Bernard Herrmann: Music For The Movies (1992)

[@jooei2810]

Hitchcock was a genius for employing Herrmann to compose his movies.

[@jubalcalif9100]

I heartily concur ! What a shame their musical partnership broke up. Reportedly Hitch wanted a more 'hip" score for 1966's "Torn Curtain" (not one of his better movies), discarded what Bernard had already composed. He went with a more jazzy one & it was nowhere near as good as Herrmann's. How shortsighted Hitch was.

[@j.r.marchley1563]

Bernard Herrmannwas an extraordinary composer, conductor and arranger. His contributions to 20th Century film scores was unparalleled.

[@jubalcalif9100]

My sentiments exactly !

[@AlfredsVisions]

He's my favorite film composer. My intro to him as a composer was through Ray Harryhausen films in which he composed for four. I wish that part of his career was mentioned.

[@jubalcalif9100]

I agree 100 precent !

[@jslasher1]

Benny was a genius; a thoroughly 'mad' genius. Far and away the most talented and innovative composer of music for motion pictures.

[@spactick]

How would you compare him to John Williams?

[@markaven5249]

And Jerry Goldsmith ​@@spactick

[@prof.t.c.pfeiler1280]

ONE of the most talented and....!

[@jslasher1]

@@spactick Like comparing Platinum to tin.

[@soundtreks]

Have you heard his Moby Dick Cantata? It’s incredible. Herrmann was one of the greats of the 20th century right up there with Bartok and Stravinsky.

[@bruceweaver1518]

I had this particular documentary on VHS but is now lost. Is this available on dvd? I thought this was the best thing on the greatest American Composer of the Modern Age.

[@AllenJones-w3p]

"Benny " was one of the greatest film composers of all time!

[@jubalcalif9100]

No argument there !

[@DanTester-y9s]

Hermann and Morricone are unbelievable

[@jubalcalif9100]

I have a notion to second THAT emotion !

[@jefolson6989]

His music for citizens Kane is so great you hardly notice it. It just part of the overall masterpiece. Those that do call attention to themselves, like vertigo elevate the film beyond anything it would have been with out it. One of the great geniuses in music and film history.

[@jubalcalif9100]

Well said and well put !

[@adam28xx]

I have this program on an old VHS video cassette and I'm glad it's now on KZbin and can be seen by any or all Herrmann admirers. He was one of the Hollywood greats when it came to memorable film scores. Thanks for the upload!

[@jojopuppyfish]

It's on DVD . It' needs to be remaster for blu ray

[@marcallen4532]

In the 1990s, Herrmann began to get his due. When I discovered him in 1979, he was practically unknown. In Tony Thomas' book on film music, "Music for the Movies," he was profiled in a chapter, "The Price of Excellence" which was about lesser know composers like Hugo Friedhoffer. At that time, Steiner, Korngold and Tiomkin were the big names.

[@unowen-nh9ov]

His work on Hitchcock's classics alone ensure Herrmann will NEVER be "unknown", EVERYONE knows his Psycho strings.

[@jslasher1]

Saddest omission of all was the superb, multi-tallented Rudolph George Kopp, whose scores for 3 C B DeMille films (”Sign of the Cross”, “Cleopatra” (1933) & “The Crusades” are outstanding. Hugo Friedhofer and Miklos Rozsa thought highly of him.

[@jordanrodriguez01]

Bernard Herrmann is one of my favorite composer of the 20th century film scores.

[@beneaththebeneath]

Bernard Herrmann is one of my favourite composers of the 20th century full stop.

[@January.]

*one of my favorite composers of 20th century film scores.

[@boneeatingsilicate580]

Mine too

[@jooei2810]

Absolutely!

[@jubalcalif9100]

Totally agree !

[@CHAIMFEDER]

Great documentary. Thanks for posting. Pity the talking heads aren't identified!

[@michaelmueger4508]

They are listed in order of appearance at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_for_the_Movies:_Bernard_Herrmann

[@CHAIMFEDER]

@@michaelmueger4508 Much thanks for the info

[@jubalcalif9100]

Indeed.

[@edwardmulholland7912]

I love his music, it totally reflected his temperament. A genius.

[@kylewong4349]

I love Bernard's work and collaboration with Ray Harryhausen, too. That, to me, is some of his best and most underappreciated work.

[@DavidGlover-s7x]

Brilliant, Brilliant, Brilliant!

[@jubalcalif9100]

Ditto !

[@itkapatanka]

A shame this documentary does not tell us who the talking heads are.

[@Warp75]

The word genius gets bandied about a lot, but Herrmann most definitely was one. His music is sublime

[@soundtreks]

His F451 score is sublime. The Salonen LA Phil cd “The Film Scores” remains one of the finest interpretations of his music. Incredible sound.

