List Price: $34.99 Details

Save: $10.39 (30%)

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime & FREE Returns

FREE delivery Saturday, September 10 if you spend $25 on items shipped by Amazon. Order within 16 hrs 48 mins

Or fastest delivery Thursday, September 8

Select delivery location

In Stock.

As an alternative, the Kindle eBook is available now and can be read on any device with the free Kindle app.

[{"displayPrice":"$24.60","priceAmount":24.60,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"24","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"60","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"aSanqMP6dxhYB%2FAeRJQgPIkZFwXoq3ASqKRdBh6HldD72fJ%2FdDSX4oMNwcRfmnQghNewsUE8cnxdUJjBNDk%2BgG1TH11xbaUQzTj97YT45gXiqM1sMeE0jRgdtDL8G6AM4GOrGMST2v0%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW"},{"displayPrice":"$23.00","priceAmount":23.00,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"23","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"00","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"DLjkfk9j9KHrroQofjhIJt5O8kV2xbVGiNNJnsHiFEMwykZMBsN3NnINV1fRCqlWnTRe1eC%2BfVfZ18sahaWrtb6AnIg0aOFKxpQxE90mL0GYMqI%2FFiECj%2BVmV3%2BwCEu%2F9ZVlo1O4mK%2B%2Bd2OkHGaSuS99nBOlTN%2BF1YM7cHVhvQsSlQgPk2BEZdOCCUwaqukX","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED"}]

$$24.60 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Secure transaction

Ships from

Amazon.com

Sold by

Amazon.com

Details

Ships from

Amazon.com

Sold by

Amazon.com

Return policy: Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt

Add a gift receipt for easy returns

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime

FREE delivery Monday, October 3 if you spend $25 on items shipped by Amazon

Or fastest delivery Wednesday, September 28

Select delivery location

Used: Good | Details

Sold by BESTWILL EXPRESS INC

Fulfilled by Amazon

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

Share <Embed>

Have one to sell?

Sell on Amazon

Other Sellers on Amazon

Added

Not added

$26.08
+ $3.99 shipping

Sold by: SuperBookDeals--

Added

Not added

$28.89
+ $3.99 shipping

Sold by: ZiFiti

Added

Not added

$34.97
& FREE Shipping

Sold by: Yellow Book Sales

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See all 3 images

Follow the Author

Mervyn Cooke

A History of Film Music

by Mervyn Cooke (Author)

57 ratings

See all formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$23.37

—

Hardcover

"Please retry"

$129.00

$114.04

$50.00

Paperback, Illustrated

"Please retry"

$24.60

—

Enhance your purchase

This book provides a comprehensive and lively introduction to the major trends in film scoring from the silent era to the present day, focussing not only on dominant Hollywood practices but also offering an international perspective by including case studies of the national cinemas of the UK, France, India, Italy, Japan and the early Soviet Union. The book balances wide-ranging overviews of film genres, modes of production and critical reception with detailed non-technical descriptions of the interaction between image track and soundtrack in representative individual films. In addition to the central focus on narrative cinema, separate sections are also devoted to music in documentary and animated films, film musicals and the uses of popular and classical music in the cinema. The author analyses the varying technological and aesthetic issues that have shaped the history of film music, and concludes with an account of the modern film composer's working practices.

ISBN-10

0521010489
ISBN-13

978-0521010481
Publisher

Cambridge University Press
Publication date

October 27, 2008
Language

English
Dimensions

6.69 x 1.32 x 9.61 inches
Print length

586 pages
See all details

Frequently bought together

+
+

Total price:

To see our price, add these items to your cart.

Some of these items ship sooner than the others.

