Mark Kermode's Surround Sound

Reviews / Votes

Wonderfully enjoyable and informative . . . opens up a different way of listening and appreciating . . . a superb account, at once lucid and complex. -- Richard Dyer * Literary Review * A celebratory tour d'horizon of film music history that covers an enormous range, from the popular to the classic to the bracingly avant garde . . . Excellent. * Sight and Sound * Movie music may be an essential component of cinema but it often gets overlooked. [Mark Kermode's Surround Sound] gives it the focus it deserves, revealing the stories and the people behind your favourite film scores. -- Nick de Semlyen, author of <i>The Last Action Heroes</i> Part memoir, part detailed examination of the essence of film music, Mark Kermode's Surround Sound goes way beyond the usual suspects to explore the music of many half-forgotten and less mainstream composers. I learned a lot. -- Anne Dudley, Oscar-winning composer of <i>The Full Monty</i> Another witty and wise affair . . . an entertaining and assorted history of music and sound in cinema. * Empire * A fascinating read for every film music enthusiast. Thoroughly enjoyable and amusing. -- Rachel Portman, Oscar-winning composer of <i>Emma</i> Passionate without being didactic . . . reminds us that cinema is an art form for the ear as well as the eye. -- Richard Ayoade Turns up the power of movie scores . . . a must-have for cinephiles and music fans. * The Irish Times * A treasure-trove of quotes and anecdotes a perfect place to start if you want to discover new films, scores and soundtracks. * Shortlist * Typ-ic-ally enthralling and com-pre-hens-ive . . . a gold-mine for soundtrack obsess-ives and new-comers alike . . . a com-puls-ively read-able book that moves with the propul-sion of John Wil-li-ams's Jaws while exhib-it-ing all the breadth of Miklos Rosza's Ben--Hur. * BBC Music * An accessible, unpretentious examination of the evolution of film music . . . and what makes the book truly satisfying is that it gives the full picture of the process of film composition (pun intended), for better or worse. * Sunday Independent *