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James Bernard, Composer to Count Dracula
A Critical Biography
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Book Presentation:
Composers give a unique and powerful voice to stories on the big screen. Those who work principally with one genre may leave a unique imprint. James Bernard was one such composer. From 1952 to the late 1990s, he was one of horror’s definitive and distinctive voices, scoring many of Hammer’s best-known films, including Dracula.
This is a critical biography of James Bernard. It is also a thorough and meticulous examination of his music, including its intricate mechanisms and the many sources of Bernard’s inspiration. Movie scores examined include The Quatermass Experiment, Quatermass 2, X—The Unknown, The Curse of Frankenstein, Dracula, The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Kiss of the Vampire, She, and many others. A foreword by Ingrid Pitt, a glossary, a filmography, notes, bibliography and index complete the work.
About the Author:
David Huckvale has worked as a researcher, writer and presenter for BBC Radio and as a lecturer for various universities in England. He lives in rural Bedfordshire.
Press Reviews:
"valuable…thoroughly researched"—Little Shoppe of Horrors; "McFarland scores another winner with this tribute to the man who created so many memorable scores for the Hammer classics…well-deserved…A ‘must’"—Cinema Retro; "outstanding…fascinating…thorough…detailed"—Journal of British Cinema and Television; "one of the best in recent years…critical"—Mania.com; "this is clearly the book of the year for students of film scoring"—Video Watchdog.
See the publisher website: McFarland & Co
See the complete filmography of James Bernard on the website: IMDB ...
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