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Author: Kermode, Mark

Film theory & criticism

Published on 11 September 2025 by PAN MACMILLAN (Picador) in the United Kingdom.

Hardback | 384 pages
143 x 224 x 35 | 492g

‘Brims with enthusiasm and joyful insight’ Richard AyoadeHow can a film score make you cheer, shiver, cry or punch the air?How do directors communicate their musical vision to composers?And when does a soundtrack take on a life of its own?Award-winning film critic Mark Kermode and radio producer Jenny Nelson embark on a full-throttle trip down the glorious rabbit hole of film composition to answer these questions and more.

Celebrating the emotional connection that audiences form with film music, exploring the evolution of film scoring from silent films to the present day, and examining how what we hear has an impact on what we see, Mark talks to some of his favourite composers and delves into the movie music he loves.

Including interviews with extraordinary talents from Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood to Oscar-winning composers Rachel Portman and Howard Shore, and the stories behind iconic soundtracks such as Jocelyn Pook’s Eyes Wide Shut, Michael Kamen’s Brazil and Vangelis’s Blade Runner, Mark Kermode’s Surround Sound is a thrilling take on how great scores are brought to life on the silver screen.

————Jenny Nelson is an award-winning audio producer and writer. She produced Mark Kermode’s film music show at Scala Radio from 2019-24, and in her previous role as Executive Producer at Classic FM she wrote a book about creative collaborations between film directors and composers. Jenny has hosted panels about screen music at London’s Southbank Centre and Abbey Road, and is a former trustee at the Cambridge Film Festival. Mark Kermode’s Surround Sound is her second book.