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Film Music Review
The Sammy awards
 
 
 

 

 
   
   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Order your copy of this new book from PineTree Press

and help support Film Music Review

which has been an e-zine since 1998.

Order your copy of the new book

with many illustrations, including in color.

 


 

 

 

 


 

 

 

This new PDF book was written

by longtime film music historian and critic, Roger L. Hall,

who is a member of the International Film Music Citics Association (IFMCA).

the pdf book ncludes a considerable amount of information

including a 75 year chronology of Hollywood film songs and soundtracks.


Also, there is a complete listing with color pictures

of the Sammy Film Music Awards,

the longest-running awards for "EXCELLENCE"

in recordings of film scores and songs.

The film compoaers with highest number of Sammy Film Music Awards are:

John Williams )16), Alexandre Desplat (5), Alan Menken (4), Randy Newman (4)

Other film composers named for Sammy Awards include:

Michael Giaccino, Justin Hurwitz, Mark Mckenzie, Austin Wintory

Also these record producers:

Douglass Fake, Nick Redman, Robert Townson

Anna and William Stromberg and John Morgan.

 

In addition, there are interviews

with authors: Steven C. Smith and Sally Stevens,

and with producers: James Fitzpatrick and Diana Friedberg.

 


These twelve film composers
are highlighted

with 24 sample soundtrack reviews

from Film Music Review:


Elmer Bernstein

Review: FAR FROM HEAVEN


Aaron Copland

Reviews: CELLULOID COPLAND
SOMETHING WILD



Jerry Goldsmith

Reviews: FILM MUSIC OF JERRY GOLDSMITH
ISLANDS IN THE STREAM

 

Bernard Herrman

Reviews: THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL,
CITIZEN KANE, HANGOVER SQUARE,
PSYCHO

 

n

 

Henry Mancini

Review: PETER GUNN

 



Jerome Moross

Review: THE BIG COUNTRY

 

Alfred Newman

Reviews: ALL ABOUT EVE
THE SONG OF BERNADETTE

 

David Raksin

Reviews: LAURA, FOREVER AMBER
THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL



 

 

 

 

 

Miklos Rozsa

 

Reviews: BEN-HUR: THE BEST OF MIKLOS ROZSA
TIME AFTER TIME


 

Max Steiner

Reviews: CASABLANCA
KING KONG

 



Dimitri Tiomkin

Reviews: THE ALAMO
HIGH NOON

 



John Williams

Reviews: A.I.: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
JOHN WILLIAMS GREATEST HITS, 1969-1999

 

As a special bonus for orders of this PDF book

you will also receive a free audio selection sent by email

from a birthday tribute to film composer John Williams

by Roger Hall on WGBH Public Radio.

 

 

 

 

Hooray For Hall's Massive Hollywood Tribute!

Film music writer and reviewer Roger Hall has spent a lifetime exploring music for the big screen. He has reviewed hundreds of scores and honored a host of composers over the years on his Film Music Review and The Music Buffs web pages for decades. Now he has compiled a lot of that research into a complete book, Hooray for Hollywood, in a downloadable PDF format.


Hall's invaluable work is a must for anyone wanting to learn more about film music. It is also an important entry point to how one might begin tackling the massive amount of recorded material now available. The first portion brings together the Guide to Film Music: Songs and Scores from some thirty years of work. This portion has appeared in updates over the years and builds on the historical outlay of film music from the 1920s and onward. The chronological layout is a perfect way to see significant trends and scores across the century and includes a variety of photos as well.

An important section here is the collection of 100 Film Scores of the Twentieth Century. It focuses on Hollywood scores from the 1930s on and makes for a great place to start curating one's own film score collection. There is also a section helping explain how to best listen to film music with plenty of examples. A section providing an overview of core concepts in how film music is written also helps guide the reader to a deeper understanding.


Over the years, Hall has also included a variety of tributes to composers. This section now brings these together and allows for the reader to further explore the important music for these specific composers. Reviews of recordings are also interspersed here to add some additional highlights to the careers of the featured composers. (These include several of my own contributions to the website over the years). Interviews with producers and authors fill out this section.


Hall has also awarded the Sammy Award for significant works or recordings each year (1988-2020) and these are included.

A variety of additional lists and articles help fill out this massive volume. Letters and photos from Hall's personal collection are also shared.


What Hooray for Hollywood is is a testament to Hall's dedication to the art of film music.
The personal connections and astute discussion lays things out well throughout this volume.
It pulls together a life's work from his long-running website.

-- Steven A. Kennedy, CINEMUSICAL Blog

 

 

 

This PDF book

is available exclusively from this website

sent by email download or by Dropbox

 

It is filled with many colorful illustrations

and will make a great addition to any film fan's library.

 

This PDF book is available

as a fund raiser to help support



FILM MUSIC REVIEW

 

 

At this low price

you can order several copies

and have them sent to a friend or a family member.

Due to the format of this PDF book,

no refunds are available..

 

 

 

"Hooray For Hollywood" - Memorable Movie Music

by Roger L. Hall

PineTree Press, 450 pages, 2026


Order your copy

with numerous illustrations - many in color

at the special price of

$14.95 per copy

 

To order your copy or copies

click the "Add to Cart" below

Indicte the number of copies in the "Quantity" box

 





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Other books available from PineTree Press

This popular book is available
in the 9th updated edition

A GUIDE TO FILM MUSIC:
SONGS AND SCORES

 

 

 

 

 

A 75th anniversary edition with many illsutrations

about Hopalong Cassidy films

and the music in this popular series of Hollywood westerns

from the 1930s and 1940s and on TV in the 1950s

Included in the book are memories of the author

as a very young fan

who met Hopalong Cassidy (William Boyd) in 1950,

and he tells his personal story about being a longtime Hoppy fan.

 

 

FOLLOWING THE STARS -
Music & Memories of Hopalong Cassidy

by Roger L. Hall

PDF book
with many illustrations
4th edition, 2025
PineTree Press

 

 

 

 


Please help support the long-running e-zine

on the web since 1998



FILM MUSIC REVIEW

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

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