[@Warp75]

@@soundtreks Great reply. Agree

[@jslasher1]

@@soundtreks Salonen’s is the best whereas Stromberg’s is the absolute worst.

[@soundtreks]

@@jslasher1 not sure why bringing in Stromberg’s recording is relevant. I love the Salonen. That disc is absolutely incredible. Every Herrmann enthusiast should own it.

[@jslasher1]

@@soundtreks Stromberg’s is mentioned solely as a matter of comparison.

[@lbunnygordon1133]

so much appreciated for a genius

[@timages]

In the end it really didn't matter what film his music was scored for, you're always left with that incredible music. Hitchcock must have known that especially after Vertigo and Psycho. For as good as those films are I believe it's the music which makes them truly great. I found an arrangement of Scene D'amour from Vertigo for piano performed by Richard Glazier, amazing, I can listen to it over and over again. There's nothing like Bernard Hermann's music!

[@jubalcalif9100]

You got THAT right !

[@myrondyal6117]

HE WAS THE BEST FILM COMPOSER EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@spactick]

agreed

[@jubalcalif9100]

I could not agree more !!

[@paulaharrisbaca4851]

It's remarkable, really, that some geniuses happen to link together in a way that blesses us all. I wish I had the gifts musical men have. Also that it affects women so much (speaking for myself). Men are so wonderful at these things and I think that's biology at its simplest level. Some of the nerdiest men have the most singular talents.

[@jubalcalif9100]

Well said and well put !!

[@aldobenincasa1761]

i really needed to see this , i love his work from many years, so precious

[@January.]

*I've loved

[@carloscodina1717]

Outstanding

[@dianalee3059]

How exciting to see snippets of his hand written score. All those tiny brilliant specks on paper turned out such incredible music.

[@Stereozentrum]

Fantastic insights, thanks or sharing this gem!

[@wellergurl]

Wow ..this was FANTASTIC ! Thanks sooo much for the upload. I just finished watching Sisters (1972) and I could have sworn I heard the exact same score from Obsession (1976) (one of my faves and extremely haunting/eerie). 😱 After Sisters...I went straight to KZbin to find a bio on Hermann, realizing that I love so much of his work in soooo many films. 👍❤️

[@jubalcalif9100]

Indubitably! Many of his scores have bits and pieces that he used before (just as "North by Northwest" using much of the score from his earlier "On Dangerous Ground").

[@kitcassim4156]

Thanks for uploading this Randall. It was really special to hear Herman’s close collaborators talk about him

[@jubalcalif9100]

Right On !!

[@norg6090]

my dad played hermann in the car every sunday on the way to church… a weird choice for sure but I can still say I was a fan before even seeing a hitchcock film. ❤

[@jubalcalif9100]

That was indeed an odd choice for a Sunday morning drive. Your dad clearly had xlnt taste !!

[@t.p.mckenna]

Thank you so much for the upload. This was a tremendous combination. An outside eye on Hollywood from that other great nation of cineastes.

[@starclone4]

Truly, A Musical Master !!!!

[@jubalcalif9100]

As I do when I take off my hat, you make a good point !

[@dinithavithanage]

The collaboration between Bernard Herrmann and Brian De Palma should have been included in this documentary. I think it's more prominent than Scorsese's. De Palma's invitation to score his film Sisters (1972) was what lead Herrmann to score Taxi Driver (1976) and Obsession (1976) which Herrmann considered to be his greatest work.

[@ericthered760]

I was able to identify some of the other composers (Raksin, Elmer Bernstein, etc.) who commented on Herrmann in this documentary, but I wish they had put names beneath the footage of each. Agree with the sentiments that Herrmann was a genius, a landmark film composer.

[@josephcope7637]

Bernard Herrmann also made vital contributions to TV series. For me his brief musical clips in episodes like GUNSMOKE's "Matt for Murder" made certain scenes memorable for a lifetime.

[@jubalcalif9100]

You know it !!

[@lbunnygordon1133]

cape fear so scary ... just astounding

[@jubalcalif9100]

That's for sure !!

[@Rogagels]

Thank You for uploading this!

[@jooei2810]

Vertigo ost is a masterpiece!

[@jubalcalif9100]

True.

[@ArtVand22]

So intrigued by Mr. Herrmann's excellent work and life. A side note; I wish I could be as articulate as Bernstein...wow. ps: Thanks very much Mr. Rudd for the upload!

[@jslasher1]

It irritates me no end how many times various individuals misspelt Herrmann’s name. Remember, 2 r’s & 2 n’s.

[@RichardEKranz]

This was great , thanks.

[@jubalcalif9100]

Ditto !!

