(Russian inventor Leon Theremin, with his invention, the "theremin")
This semester I will be focusing on 3 movies with music by Bernard Herrmann. The first one I will be focusing on is The Day the Earth Stood Still, a 1951 science fiction classic, directed by Robert Wise, based in 1950s contemporary America about an alien named Klaatu that landed in Washington D.C., in a flying saucer, on a mission to warn the humans on earth about their newly found destructive capabilities (atomic energy), and to offer them a choice to either (1) use their technology wisely or (2) to give up their planet and the existence of everything on it.
In his score for Robert Wise’s The Day the Earth Stood Still, we get to see a very tasteful, aural display of Herrmann’s talent. A believer in the fact that movie scores aught not be a constant wall of sound in the movie-goer’s ears, Herrmann shows in Wise’s film how important silence and sparseness of music are and how music in film can very much be a creative element, as opposed to just background, ambient noise like the chatter and the clinking of glasses at a party or the creaking of chairs in a conference room.
A wall of sound eventually becomes ignored by the brain, and once it is ignored, it serves no great purpose. So, understanding this, Herrmann liked to step back and take the minimalist approach when composing his scores. Anne Cranny-Francis in her article “Mapping Cultural Auracy: The Sonic Politics of The Day the Earth Stood Still”, quotes composer and Theorist John Morgan on the subject, who writes, “… too often music is considered wallpaper rather than a creative element in movies” (Luchs 1988, online)
In addition to being called a minimalist composer, Bernard Herrmann has also been deemed a “master at the creation of suspense” (Cranny-Francis, 2007) Psycho is the obvious display of this skill, but Herrmann did not stop short of making people jump, lean forward, and shift in their seats in The Day the Earth Stood Still. As matter of fact, he was already beginning to toy with people the second the film in the projector room started rolling.
Not many people notice it enough to say anything, but the theme to the 20th Century Fox studios animation before the opening credits on the first reel is raised a half-step to B major from its usual Bb key. I had to play it against the rerecorded 1935 and more recent versions (which are used all over the place now, including at the end of every single Simpsons episode) to confirm it, but it’s true, and for people that hear that song enough (as many of the moviegoers in 1951 likely were, given the influence of 20th Century Fox), changing the tune even half a step has the potential to confuse one’s ear. And I’m not talking about musicians. These kinds of changes go for everyone. It all depends on your memory and familiarity. If you’ve heard any song many times you’ll recognize it on the street, on stage, or in a film. And if it is changed, no matter if you’re a musician or not, you’ll more often than not notice that something’s “a little bit off.”
Another, more impressive addition to the score of the film was the use of a special analog instrument called the Theremin, the 1919 forerunner to the Moog synthesizer. The theremin is the machine that makes the alien-like, high-pitched vibrato sound in the beginning of The Day the Earth Stood Still. Also commonly used in other extraterrestrial movies of the cold war era because of it’s eerie, unnatural sound, the theremin was very useful for composers who were looking for giving their listeners a new, unique musical experience. In this film, the theremin was used primarily to convey the common extraterrestrial and advanced-technology feeling of science fiction movies of the time. The theremin was also used as an intro to the title theme of the film.
On the subject of themes, Herrmann’s score of the film contains many. Themes, in simple terms, are the songs composed to set the tone for films, heighten emotional events in films, and even announce the presence of a certain character. In The Day the Earth Stood Still, there is a title theme that plays during the title scene and opening credits, there are various themes that enhance the stress of the film, like that during the scene after Klaatu escapes from the hospital, and there are also separate themes for the characters Klaatu and Gort.
Gort, the robot that came with Klaatu to earth is one of the protectors of the peace of the universe that were built by Klaatu’s people. He is an indestructible machine that can demolish anything in its path, and is the iron hammer of reason in the universe of the film. As such, Gort’s theme consists of a booming bass. The lower tones implicitly suggest threat and danger and are also thus connected with dominance. This works in parallel with operas that typically designate the high, tenor as the hero, and the bass to the villain.
Klaatu’s theme, which comes before Gort’s first one is very different, relying more on softer, middle voiced horns and the ethereal higher-pitched sounds of the theremin than the dominant bass tones. The combined effect of the higher pitch and the softer volume make Klaatu’s character seem more delicate and much less threatening.
The tonal focus of Herrmann’s composition often depends on which of these characters is present in a scene or where the focus is directed. For the scenes in which Gort destroys the tank in the beginning of the movie and Gort knocks out the soldiers guarding the flying saucer, Gort’s theme of destruction and impending doom is present. On the other hand, when Klaatu sneaks out of the house at night and when he is in the flying saucer before the power outage, the musical theme is dominantly higher-pitched and closer to Klaatu’s first theme in the beginning of the film.
The tonal focus also depends on the emotions of the moment. For example, after the intro credits when the camera opens onto an open ocean Herrmann uses a fast-paced piano arpeggio with some theremin to enhance the anxiety that first scene during which the military officials cannot figure out what to do about the unidentified flying object. 18 minutes and an hour later when Klaatu escapes from the hospital, and after Klaatu is broken out of jail by Gort, Herrmann uses the music again to outline the paranoia of those scenes. What makes the paranoid sections more powerful though are Herrmann’s uses of silence. A majority of the film has no actual background music at all.
Two important silent parts worth paying attention to are when Klaatu (Mr. Carpenter) brings Bobby to the spaceship, and after Klaatu makes his ultimatum offer at the end of the film. The fact that there is no music during the first of these two scenes is evidence that the spaceship itself is not what is important. It is Klaatu’s knowledge that is important. And in the final scene, the silent pan around the different races of the crowd allows the viewer to fully appreciate the weight of Klaatu’s knowledge and his final question.
- Anthony D. Collins
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