Val Lewton's horror films revolutionized a popular genre through a much-studied and still widely emulated visual style emphasizing shadows and absences. By denying audiences visual confirmation of horror, his reforms placed a fresh burden on the soundtrack of his films. This book offers a fine-grained study of the Lewton unit's transformational sonic style which introduced the first "jump scare," liberal use of pre-musique concrete, and an original orchestral score for every film in the series in violation of "B" movie norms. Their orchestral scores often exceed the conventions of film music as we hear the RKO Music Department ignoring instructions thus freeing their contributions to signpost the path toward each films' essential themes.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
The saying "Music makes up 50% of a film" has never been more true than that of Roy Webb's contributions to Val Lewton's horror pictures. Michael Lee, in his meticulous research and interpretative analysis, makes clear that we must listen to these movies in order to fully appreciate their richness. -- Brooke McCorkle, Carleton College Michael Lee's Music in the Horror Films of Val Lewton is an extremely important and highly original intervention into studies of film music and horror cinema. His approach will benefit everyone in the field, providing as it does new insight on how music can augment our understanding of the cinema. -- Gary D. Rhodes, University of Central Florida
Reihe
Sprache
Verlagsort
Zielgruppe
Produkt-Hinweis
Fadenheftung
Gewebe-Einband
Illustrationen
23 black and white illustrations
Maße
Höhe: 234 mm
Breite: 156 mm
Dicke: 14 mm
Gewicht
ISBN-13
978-1-4744-9702-2 (9781474497022)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Klassifikation
Michael Lee is Professor of Musicology at the University of Oklahoma. He is the author of numerous articles on film music in horror films from studio-era Hollywood. His earlier work focuses on the American postwar avant-garde and the Ballets Russes in the 1920s.
Autor*in
Professor of MusicologyUniversity of Oklahoma
Introduction
"Happy Mood Over This, Roy": Webb's Score for Cat People as Film Analysis
Fractured Reasons and Fractured Reason in I Walked with a Zombie
The Leopard Man as Penitential Horror Film
Searching for Meaning in The Seventh Victim
A Wartime Fable in the Sounds of The Ghost Ship
Music for Amy and Her Friend: Webb's Score for The Curse of the Cat People
Boris Karloff and the Soundtrack of The Body Snatcher
Validating Uncertainty on the Isle of the Dead
"Dainty Little Notes, Ain't They?": Roy Webb's Age of Reason in Bedlam
A Closing Argument