[@JohnWMorehead]

Great documentary for a wonderful composer. One of my favorites. I wish this would have mentioned his scores in fantasy films like Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, Jason and the Argonauts and Mysterious Island. Perhaps not on the level of Hitchcock films, but memorable scores nonetheless.

[@DaboooogA]

Great documentary thanks

[@unowen-nh9ov]

The stabbing scene in Torn Curtain is like a decades later uncensored version of what he did with Sylvia Sidney in Saboteur.

[@JosipGruby]

Recetnly i realised,there is no good movie without great music. This just confirm that statement. Especially when i saw scenes with music and without music. Benny was a briliant artist nothing less than Hitchcock.

[@williamsnyder5616]

Ironic that the experts here were pointing the difference in styles like Herrmann and Alfred Newman. They were certainly different. And yet, Newman probably helped the career as a film composer as much as anyone in Hollywood. Herrmann, of course worked with Orson Welles on "Citizen Kane" and "The Magnificent Ambersons" at RKO. Traditional Hollywood was skeptical of anyone connected with Welles. But Newman loved Herrmann's work and hired him to work on many important films at 20th Century-Fox in the 1940s and 1950s,ranging from "Jane Eyre" to "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" to "The Snows of Kilimanjaro." He even made mediocre films like "King of the Kyber Rifles" and "The Egyptian" at times palatable.

[@unowen-nh9ov]

Apparently Hitchcock wanted Herrmann for Notorious, had to wait for him for years & when he finally got him he did the totally atypical (for both!) The Trouble With Harry. His Oscar winner also atypical.

[@drew6524]

As a present day composer which means these days unfortunately mainly a soundtrack composer - not that I don’t love that I just miss art for arts sake. That Herrmmann sound soaks my childhood. Citizen Kane - the spooky vibraphone and bass clarinets- that sound, genius. Still actual art. Today there are many soundtracks written by composers using multiple auto-arrangers and one key ambient apps and then for composed music always the same Heroic sound. Brass 8va moving in 4ths a 5ths with low strings. That’s fine but now everyone sounds the same because they rely on the same gadgets and have the same knowledge base of MCU movies. Herrmmann and John Williams- at my best I work to be a combination of these. Honestly the only reason I don’t always do this is THE AMOUNT OF WORK if you’re writing each instrument in an SO with that many layers - people assume it’s the same as doing a simple hero theme Batman style when it’s 10x the instruments and 100x the notes and 1000x the nuances. So if I have one hero theme (20 minutes to do) and a Williamsesque-Herrmmannesque cue (hours to do). I’m so glad for all he gave to me and to everyone who has watched his many movies maybe not noticing the music - but still biting their lips!

[@goasdouea3716]

Without Bernard , Alfred is Nothing 😉

[@ScottHughes-n4u]

You are absolutely right!

[@alexmuenster2102]

Narrated by Phillip Bosco. Also, the interviewees' names should have always been displayed while they were speaking.

[@t.p.mckenna]

You're right, so frustrating. I especially wanted to know who the veteran orchestra players were.

[@isuriadireja91]

when it comes to Movie Score Geniuses...meaning those who has more than 5 very recognizable movie theme scores, there are Williams..Goldsmith..and Herrmann.

[@January.]

*those who have *... scores, they are: Williams, Goldsmith, and Hermann.

[@isuriadireja91]

@@January. okay, english teacher.... go find some better things to do, dvmmy.

[@richarddixon70]

Don't forget Morricone.

[@shumandaniele]

He wrote a good bit of music for Twilight Zone, including the season 1 main theme and the music for The Living Doll with Telly Savalis, Check it out.

[@JusticeRyan-n6d]

He's the greatest composer for movies ever,even better than John Williams. 👍

[@ScottHughes-n4u]

That's true!

[@jamesdaniel2363]

Great documentary, but would’ve liked to see name subtitles on each of the commentators.

[@wjcroft72]

A little disappointed the documentary did not cover "The Day the Earth Stood Still", which was ground breaking in the combination of instrumentation, electronics, theremin, etc. But still a great biographical tribute.

[@OrchestrationOnline]

Herrmann was a known quantity. The opening statement is a little too dismissive of his recognition at his height. Admittedly, his name wasn't on everyone's lips - but moviegoers of the 50s and 60s were quite aware of the top composers for the top films, and had an interest in them to a degree.

[@lucile2]

It’s actually so funny how they are spinning the close up photos of his face to the ominous music 😂

[@siralfredramsey]

"Taxi driver" is my all time favourite filmmusic. It's just heartbreaking fucking cool. "Psycho" second one. After that, to me nothing comes for a long time.

