Okay. I’ve decided that it being Friday and all, you need to learn something. Something you didn’t know before today. (Maybe some of you knew this, but I’m betting the vast majority of you didn’t). Ever heard of the Wilhelm Scream? You might not know you’ve heard it, but I can almost guarantee you have. (BTW–Thanks to my sister Gretel for suggesting this post. It’s a topic I’ve known about for some time, but haven’t thought of blogging about.)
In a nutshell, the Wilhelm Scream is a short scream sound effect used in many movies today. Think of it sort of like the Goofy holler (the one Goofy would always use when he did something stupid), or the Tarzan yell. It’s a sound effect used over and over, in many different movies. Just like with Alfred Hitchcock’s cameos, once you know they’re there, you start looking for them and can get a kick out of finding the Wilhelm Scream in various movies, from Star Wars to Raiders of the Lost Ark to Transformers to Juno to Cars. Just something to add to your movie enjoyment, and to point out to others. It’ll make you seem either very knowledgeable about film, or seem like a total bore. You never can tell until you start talking about it. 🙂
For a great overview of the topic, check out this video, or Wikipedia’s entry on it.
Have a nice weekend, all.
Oh. My.
I just thought it was the same bit part actor in all those movies with a quirky voice!
Just kidding.
Nice education. Thanks.
MJ