Louis and Bebe Barron’s Forbidden Planet

James Wierzbicki's book on the score forForbidden Planet deals with the composers' backgrounds; the composers' studio techniques; the critcal context of 1950's American science-fiction films and a summary of cirical readings ofForbidden Planet; an analysis of the decontextualized music as presented on the 1977 "original soundtrack album"; and a cue-by-cue analysis of the Barrons' music as it is actually used in the film. With numerous transcriptions and graphs to illustrate various aspects of musical structure, this study blazes a much-needed trail in the study of electronic music.

Forbidden Planet is a product of the MGM studio, which at the time of the production of this film was hardly in the business of making science-fiction films. Originally planned as a "B" picture, the 1956Forbidden Planet was praised for its spectacular special effects and brilliant color cinematography. The plot practically tingles with sexual innuendo and the dialogue is rich in references to Freudian psychology. However, in spite of all this, the film was marketed to a juvenile audience.

Notwithstanding its uncommon look and "feel," perhaps the most unusual aspect of the film is the way it sounds. Never before had a major Hollywood effort utilized a score generated entirely by electronic means, yet seldom does one find commentary on how Louis and Bebe Barron's score again and again challenges Hollywood norms.

In addition to placing the composers and film in historical context, James Wierzbicki's study offers a deep and thorough analysis of not only the music as used in the film, but also of the decontextualized music as presented by the Barrons on the 1977 "original soundtrack album." The text is generously illustrated with transcriptions and graphs, and can serve as a model for the examination of other extended works of electronic music for which no written score has ever existed.

Part 1 Editor's Foreword
Part 2 Preface
Chapter 3 1 Origins and Connections
Chapter 4 2 Compositional Techniques
Chapter 5 3 Historical and Critical Contexts
Chapter 6 4 The Music
Chapter 7 5 The Film Score
Part 8 Notes
Part 9 Bibliography
Part 10 Index
Part 11 About the Author