• Login
    View Item 
    •   DBS eSource Home
    • Bachelors Final Year Projects
    • Literature, Drama & Film
    • View Item
    •   DBS eSource Home
    • Bachelors Final Year Projects
    • Literature, Drama & Film
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    A critical examination of the Bernard Herrmann score for Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960)

    View/Open
    Restricted Access (1.052Mb)
    Author
    Musgrave, Rory
    Date
    2005
    Degree
    BA in Film Studies
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/10788/782
    Publisher
    Dublin Business School
    Rights holder
    http://esource.dbs.ie/copyright
    Rights
    Items in Esource are protected by copyright. Previously published items are made available in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher/copyright holder.
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Abstract
    In this paper I attempt to ascertain to what extent is Bernard Herrmann's score for Psycho (1960) responsible for the artistic and critical success which the film garnered. I discuss the aesthetic theories and orchestration techniques involved in the score, establishing Herrmann in an historical and stylistic context as a 'transitional' classical film composer. I then examine the narrative and psychological drives in a cue by cue breakdown of the score demonstrating how the score actually works in conjunction with the images to fantastic effect - a prime example of musical story telling. I then go on to talk about the music and its role with diegetic sound and the use of silence within the film in order to establish a counter argument to auteur theory which has been so long associated with Alfred Hitchcock. I found that Herrmann's score constantly adds and enhances the film to a spectacular degree giving the audience a seminal piece of work which undoubtedly adds to the artistic success of the film, and which has on its own has gained an independent following to rival that of the films. Herrmann's role as an artistic influence was so much more than a mere 'head of department', his influence carrying much weight with the director, and this to me undermines the fundamental concept off auteurism and therefore Hitchcock's honorary title of auteur.
    Collections
    • Literature, Drama & Film

    Browse

    All of DBS eSourceCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsSupervisorTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsSupervisorTitlesSubjects

    My Account

    LoginRegister

    Statistics

    View Usage Statistics

    DSpace software copyright © 2002-2023  DuraSpace
    Contact Us | Send Feedback
    DSpace Express is a service operated by 
    Atmire NV