Be it a gentle piano interlude or a glorious orchestral fanfare, no element of filmcraft sets a movie’s tone and identity quite like the musical score. Film music has the power to underline a filmmaker’s narrative ideas, forge our bond to a heroic character, and move us to the point of tears. Join us all year long as we showcase cinema’s iconic composers whose musical talents enrich the images we see on screen and have us humming their unforgettable melodies as we exit the auditorium. The series continues in September with the iconic sci-fi classic THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL. 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗧𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀: countytheater.org/specials
𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗲: Considered one of the most influential science fiction films of all time, THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL is a timeless story about first contact. A mysterious humanoid alien lands in Washington, D.C. with a warning to Earth’s people to cease their violent behavior. Panic erupts when a nervous soldier shoots the messenger, and his robot companion responds. A sci-fi hallmark that offers wry commentary on the political climate of the 1950s.
𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗲: If you associate a particular kind of music with space-invasion movies of the 1950s, you likely have this Bernard Hermann score to thank. THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL incorporates numerous instruments to give the score its sound: vibraphones, organs, and even glockenspiels. But it is certainly the theremin, an electronic instrument that emits a woozy and synthetic-sounding whistle, that viewers will most easily notice. Hermann’s liberal use of the theremin brings an unnerving and alien quality to this film’s soundscape. Even when we start to trust Klaatu as he sues for peace on a planet ever on the brink of war, the score unmoors the viewer, never allowing the imposing power of unknown extraterrestrial forces to entirely exit the mind. The result is an abstract one: though Klaatu’s people won’t ever truly threaten our world, we nonetheless end the movie feeling humanity truly is, for good or ill, the agent of its own fate. Hermann’s aural contributions contribute to this.
𝗦𝗲𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗼𝗻𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 $𝟭𝟬!Become a member of our nonprofit theater for as little as $40 a year. Learn more at countytheater.org/membership
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