A Heart at Fire's Center: The Life and Music of Berhard Herrmann

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Summary: Fine reference book
Review: Good book detailing the life and music of the finest of all film composers.
Fine insights to how the composer crafts his scores and how they
enhance the film. Herrmann was the master indeed. The NPR documentary "Bernard Herrmann: A Celebration of his Life and Music" that runs over 2 1/2 hours is a good companion piece to go with this book. Interestingly the book makes no mention of the Radio documentary, which has had much greater exposure than this book or the truncated video documentary.

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Summary: Good detail about Herrmann's Science Fiction music
Review: It is perhaps not a surprise that the fantasy/science fiction movies that were made before Stanley Kubrick made 2001; A Space Odyssey, those that have aged well and look as good today as they were when they were first released, most were scored by the "master' Composer/Conductor Bernard Herrmann. It seems that he did get a lot of satisfaction from scoreing science fiction/fantasy movies. Because the film makers of those movies useually gave him free range to score the music as he himself saw each film. Herrmann belived very strongly that each film was it's own universe and that each score should sound uniqie and original which would suit the purpose of each movie.
His best known scores for this genre ranged from THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL to JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, which were done at 20th Century Fox. To going over to Colombia Pictures where he became friends with special effects master Ray Harryhausen and scored the movies; THE 7th VOYAGE OF SINBAD, MYSTERIOUS ISLAND, and JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS. In the early 1960's, Herrmann went over to television and scored music for various episodes of THE TWILIGHT ZONE, much of which he did for the five years that the series was on.
So great was Herrmann's influence on the scoreing of music for fantasy/science fiction films that many of today's composers who do frequently work in the same genre have gone on record as saying that they were influenced by his work.

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Summary: storm at heart's center
Review: Steven Smith's study of the life of Bernard Herrmann thoroughly traces the development of Herrmann's career with all of it's frustrations and many of it's achievements. The author takes great care to portray Herrmann's complex personality frequently given to outbursts of anger and frustration to even his closest supports and friends. Herrmann's disappointments in his less than successful conducting career, struggles to achieve acceptance as a composer of serious music, and blow ups with major directors including Hitchcock , with whom some of his greatest film scores were achieved, are well documented by Smith. Herrmann's early work to promote the music of Charles Ives, including recordings of movements of two of Ive's symphonies are described. Quoting the composer's views of music for film and the aesthetics of film, the author has written a throughly documented and enjoyable book for those interested in an important composer of 20th century American film scores.

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Summary: A very detailed look at an infuriating composer.
Review: The story of Bernard Herrmann does not begin and end with Hitchcock. It actually begins with Charles Ives and ends with Martin Scorcese. Along the way Orson Welles, Francios Trouffet, Brian DePalma, Sinbad, Gulliver, Rod Serling, and the "It's Alive" baby turn up. A biography of Bernard Herrmann tells the history of the use of music in radio, television, and film. It also tells the story of a brilliant, infuriating, and ultimately tragic figure. If you have an interest in film composing - real composing, not gathering 10 pop songs on a CD and calling it a soundtrack - you owe it to yourself to read this biography. And better yet would be to listen to some of his music while reading - the book vividly describes the music but hearing is believing.

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Summary: Superb biography of a legendary composer!
Review: The true test of a film book is, does it make you want to see the films discussed? The true test of a composer's biography is, does it make you want to listen to the composer's music? Steven C. Smith's A HEART AT FIRE'S CENTER scores on both counts. This is a throroughly detailed and fascinating biography of a composer whose influence continues to be felt in film music (take a listen to the opening theme of M. Night Shyamalan's SIGNS - James Newton Howard has obviously been listening to Herrmann's PSYCHO suite). With wonderful details on Herrmann's collaborations with Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock, Francois Truffaut and Martin Scorcese, this is a must-have book for every student of American film - and film music.

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Summary: A must for everyone who loves film music
Review: This is a splendid book. meticulously researched about one of film music's most charismatic and controversial figures. A raging restless talent who alienated all who cared for him. The spats with those he worked with. The music he composed and the constant disatisfaction he felt with that music. The frustration of not being able to write as he really wanted to. Opera in the grand manner. And to be a great conductor. Film music was always second-best and though he never composed down to the film, some of the movies definitetly were not worthy of his talent. The halcyon days with Welles and Hitchcock. The mediocrity of so many other films all contributed to the downward spiral of a genius. I don't expect you to agree with my views, I do beg you to read a book that is quite un-putdownable. Jonathan