk)
Add strings and multiply Jun 22, 2007
He says he likes Sting and Peter Gabriel, but he's a bigger fan of Stravinsky and Copland as well as film score masters like John Williams and Bernard Herrmann. O'Loughlin's taste does lean toward the melodic, as opposed to atonal, a fact that earned him a kind of outsider status at NEC, says a former classmate. (Boston Globe)
Spirit pops at NU Night Jun 6, 2007
It featured a variety of movie themes, ranging from Williams' hits like "Raiders of the Lost Ark," and "Harry Potter," to a tribute to composer Bernard Herrmann ("Psycho," "Citizen Kane"). The Pops also mixed in Broadway tunes, including "All That Jazz," and other Williams' compositions like the "NBC Nightly News Theme.". (Northeastern News, MA)
Palm Springs Film Noir Festival ~ Femme fatales, anti-heroes to patter snappily in dim light May 24, 2007
Would there even be the mega-attention paid to these films without the great soundtracks and title themes by David Raksin ("Laura"), Bronislau Kaper ("Gaslight"), Bernard Herrmann ("Cape Fear"), Max Steiner ("Key Largo"), Miklos Rozsa ("Asphalt Jungle") and Hugo Friedhofer "Gilda"). The list goes on with the many directors, producers, set designers, cinematographers, costumers, makeup and hair stylists who added to the mystique. (Desert Entertainer, CA)
He's dead, not dead -- who cares? Mar 17, 2007
To the sound of ominous music (a bad imitation of Bernard Herrmann), Linda walks toward one of her children, shown from the back on a swing. Yapo seems to be setting the stage for the little girl to crank her head all the way around like Linda Blair. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Feathers fly to prove there is such a thing as a free lunch Feb 22, 2007
She is surrounded by a host of vicious beaks, pecking and screaming at her to the imaginary strains of a Bernard Herrmann score. She drops the sandwich and flees. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Opinion)
Armchair Cinephile Feb 14, 2007
Last on the scholarly front is Hitchcock s Music (Yale), in which Jack Sullivan shows how intimately the master worked with composers like Bernard Herrmann. For the populist: Many cinephiles have naught but disdain for the blockbuster phenomenon, but leading critic Kenneth Turan would like to remind you that even the lowest-common-denominator field sometimes produces brilliance. (San Antonio Current, TX)
Celluloid hero Feb 6, 2007
As the successor to such legendary Hollywood film composers as Bernard Herrmann, Franz Waxman and Miklos Rozsa, Williams has written the music and served as music director for more than 100 films, winning five Academy Awards and 18 Grammys in addition to four Emmys for his TV work. He's also the laureate conductor of the famed Boston Pops, a title he took following his 1993 retirement after 14 seasons. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Composer's character development Feb 6, 2007
Like such legendary film composers as Bernard Herrmann and Nino Rota, Williams also writes serious concert works. A prime example is his bassoon concerto, The Five Sacred Trees, which the San Diego Symphony is presenting this week along with music by Haydn and Shostakovich. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
A menacing buzz Jan 20, 2007
Beginning post-production on Psycho, Alfred Hitchcock instructed his composer, Bernard Herrmann: "Do what you like, but only one thing I ask of you: please write nothing for the murder in the shower. That must be without music." Herrmann mused, and scored the scene anyway. After seeing it with music, Hitchcock changed his mind, responding imperturbably to Herrmann's reminder of his original instruction: "Improper suggestion, my boy, improper suggestion." Hitchcock, who had been so pessimistic... (Guardian Unlimited -- Film)
Hitchcock's films and the character of music Jan 10, 2007
Bernard Herrmann, for example, who created the scores for "Psycho," "North by Northwest" and some of Hitchcock's other masterpieces, said there were only "a handful of directors like Hitchcock who really know the score and fully realize the importance of its relationship to a film.". But it was more than that. (International Herald Tribune -- Arts)
Alexandre Desplat breathes new life into Hollywood movie music Jan 9, 2007
If the subject turns to film music, it's equally likely you'll hear the names Bernard Herrmann and Georges Delerue, best known for their Hitchcock and Truffaut scores. "Desplat lives his music without any partitions or barriers," the music historian and producer St. (International Herald Tribune -- Arts)
Esa-Pekka Salonen Jan 5, 2007
Also much admired are the scores that Bernard Herrmann ("he flirts with Wagner but doesn't quite go there") wrote for Alfred Hitchcock's "Vertigo" and "Psycho.". "Music and film are both about timing," says Salonen, "and the best composers and the best filmmakers are those who are the best timers.". (Variety)
