Customer Reviews

Alfred Hitchcock: Music from His Films

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The beauty of this set, released through MoMA as part of its Hitchcock Centennial retrospective, is that it contains excerpts of the original soundtracks from the films listed, including, in some cases, dialogue from some of the oldest. In other words, no suites re-recorded by famous and not-so-famous orchestras here--this is the real deal. The clips segue into one another beautifully in no particular chronology. I purchased four (one of which was, of course, for myself!) after having heard a friend's copy. Should you acquire this disk (which I strongly recommend), take a tip from one of the friends to whom I gave it for Christmas: play it "blind" and try to identify the films! Another friend liked it so much he played it through twice at the first sitting!
I was fortunate to have had access to both MoMA's and the Museum of Television and Radio's Hitchcock Centennial retrospectives in 1999. MoMA--in addition to its fabulous exhibit of Hitchcock artifacts and memorobilia--ran ALL the Hitchcock films for which prints exist in chronological order, and all the Hitchcock-directed television work, plus the TV appearance that probably brought Vera Miles to Hitchcock's attention, comprised MTR's Murder in the Living Room series. The museums are situated near each other in Midtown, and I spent many happy hours that summer scurrying back and forth between the two. As a CUNY student, I was able to partake of all the festivities free of charge. A rabid fan nurtured on Hitchcock "on the tube" literally since infancy, I'll cherish the memory of those events forever. Not only were they wonderful in and of themselves, but, as a previous reviewer who visited our city was able to observe, they were representative of the quality of cultural events to which we who are lucky enough to live in New York City have access on a full-time basis.
This collection is a MUST-HAVE for collectors of movie soundtracks in general and Hitchcock fans in particular--I can't recommend it highly enough.

There is already a customer review on here claiming this CD to be the ORIGINAL soundtrack recordings. This is not completely true. Some are, some are not. In fact, some of the oldest recordings have simply been transfered from the actual film with the dialogue and other audio noises in the background. Vertigo, Psycho, Rebecca, Suspicion, Spellbound, Marnie and Family Plot are all re-recordings according to the CD booklet. I'm not quite sure if these films ever had original soundtracks to begin with. They still sound very good anyway and if this does not matter to you then you will probably enjoy this CD. However, if you are a serious soundtrack collector I wanted to warn you about about these details.

I was visiting a friend in New York, only my second time visiting the city from LA My friend was busy for the day, and so I threw a walkman and a subway map into a backpack, grabbed an umbrella and headed out to explore the city. My friend loaned me her MOMA membership card, so I headed towards the museum and entered with free admission. I enjoyed an interesting pop art exhibit and then made my way down an escalator, delighted to find a very comprehensive Hitchcock exhibit, with screenings of his films, photos, letters from Hitchcock, and even the taxidermy animals from Psycho.

After spending most of the day taking in the rich installation, I perused the gift counter where they were selling an assortment of Hitchcock memorabilia. I purchased a copy of this CD, "Alfred Hitchcock - Music From His Films." I opened it and put it in my Discman and headed back towards the subway. Just as the music was getting started it started to rain. A few people in front of me put up umbrellas, and I did the same. Soon I was walking down a street in New York along with hundreds of other people, all carrying black umbrellas as the rain glided down from the tops of skyscrapers, all while listening to the beautiful, powerful, and ominous sounds from Alfred Hitchcock movies. It totally encapsulated the moment, and I think of it every time that I listen to the CD. It is amazing scoring, and there is an interesting commentary at the end of the disk. I highly recommend picking one up, as it is any ones guess how long this special museum collection will be available.

If you've seen any of Hitchcock's suspenseful films that are always filled with murder and intrigue, then you are fully aware of the fabulous background music that helps to add to the mood of the film. Music is an essential part of every film, since it helps tell the story and move the plot along.