Hitchcock and Herrmann : the friendship and film scores that changed cinema / Steven C. Smith.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Smith, Steven C., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Herrmann, Bernard, 1911-1975.

Herrmann, Bernard.

Hitchcock, Alfred, 1899-1980.

Hitchcock, Alfred.

Composers--United States--Biography.

Composers.

Motion picture producers and directors--United States--Biography.

Motion picture producers and directors.

Motion picture music--United States--20th century--History and criticism.

Motion picture music.

Motion pictures and music--History--20th century.

Motion pictures and music.

Male friendship.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xi, 295 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Other Title:

Hitchcock & Herrmann : the friendship & film scores that changed cinema

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2025]

Summary:

"The 11-year collaboration of Alfred Hitchcock and Bernard Herrmann is often called the greatest director-composer partnership in cinema history. Their eight films together include such classic thrillers as Vertigo, The Man Who Knew Too Much, North by Northwest, Psycho, and The Birds. In Hitchcock and Herrmann: The Friendship and Film Scores that Changed Cinema, Steven C. Smith draws on four decades of research, including previously unpublished documents and new interviews, to deliver a riveting account of what made the teaming of "Benny and Hitch" so successful and influential - and why it came to a bitter end. Their story is contextualized by a parallel narrative: the tumultuous changes in Hollywood from the mid-1950s to mid-1960s, as the collapsing studio system gave way to independent, counterculture filmmaking. Smith also illuminates the key figures in Hitchcock and Herrmann's inner circle. They include the director's gifted wife and most valued critic, Alma Reville; Herrmann's beautiful, put-upon spouse, Lucy Anderson; and talent agent-turned-studio mogul Lew Wasserman. Wasserman's negotiations made Hitchcock's greatest filmmaking period possible. But over time, Lew's commercial instincts as head of Universal Studios clashed with Herrmann's pure artistic vision. The music of Hitchcock-Herrmann has become the soundtrack of our own anxious times. Smith demonstrates this by exploring its use in modern movie blockbusters; music videos and songs by such artists as Lady Gaga and The Beatles; parodies; and advertising. Hitchcock and Herrmann is both a deeply researched historical study and a fast-moving, cinematic narrative - one that puts readers on the film sets and scoring stages of Hitchcock masterworks. It is an intimate look at two legendary creators who, despite seemingly opposite personalities, found in each other artistic completion"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Prelude

Shadows of doubt

Trouble with Harry

The team that knew so much

Wronged man

I want you so to love me : Vertigo, part 1

We'll just have the camera and you : Vertigo, part 2

On the rocks

Something terrible is going to happen : Psycho, part 1

The real Psycho theme : Psycho, part 2

Electronic assassins

Murder by television

Torture the women : Marnie

The curtain falls : part 1

The curtain falls : part 2

Coda : Hitchcock's secret.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 289-290) and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Smith, Steven C. Hitchcock and Herrmann

ISBN:

9780197681282

019768128X

OCLC:

1499282288