# The 11 Best Bernard Herrmann Film Scores

> Shrieking strings, dizzying obsession, and noir-soaked dread; the sound of suspense itself was practically invented here. Where do you stand?

*By YPB Team · Published June 5, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/the-11-best-bernard-herrmann-film-scores*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Psycho** — score 1000/1000
   The 1960 Hitchcock thriller score featuring the iconic string-only shower scene stabs.
2. **North by Northwest** — score 641/1000
   The 1959 Hitchcock thriller score with a propulsive overture and playful suspense themes.
3. **Cape Fear** — score 577/1000
   The 1962 thriller score whose nervous tension was later reimagined for the Scorsese remake.
4. **Sisters** — score 494/1000
   Brian De Palma 1972 debut thriller scored by Herrmann with Hitchcock-like tension and split-screen intensity.
5. **Vertigo** — score 384/1000
   The 1958 Hitchcock masterpiece score built around a sweeping spiral motif and obsessive orchestral texture.
6. **Journey to the Center of the Earth** — score 231/1000
   The 1959 adventure film score with grandeur and wonder befitting its subterranean world.
7. **The Man Who Knew Too Much** — score 231/1000
   The 1956 Hitchcock film featuring Herrmann himself conducting the storm cloud cantata in the climactic scene.
8. **The Day the Earth Stood Still** — score 1/1000
   The 1951 science fiction score pioneering use of electronic theremin to evoke alien otherworldliness.
9. **Obsession** — score 1/1000
   The 1976 De Palma homage to Vertigo with a Herrmann-influenced score celebrating his style.
10. **Citizen Kane** — score 1/1000
   The 1941 debut film score for Orson Welles, revolutionary in its approach to narrative music.
11. **Fahrenheit 451** — score 1/1000
   The 1966 Truffaut adaptation scored with warm, nostalgic melancholy for a world losing its books.

Tags: movies, music, film score, bernard herrmann