This is good. The theory is that part of Bernard Herrmann’s Vertigo score, when added to any scene, makes it better or takes it in a different way.
Press Play explain it better.
Kim Novak, costar of Vertigo, took out an ad in Variety protesting the use of Bernard Herrmann’s Vertigo score in Michel Hazanavicius’s modern silent film The Artist. “I WANT TO REPORT A RAPE,” the headline blared. “I FEEL AS IF MY BODY—OR, AT LEAST MY BODY OF WORK—HAS BEEN VIOLATED BY THE MOVIE, “THE ARTIST,” Novak wrote, and went on to decry the “USE AND ABUSE [OF] FAMOUS PIECES OF WORK TO GAIN ATTENTION AND APPLAUSE FOR OTHER THAN WHAT THEY WERE INTENDED.” Novak’s word choice was unfortunate — more than one person, including yours truly, said that was akin to somebody sitting through the Star Wars prequels and witlessly declaring, “George Lucas raped my childhood.”
Press Play contributor and film editor Kevin Lee followed this Novak/Lucas line of thought to its logical — or illogical — end. Just for the hell of it, he matched the Vertigo cue used in The Artist with the last three minutes of the Death Star battle in Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope, uploaded it, and sent the link to several Press Play contributors to get their reactions.
And it’s here that things got interesting: rather than generate cheap laughs at the expense of Novak, Lucas, The Artist or Star Wars, the mash-up inspired delight. Simply put: Kevin’s experiment confirmed that Bernard Herrmann’s Vertigo score is so passionate and powerful that it can elevate an already good scene — and a familiar one at that — to a higher plane of expression. Score one for the master of film scoring!
Press Play are also running a competition for the best Vertigoed clip.
Here are just a few of the scenes where the score was used to great effect. I think the They Live one is my favourite so far and the Straw Dogs scene (NSFW) is totally changed. It shows the power of the movie score.
ALIEN “Vertigoed” from William D'Annucci on Vimeo.
