The Day The Earth Stood Still 1951 - Theremin studio session.

The soundtrack was composed in August 1951 and was Bernard Herrmann's first soundtrack after he moved to Hollywood. Herrmann chose unusual instrumentation for the film: violins, cellos, and basses (all three electric), two theremin electronic instruments (played by Dr. Samuel Hoffman and Paul Shure), two Hammond organs, a large studio electric organ, three vibraphones, two glockenspiels, marimba, tam-tam, 2 bass drums, 3 sets of timpani, two pianos, celesta, two harps, 1 horn, three trumpets, three trombones, and four tubas. Unusual overdubbing and tape-reversal techniques were used, as well. 20th Century Fox later reused the Herrmann title theme in the original pilot episode for Irwin Allen's 1965 TV series Lost in Space. Danny Elfman noted The Day the Earth Stood Still's score inspired his interest in film composing, and made him a fan of Herrmann.

The Day the Earth Stood Still is a 1951 American science fiction film that tells the story of a humanoid alien visitor who comes to visit the Earth with a warning, accompanied by his powerful robot, "Gort". Robert Wise directed this film, and its leading actors and actresses were Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Sam Jaffe, and Hugh Marlowe. "Gort" is also a primary character in this motion picture, but he is portrayed as a completely mechanical man. The writer of The Day the Earth Stood Still, Edmund H. North, based his screenplay on Harry Bates's short story "Farewell to the Master" (1940).

Julian Blaustein produced this film for 20th Century Fox, and its cinematography was executed by Leo Tover. Nearly all of the action takes place in Washington, D.C., where the alien spacecraft lands, and then remains without moving for almost the entire motion picture.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• The
• Day
• Earth
• Stood
• Still
• 1951
• Theremin
• studio
• bernard
• herrmann
• gort
• ufo
• alien
• film
• science
• fiction
• scifi
• sci
• fi
• Theramin
• vintage
• spooky
• soundtrack

[Flextones]

Very Cool. Klaatu Barada Nikto.

[thepurplecrystalz]

i wonder if a theremin can make the WOOO-WEEEEE-WOOOO noise we so commonly associate with aliens...

[moondog50002000]

@thepurplecrystalz yes thats it

[FifthContinentMusic]

@Aynayda Go to amazon.com or amazon.co.uk to locate a CD.

[FifthContinentMusic]

@thepurplecrystalz The theremin can produce almost any musical sound. It takes a thoroughly trained musician to play the instrument. Lydia Kavina, the grandniece of the inventor, is probably the doyen of thereminists. She performed on Howard Shore's score for "Ed Wood."

[needcooling]

That music makes me feel forlorn.

[TheZookyDragon]

@thepurplecrystalz It sure can!

[FirewhirlMusic]

haha, i want a theremin

[vickyoftexas]

Thank you for posting this. I am a big fan of Bernard Herrmann & the original "The Day The Earth Stood Still".

[tripsadelica]

Herrmann was a master composer, bar none. The use of Theremin here is just superb, conveying a bizarre "other worldness" that no other instrument could convey. The other themes for the robot Gort were just amazing and contributed to making this classic film the masterpiece that it is and will remain, despite the woeful remake.

[forrykid]

You can't do a song about women without using a Theramin!

This was the first time it went "public" and now it's THE sound of "Sci-Fi".

[clintbronson5]

Even those this is SCI-FI it is very SPOOKY