Voice In Cinema

How can a voice whose source is never seensuch as Norman Batess mother inPsycho or Hal in 2001 A Space Odysseyhave such a powerful hold over anaudience? And how... » 

How can a voice whose source is never seensuch as Norman Batess mother inPsycho or Hal in 2001 A Space Odysseyhave such a powerful hold over anaudience? And how have such directors as Fritz Lang and Alfred Hitchcock usedthe being heard but not seen to build suspense in films since the advent oftalkies in 1927? In a brilliant exploration of a subject no one else haswritten on at any length one of the foremost experts on film sound exploresthe mysterious power of the human voiceparticularly the disembodied voiceasdeployed in cinema. Michel Chion author of AudioVision analyzes imaginativeuses of the human voice by directors like Lang Hitchcock Ophuls Duras andde Palma. The first part of The Cinematic Voice considers the hidden facelessvoice and its magical powers particularly as used in Fritz Langs Testament ofDr. Mabuse. Chion sees this film produced at the dawn of the sound era as atemplate for the voice in cinema. The middle sections five essays exploreentrapment by telephone voicethieves screams of terror siren calls and thesilence of mute characters. Finally Chion looks at the monstrous marriage ofthe filmed voice and body as figured in Psychos Norman Bates. ClaudiaGorbmans fluent translation introduces readers to Chions sophisticated andaccessible analysis in a work that established his reputation as a major voicein French film criticism. «