Show details Hide details

Choose items to buy together.

by Mervyn Cooke Paperback
$24.60
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Get it as soon as Saturday, Sep 10
by Kathryn Kalinak Paperback
$11.70
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Get it as soon as Saturday, Sep 10
by Andy Hill Paperback
$27.69
In stock.
Usually ships within 2 to 3 days.
Ships from and sold by SuperBookDeals--.
Get it Sep 14 - 20

Kathryn Kalinak
100
Paperback
60 offers from $6.18
James Buhler
21
Paperback
37 offers from $69.99
Andy Hill
123
Paperback
42 offers from $23.07
Frank Lehman
70
Paperback
36 offers from $25.00
Sean Wilson
1
Paperback
20 offers from $31.96
Richard Davis
157
Paperback
57 offers from $5.00

Editorial Reviews

Review

'As cinema's second century gathers place and the film soundtrack acquires ever greater critical respectability, the need for a good, compact, one-volume survey of its evolution from solo piano afterthought to a meticulously planned, fully integrated element as crucial to the success of a film as cinematography,lighting or direction, has become increasingly necessary. Mervyn Cooke's A History of Film Music gets magnificently close to being just such a book. ...Written in a clean, clear prose shot through with a lightly-worn, concisely-argued scholarship, this is a considerable achievement and an essential read for anyone interested in this vital and still developing genre.' Classical Music Magazine

'Mervyn Cooke hasn't written merely 'a' history of film music - when all the reckoning is done, this will surely be 'the' history of film music written for cinema, from 1920s silent films to the latest Hollywood blockbusters. Writing about a medium that, as Aaron Copland once cogently put it, is designed to be felt rather than explicitly heard is an exacting task, and one that leaves many floundering. But Cooke's background writing about opera and jazz puts his brain in the right place for considering an art form that aims to balance artifice and spontaneity. … An authoritative read, written with the cracking pace of a Bond thriller.' Classic FM Magazine

"Cooke writes accessibly yet with as much intellectual rigor on the propagandistic songs of Shostakovich as on MTV's impact on Flashdance. ....Crammed with source acknowledgement for further reading, this is nothing short of essential reading for anyone with an interest in film." BBC Music Magazine

"Cooke has written a book useful to readers with or without musical background...they [readers] will appreciate a historical study that incorporates music and film studies and keeps the film music, not the films, its focus." Choice

"The real charm of Mervyn Cooke’s A History of Film Music, however, and one with which the reader is abundantly left, is the sheer breadth of coverage and the passion with which this coverage is conveyed. Never before has a work attempted such a wide-ranging, vivid, and well-documented sweep of film music and, for this reason among many others, it is a work thoroughly to be recommended." Music & Letters

'Cooke arranges his book thematically rather than chronologically, and gives substantial attention to the work of important film music composers such as Max Steiner, Alfred Newman, Hanns Eisler, Georges Auric, and Ennio Morricone.' Larry M. Timm, Journal of the Society for American Music

‘The world of film music will rejoice at being the subject of Mervyn Cooke’s new book. It is both scholarly and highly accessible - a must have for anyone interested in this increasingly popular topic.’ George Fenton, film composer

'If you can only buy one film music book, make it this one … This is perhaps one of the most clear and cogently conceived overviews of music that one is likely to see … one is struck by the fine choices Cooke makes to illustrate his point, whether he is discussing a Virgil Thomson score, or why a Scott Bradley animated short score works best. … With no room for subsequent updates or supplements, this may very well be 'the' film music book for some time to come. … this is a book that every lover of film music should have on their shelves. It is a book not so much to be read but to be savoured and enjoyed.' Film Music Review

'… this is a wonderful and important book, and its comprehensive, encyclopedic scope makes it a valuable resource especially for upper-level courses beyond the general education curriculum.' Blake Howe, Journal of Music History Pedagogy

Book Description

From silent cinema to the modern Hollywood blockbuster - a lively and international perspective on the history of film music.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Cambridge University Press (October 27, 2008)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 586 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0521010489
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0521010481
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.49 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.69 x 1.32 x 9.61 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #248,222 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #180 in Film & Television
- #367 in Music (Books)
- #415 in Music Theory (Books)

Customer Reviews:
57 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Mervyn Cooke

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

5 star		73%
4 star		12%
3 star		6%
2 star 0% (0%)		0%
1 star		9%

How customer reviews and ratings work

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Pecos Pete

Almost too comprehensive?

