Music for the Movies: Bernard Herrmann

One of the best filmmusic composers of all time, or just simply the best? This documentary provides a good introduction to the genius of Bernard Herrmann, a composer who created music for over 50 films, collaborating with such diverse directors as Orson Welles, Nicholas Ray, François Truffaut and Martin Scorsese. Best remembered for his twelve-year collaboration with Alfred Hitchcock in such classics as Vertigo, North By Northwest, and the unforgettable Psycho, Herrmann pioneered many fundamental techniques of film scoring in the course of his 35-year career.  The film provides a good overview of his turbulent personality as well as brief examples of his music. “It is not possible to create a film without music, but you can create a film without good music” (Bernard Herrmann). The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature (1992).