Film We All Scream
posted by October 29 at 12:50 PM
onThe most famous scream in film history is the Wilhelm Scream. Originally recorded by the wonderfully named Sheb Wooley for the 1951 movie Distant Drums, the Wilhelm Scream is actually named after a minor charcter from a forgotten cowboys-n-Indians flick called Charge at Feather River that appeared two years later. Its modern revival began with Ben Burtt, sound desinger for Star Wars; since then, the Scream—somewhere between a ball-crunching squeal and a manic kamakaze cry—has been used in hundreds of movies and TV shows. It’s a running in-joke by foley artists to insert the Wilhelm Scream into the most unlikely scenes possible.
Once you hear it, you’ll recognize it everywhere. These YouTube compilations help:
Comments
Thanks, JZ, for sharing. I've always been a fan of the Wilhelm.
Oh, the infamouse Rebel Yell.
I think NPR has some audio and video recordings too.
So I assume this sound effect is royalty free now? Does someone have an isolated clip I can use?
Why are half of those movies/TV shows connected with George Lucas? i sense a conspiracy afoot
i heard it in Thirty Days of Night this past weekend.
You forgot Kirk screaming "KAHN!" in Star Trek II.
@3: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_scream
Don't forget Vader screaming "NO!" in the most recent Star Wars.
Ooh, thanks! I love the Wilhelm, it always makes me happy when I pick it out in a movie. I think I caught it in a Doctor Who episode the other night, too.
The only famous scream that comes to my mind is the Dean Scream. I still remember where I was when I first heard that one...
Old news to the max.
Wilhelm is awesome. But just to be anal, foley artists wouldn't use this scream, because foley artists are the ones who record live, original sounds as they watch the film. The sound editor would be the one to put Wilhelm into the audio mix. That's your useless knowledge for the day.
@12:
If a male FA accidentally racked himself while recording, he might let loose with a close appoximation of the Wilhelm...
Fantastic post.
http://www.wired.com/entertainment/hollywood/magazine/15-10/st_scream
http://blog.scarecrow.com/?p=157
A study last month revealed that by the end of the year the total number of blogs posting about the Wilhelm scream will have outnumbered the instances of the Wilhelm scream in the entire history of cinema.
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