MovieChat Forums > Topaz (1969) Discussion > The Trivia section says someone 'had no ...

The Trivia section says someone 'had no ear for music'?

posted 18 years ago by atomicstuffing
2 replies | jump to latest

Trivia Section for Topaz:

Knowing that he had no ear for music, Alfred Hitchcock didn't even bother listening to Maurice Jarre's completed score for the film, slotting it onto the images without a quibble.

The sentence is worded poorly. Do they mean Hitchcock had no "ear for music" or is this an insult directed towards Maurice Jarre? Anyone know anything about this from interviews or books?

I personally thought Jarre's score was perfectly vibrant, and that Hitchcock has a great ear or eye for anything. Whoever writes this scandalous trivia with no sources is beyond me.

[–] TheManWithTwoRedShoes 18 years ago

I'm pretty sure that it's referring to Hitchcock, as I doubt that he would have hired, let alone readily accepted, a score if he thought it was composed by someone with "no ear for music". But, yeah, that's some poor phrasing.

[–] jeanarless 18 years ago

Not only did Hitchcock have an "ear for music," but he also aalways dictated extensive and meticulous notes for specific sounds and silences he required to punctuate certain moments. He tended to work very closely with his composers and had definite opinions about what he liked and didn't like. I have to say that it's great that a wide range of opinions can be found on this site, but some of the stuff that gets posted as absolute "fact" is enough to make the blood boil.