Music in the Horror Films of Val Lewton - (Music and the Moving Image) by Michael Lee (Paperback)

About the Book

Examines how the music in Val Lewton's horror films enhanced the films' aesthetics and visual style

Book Synopsis

Val Lewton's horror films revolutionized a popular genre through a much-studied and still widely emulated visual style emphasizing shadows and absences. By denying audiences visual confirmation of horror, his reforms placed a fresh burden on the soundtrack of his films. This book offers a fine-grained study of the Lewton unit's transformational sonic style which introduced the first "jump scare," liberal use of pre-musique concrète, and an original orchestral score for every film in the series in violation of "B" movie norms. Their orchestral scores often exceed the conventions of film music as we hear the RKO Music Department ignoring instructions thus freeing their contributions to signpost the path toward each films' essential themes.

From the Back Cover

Val Lewton's horror films revolutionized a popular genre through a much-studied and still widely emulated visual style emphasizing shadows and absences. By denying audiences visual confirmation of horror, his reforms placed a fresh burden on the soundtrack of his films. This book offers a fine-grained study of the Lewton unit's transformational sonic style which introduced the first "jump scare," liberal use of pre-musique concrète, and an original orchestral score for every film in the series in violation of "B" movie norms. Their orchestral scores often exceed the conventions of film music as we hear the RKO Music Department ignoring instructions thus freeing their contributions to signpost the path toward each films' essential themes. Michael Lee is Professor of Musicology at the University of Oklahoma. He is the author of numerous articles on film music in horror films from studio-era Hollywood. His earlier work focuses on the American postwar avant-garde and the Ballets Russes in the 1920s.

Review Quotes

Michael Lee's Music in the Horror Films of Val Lewton is an extremely important and highly original intervention into studies of film music and horror cinema. His approach will benefit everyone in the field, providing as it does new insight on how music can augment our understanding of the cinema.--Gary D. Rhodes, University of Central Florida

The saying "Music makes up 50% of a film" has never been more true than that of Roy Webb's contributions to Val Lewton's horror pictures. Michael Lee, in his meticulous research and interpretative analysis, makes clear that we must listen to these movies in order to fully appreciate their richness.--Brooke McCorkle, Carleton College

About the Author

Michael Lee is Professor of Musicology at the University of Oklahoma. He is the author of numerous articles on film music in horror films from studio-era Hollywood. His earlier work focuses on the American postwar avant-garde and the Ballets Russes in the 1920s.