The collaboration between Bernard Herrmann and Alfred Hitchcock is one of the most famous, tempestuous and productive creative relationships in Hollywood to date. To coincide with Herrmann’s centenary in 2011, York St John University is bringing together practitioners and academics working on a range of theoretical, analytical and historical perspectives.
Partners in Suspense will address the sound of The Birds (1963), the working relationship between Hitchcock and Herrmann, including their infamous falling-out over Torn Curtain (1966), Herrmann’s film scores, and the mathematics of editing in Hitchcock’s work. The conference coincides with the BFI’s campaign to Rescue the Hitchcock 9, a major project to restore and showcase Hitchcock’s nine surviving silent films by 2012.
Running alongside the conference for those of us who missed out on seeing these films on the big screen, the City Screen in York will be showing a selection of Hitchcock’s films including The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) on 20 March, Marnie (1964) on 22 March and Vertigo (1958) on 27 March.
As part of the conference program, on Saturday 26 March there will be a screening of The Lodger (1927) at the City Screen in York, premiering a new score by Ben Burrows, performed by the Tippett Quartet. Exploring an Expressionist style, Hitchcock described The Lodger as his first true film. A murderer with an obsession with blondes, a love triangle, and with accusations flying, it’s fascinating to see the Director use the camera to tell the story in this Silent Era.
Exploring this dynamic relationship, the conference and concurrent screenings are a fantastic opportunity to experience the work of Hitchcock and Herrmann in the context for which it was intended.
For further information and to book tickets please visit the City Screen York website. If you’d like to find out more about the Partners in Suspense conference, please visit www.yorksj.ac.uk/partnersinsuspense. Box Office: 0871 902 5726
