Born 100 years ago, Bernard Herrmann's career began in the golden age of Hollywood, working with the likes of Welles, Wise and, most fruitfully, Hitchcock, and ended with collaborations with 1970s movie brats De Palma and Scorsese. To celebrate his centenary, here are 20 of TMW's favourite Herrmann scores.*
Citizen Kane (1941)
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
On Dangerous Ground (1951)
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
A Hatful of Rain (1957)
Vertigo (1958)
The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958)
North by Northwest (1959)
Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959)
Psycho (1960)
Mysterious Island (1961)
Cape Fear (1962)
Jason & the Argonauts (1963)
Marnie (1964)
Fahrenheit 451 (1966)
Twisted Nerve (1968)
It's Alive (1974)
Taxi Driver (1976)
Obsession (1976)
Bonus: Torn Curtain (1966)**
*Herrmann's great score for De Palma's Sisters would have been included, but sadly we were unable to find a clip.
**Herrmann's original score for Torn Curtain was rejected by Hitchcock in favour of a more Jazz flavoured score by John Addison, arguably the greatest creative mistake of the director's career.