The Day The Earth Stood Still: 20th Century Fox Film Scores - The Classic Series Review
Although he had previously worked with Orson Wells and later became closely associated with Alfred Hitchcock, it was his score for the 1951 science-fiction film THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL that really put composer and conductor Bernard Herrmann on the Hollywood map.
With THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, Hermann first creates an almost sub-sonic bedrock of slowly and smoothly rising brass suggestive of distance and then layers two more sounds above it. Rapid and sharply struck tones of various keyboards are evocative of both technology and speed--and the introduction of the theremin rising and falling above all dominates all with a tone that is, paradoxically, unearthly, uneasy, and yet somehow very smooth and unexpectedly calming.
With this basic sound occasionally punctuated by menacing jolts to herald the dangerous power of the mammoth robot Gort, Herrmann wrings a host of changes that are never less than aural delight. But memorable as it, he discards it almost completely for what two of the film's finest moments: "Arlington," in which the characters contemplate the graves of the war dead, and "Lincoln Memorial," in which they consider the words of the great president of the United States. These are simple phrases of music, clean, and yet insistent in their call for us to see the loss, to head the warning.
The 20th Century Fox CD release on Arista is very good indeed, the sound as clean as the day it was first recorded with Herrman (assisted by Lionel Newman and Alfred Newman) conducting. It is easy for a film score to add nothing to a film--it is equally easy, I think, for a film score to overpower a film. But it is a rare thing when the score not only works with the film but also stands alone as a thing of beauty in its own right. Few film composers have that gift, but Herrman was not only among them, he may well have been the most gifted of all. Strongly recommended.
GFT, Amazon Reviewer
In Memory of Bob Zeidler, Amazon Reviewer
Greatly Missed and Not Forgotten
The Day The Earth Stood Still: 20th Century Fox Film Scores - The Classic Series Overview
This is the movie that gave us the phrase "Klaatu barada nikto!" As befits the film that kicked off the Atomic Age's obsession with flying saucers and giant robots, Bernard Herrmann's score is the last word in 1950s sci-fi. Although many of its elements have become clichés over the years, the original has lost none of its power. Thanks to the many eerie, theremin-drenched passages, it's almost impossible to hear that instrument without thinking about guys in space suits. Other great moments: tinkling space pianos, ominous robot monster chords, and weird, plangent orchestrations. One of Herrmann's most visionary and influential scores. --Heidi MacDonald
Available at Amazon Check Price Now!
*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Mar 25, 2010 09:40:21
0 ความคิดเห็น:
แสดงความคิดเห็น