Hitchcock's Music

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 384 pages
• Published by: Yale University Press May 20, 2008
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0300136188
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0300136180
• Book Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Weighs: 1.2 pounds

Product Description
For half a century Alfred Hitchcock created films full of gripping and memorable music. Over his long career he presided over more musical styles than any director in history and ultimately changed how we think about film music. This book is the first to fully explore the essential role music played in the movies of Alfred Hitchcock.
Based on extensive interviews with composers, writers, and actors, and research in rare archives, Jack Sullivan discusses how Hitchcock used music to influence the atmosphere, characterization, and even storylines of his films. Sullivan looks at the director’s important relationships with various composers, especially Bernard Herrmann, and tells the stories behind the musical decisions.  Covering the whole of the director’s career, from the early British works up to Family Plot, this engaging look at the work of Alfred Hitchcock offers new insight into his achievement and genius and changes the way we watch—and listen—to his movies.

About The Author
Jack Sullivan is director of American Studies and professor of English at Rider University.  He is the author of New World Symphonies: How American Culture Changed European Music, published by Yale University Press. He lives in New York City.



Reader Reviews
This review is from: Hitchcock's Music (Hardcover) If you're a Hitchcock fan, you already know how well Hitchcock used music in his films. Hitchcock was the ultimately leader/collaborator--he knew what he wanted for his films and had a strong instinct which collaborators would do the best job of bringing their talent to his films. His work with Herrmann is celebrated but he worked well with other film composers as well. When Hitchcock's instincts betrayed him (as the author of this book points out) it's usually because his commercial instincts took the lead over his artistic ones; "Torn Curtain" a flawed Hitchcock film with a number of marvelous set pieces would have been much improved with the original music that Bernard Herrmann composed. Hitchcock fired Herrmann when he didn't deliver a commercial score with a hit song or melody that could pull in a lucrative profit. Sullivan also accurately points out that while Hitchcock was great at collaboration he ultimately was THE boss and would get rid of things he felt didn't fit in with his decisions (right or wrong) for a film. Hitchcock at his best (as Sullivan accurately points out) knew the impact of music to enhance a film not distract from it. Once Hitchcock had control of his films, he pushed the various composers he worked with (from Steiner, Rozsa to Herrmann)to follow their muse just making sure that it fit in with his ultimate vision for the film. He may have been a micromanager but he gave the composers that worked on his films tremendous freedom on some projects. For example Herrmann envisioned the "score" for "The Birds" to primarily be the sounds (electronically created) of the creatures themselves. Herrmann's instincts were in perfect synch with Hitchcock's and the result was a great film "score" that perfectly complimented the film. After Herrmann and Hitchcock parted ways there really wasn't a composer that produced work that truly enhanced Hitchcock's films (although the single collaboration with composer John Williams came close I personally feel that Jerry Goldsmith would probably have been a better choice for "Family Plot")which is too bad--when the quality of his films fell and as audience taste changed, Hitchcock was increasingly vunerable. A solid score by a composer that understood his films well would have done a lot to improve some of Hitchcock's lesser, later films. The book may be a bit too academic for casual film fans so just be aware of that. I'd suggest taking a look at the book to see if it will appeal to you prior to buying it. Comment | | (Report this)