I made two statements. Statement #1: all 5 nominees were worthy scores. Ernest Gold won for Exodus. IMO the Oscar should have gone to Elmer Bernstein for The Magnificent Seven.
Statement #2: IMO the Psycho score should have been nominated instead of either Previn's Elmer Gantry or Gold's Exodus.
I agree that the score for Vertigo is even greater than that of Psycho.
Herrmann did receive Oscar nominations for the scores to Citizen Kane, The Devil and Daniel Webster, Anna and the King of Siam, Obsession,and Taxi Driver -- 5 iconic scores. He won the Oscar for his Devil and Daniel Webster score. He probably deserved at least 10 additional nominations for many other scores.
It's very strange that the Psycho score did not receive a soundtrack LP in 1960. Apparently, the recording session primary elements were re-used, i. e., recorded over. However, the stems remained and may still exist.
I believe the original soundtrack (possibly truncated) did appear briefly on CD some years ago, although probably with archival sound. I don't remember the label, most likely an import. I'm almost positive that Screen Archives was the distributor. I never bought it because I had the very comprehensive re-recording with conducting by Herrmann himself. Some day when the technology improves, the original soundtrack recording may be released again (with improved sound) by one of the more reliable boutique labels. |