Reviewed in the United States on September 16, 2010

Verified Purchase

The passion for the subject and the depth of the research overcomes the danger of attempting to cover as much as possible on the subject (film-music history). Given two volumes it would be amazing, and perhaps then Cooke could become the first to take on the last fifteen years of history (so far too daunting for anyone it would seem). I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in a broad perspective on the whole picture, which includes great coverage of film-music made in places far from Hollywood. If you are looking for a deeper look and analysis into certain aspects of the history, you might find Film Music: A History a more thoughtful read. And if its "cheap and cheerful" you want, it's hard to beat Film Music: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) . If you are a film-music fan... you need them all :-)

But I'm not opinionated (no, sir).

13 people found this helpful

Helpful

Robert E. Holladay

Disapponted---Some good material but any book on film music and does ...

Reviewed in the United States on November 12, 2014

Verified Purchase

Disapponted---Some good material but any book on film music and does not even mention
RAINTREE COUNTY by Johnny Green or DIANE (1956)---Rozsa, HAWAII (Elmer Bernstein)
and so many other great scores and then mentions some very questionable ones has to
be disappointing----

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Frederick Jee

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2018

Verified Purchase

great history of iconic cinema music.

Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2009

Verified Purchase

Great book and a very good seller! Hope we meet again.

Lázaro Silva
Terceira - Açores

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Michael G. Shafto

Great book! Get the paperback!

Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2015

Before encountering this book, I thought I had made a pretty good effort to survey film scores back to the silent era. I had acquired, auditioned, and researched hundreds of soundtracks in all styles. But I was lacking any conceptual framework within which to integrate the material, and (I now know) I was aware of only about 10% of the interesting music and the contexts in which it was composed. I generally agree with the positive comments in previous reviews, especially the combination of scholarship, insight, and humor; the energy and enthusiasm for the topic; and the thorough coverage of prior theoretical work. I also expanded my vocabulary with words such as 'diegetic' (unknown to most spelling checkers), 'distanciation' (ditto), and 'anempathetic' (ditto). I have to issue just one caveat: This is a 2008 publication, and I would have expected the publication process to be fundamentally electronic. My version of the book, however, is an e-book that seems to have been derived from a printed source by some highly erratic OCR technology, without the slightest hint of any proofreading. Cooke definitely deserves better. Whereas the content is great, the raggedy instantiation is too often distracting.
.

6 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Buckingham bookworm

Know more about it

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 26, 2013

Verified Purchase

Having enjoyed a week of film music during a specially featured week on BBC radio and TV, I decided I wanted to know more about it. Together with this book and I tunes I have developed a new enthusiasm. The book is highly readable and divided into chapters that enable one to read about various aspects without going from start to finish. It sits on my coffee table and I regularly dip in for more information. There is a lot to discover and this informative and entertaining has opened the doors to, for me, a new and rewarding aspect of music.

3 people found this helpful

Andy94

Excellent book for students and readable for leisure too.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 5, 2015

Verified Purchase

Got this book as part of my course and it is really useful! It covers MOST aspects of WESTERN culture with a side reserved for India snd Japan but otherwise a very coherent account of film music. Though a background knowledge in the theory of both film and music studies (though not essential) is recommended in order to get a better grasp of it.

One person found this helpful

Catherine Lodwick

Love film music this is for you

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 26, 2017

Verified Purchase

If your a musician and are into film soundtracks, and want to find out about early music, and how it has evolved within the film industry, then this book is for you. It spans from early silent films in the 1800s to modern times. Highly recommended.

One person found this helpful

Dana

Great quality

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 20, 2020

Verified Purchase

Great book

Loobyloo

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 25, 2016

Verified Purchase

Essential reading for my MA!!

See all reviews