Tribute To Film Composer Bernard Hermann

New York’s Film Forum is in the midst of a 2 week tribute to master film composer Bernard Hermann, in honor of the centenary of his birth. The series, which runs through November 3, kicked off last week with Hermann’s electrifying film debut CITIZEN KANE, which also marked the debut of its tyro director Orson Welles. Hermann next provided the haunting score for Welles’ follow up film THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS. However, it is his collaboration with Alfred Hitchcock which is his best known, with Hermann providing thrilling scores for such classics as THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH, VERTIGO, NORTH BY NORTHWEST and PSYCHO. Lesser known, and included in the series, are his musical soundtracks for such  diverse films of the 1940s and 1950s as THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER (his only Oscar win), THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR, HANGOVER SQUARE, THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, THE SEVEN VOYAGES OF SINBAD and JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS. His best known work from the 1960s included his musical scores for the original CAPE FEAR and Francois Truffaut’s adaptation of FAHRENHEIT 451. Also included in the series is his impressionistic and highly memorable score for Martin Scorsese’s TAXI DRIVER, his final contribution to film music. Hermann died in 1975, a year after the film was released. For more information, visit: www.filmforum.org

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