[@jasonargos110]

Not covering his scores for Ray Harryhausen films is just wrong. Herrmann wrote his most amazing scores for those films. More people were introduced to his music through those films than any other. There should have been more interview time with fellow film composers John Williams, Miklos Rozsa,

[@unowen-nh9ov]

Ditto Journey to the Centre of the Earth. & such a contrast to the work he was doing for Hitchcock then!

[@redheadcommando5963]

It appears chryron of who's speaking has been clipped off...shame. Loved this doc but would've liked to know who's speaking.... Anyone out there who can identify commentators?

[@markp5762]

A master, up there with Bach, Beethoven. He's downplayed because he's recent, and produced scores for screenplays. He makes the Hitchcock drama's in my book. Unmistakable sound First North American Hitchcock movie released w/out Herrmann: Torn Curtain 1966 Due to a disagreement with "Hitch" was a disappointment and one true "blunder" by Hitch. Torn Curtain with a Herrmann would of put it right up in his unforgettable column. I attached a sample of Herrmann's rejected score for Torn Curtain. kzbin.info/www/bejne/m3abiGh6aZl1o6M

[@Mazeppa6]

I agree with you 100% - Hermann belongs to mentioned in the same breath as Wagner, Liszt et al - his scores are immeasurably rich and affecting

[@unowen-nh9ov]

Hitch made several blunders in the '60's, possibly because the studios weren't supporting him in his desire to push censorship & experimental boundaries, e.g., Kaleidoscope, his studio projects weren't as interesting after The Birds, which pushed boundaries wrt visual & sound effects (done by Herrmann). Ironically, Charade made more $ imitating his style than his original work was after Psycho (which of course also pushed boundaries).

[@unowen-nh9ov]

Didn't Hitch also refuse Mancini's score for Frenzy?

[@jslasher1]

@@unowen-nh9ov Hitch had completely lost the plot by the time he directed “Frenzy”. Nothing wrong with Mancini’s score, whereas Goodwin’s should have been recorded for a travelogue. I

[@spactick]

Bernard Herrmann reminds me of the 1930's-40's New York street/crime scene photographer Arthur Fellig. Better known as Weegee. At least in terms of his personality. Both were rough crude personalities that didn't care much what other people thought of them.

[@hieronymusbosch8817]

8:31 who is this interviewee?

[@sspdirect02]

Elmer Bernstein (The Ten Commandments, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Magnificent Seven and Ghostbusters)

[@thedivineedgar3029]

film composer david raksin, who first shows up at 6:41, is especially entertaining to me. you can tell that they had a history. he mentions it. but he gets these subtle, little jabs in with his compliments ‘benny was a genius with the repeat sign, but it works.’ ‘he had these marvelous sonorities, that were not exactly original.’ just two examples, but there are more. it becomes comedic.

[@maddang1797]

Bernard Herrmann

[@drew6524]

Wow that guy saying he was gruff because if he wasn’t making a joke he’d say something or do some emotional . That’s so me. I’m an outreach worker and therapist for autistic children and basically love and help everyone all day- but I ACT gruff unthinkingly

[@FreakieFan]

I wish all the talking heads were labeled. I recognize some of the people, but not all. I wish to know more.

[@crose7412]

@FreakieFan I saw this on television in the 1990s and their names did appear then. I remember that the chap playing Beethoven on the piano is Royal Brown.

[@JT-rx1eo]

Vertigo is Hermann's magnum opus in my opinion.

[@EMILIOCalvillo-gy3cs]

My favorite was Jason and the Argonauts

[@ScottHughes-n4u]

One of his best!

[@sallybrown4947]

I mean like are you kidding! They leave out "The Day the Earth stood still" !

[@bryanherman1868]

1:28 29:10

[@williamsnyder5616]

Bernard Herrmann is my favorite film composer. In many respects, this documentary was a good analysis of his work. However, get the impression that some of this was done on the cheap. Why couldn't there have been some title csards telling you who some of the peopl speaing were? I recognized Martin Scorsese, David Raksin and Elmer Bernstein, but that was it. It's a snooty approach to filmmaking to assume things.

[@catchoupiote]

At 11:16 it's musicologist an filmmusic specialist Christopher Palmer. At 14:52 I think it's Royal S. Brown, professor in film studies and also a specialist of film music.

[@michaweinst3774]

Actually I seem to remember a version of this program did have the names for the people showed on screen. I think that it was simply reuploaded here in a format which was too narrow to show the name cards. Anyways elsewhere in this comment section someone sent a link for a cast list, hope that helps.

[@appletongallery]

Wasn’t his name spelled Bernard Hermann? Mandela Effect.

[@iceomistar4302]

Nope it had 2 /r/

[@jslasher1]

Herrmann! Got it?