Forbidden Planet

Music by Louis & Bebe Barron

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the birth youth culture of the 50s, the film Forbidden Planet (1956), with its thematic ambition and Shakespearean influence, made history as one of the greatest classics of science fiction in cinema.

Besides that, it left to pop culture folklore, the anthological figure of Robby the Robot. Forbidden Planet´s soundtrack is a rarity both musical and cinematographic. It was created by Louis Barron [1920 - 1989] and his wife Bebe Barron [1927 - 2008], researchers and pioneers of electronic composition. A work parallel to the study of French and German avant-garde in the 50s. There´s simply not similar to the sound experiences heard in Forbidden Planet, a true seed electronic effects that go so far as to explore the division of the stereo channels at times. From climate to random effects, the work displays a multitude of sounds and effects that would be popularized only twenty years later, through the work of electronic and progressive groups. More than producing music in the traditional sense, the soundtrack develops different climates combining sound response of independent sound generating circuits.

Ascending and descending waves, trills, whistles, beeps and echoes alternate in a soundscape really out of this world. It was certainly pretty unusual for audiences of 50´s to hear electronic replacing the traditional dramatic music for romantic encounters of Alta (Anne Francis) on planet Altair IV gardens, the entering of Robby, or the rapturous facilities of Dr. Morbius . The originality (especially considering the time) was such that the credit in the film opening did not mention “music by” but “electronic tonalities by Louis & Bebe Barron”. "We were delighted to hear people tells us that the tonalities in Forbidden Planet reminded them what their dreams sounds like" says the couple, giving an accurate scale os where they reach with their "music" that still today keeps intact all its mystery and fascination.