Psycho

Movie: Psycho
Composer: Bernard Herrmann
Release: 1960

I chose Psycho to do next simply because it's a classic and is pretty recognizable.  I really don't have an order yet of how I'm going to do these posts.  At the moment I'm just picking out scores at random.

The thing about Psycho is that most people mistake the music played during the shower scene as the theme of the movie.  Instead - there's another main theme that shows up almost ad nauseum throughout the show.  Even though this theme is played in almost every track, with no variation, Herrmann has written a terrific piece for this movie.  The entire thing is done only with strings and the composer uses the sometimes-eerie qualities of the violin to great effect.  Because the movie frequently jumps back and forth between the Bates Motel and the town, this theme is effective in representing the impending horror.

Something I find very interesting about this soundtrack is that the entire thing is done with only a string orchestra.  The orchestration is simple, yet is exceptional while watching the film.  While this isn't a soundtrack I would ever put on just to listen to, it really does a great job enhancing the story on screen.  Here are a few of my favorite cues:

"Prologue" - I don't care how many times they repeat this theme in the movie, I still love this short piece of music.  It's repetitive and lasts only about two minutes, but I'm still a big fan.

"The Murder" - This isn't really a great piece of music, but it's just so darn famous I had to include it on the list.  While it's not extremely pleasant to listen to, you just can't help but picture the infamous shower scene when you hear it.

"The Car" - One of the few tracks that doesn't include either theme - this one does a great job at maintaining the fear in the movie.  Between Hitchcock's filmmaking and Herrmann's score writing in this scene, pushing a car into the river has never been scarier.