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Twenty Thousand Hertz

The Wilhelm Scream

Twenty Thousand Hertz

Dallas Taylor

Music, Design, Arts, Music Commentary

4.84.1K Ratings

🗓️ 30 May 2017

⏱️ 19 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

When it comes to movie screams, what’s the first one you think of? Is it a scream that evokes a sense of fear, pain, or maybe even… humor? Perhaps you immediately think about a famous “Scream Queen” or a specific scene from a movie. But you may not realize that the most famous scream in Hollywood has a name—and it’s been used over and over and over in countless films, television shows, and commercials. What makes it so good? And how did it become a filmmaker favorite? Featuring Steve Lee, sound designer, film historian, and creator of the Hollywood Sound Museum. Twenty Thousand Hertz is produced out of the studios of Defacto Sound and hosted by Dallas Taylor. Consider supporting the show at donate.20k.org Episode transcript, music, and credits can be found here: https://www.20k.org/episodes/wilhelmscream Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

You're listening to 20,000 Hertz.

0:03.4

I'm Dallas Taylor.

0:04.8

Ah!

0:06.4

Wow!

0:07.4

Wow!

0:08.4

Knights of Columbus, that's me!

0:11.4

Ah!

0:14.4

Ah!

0:22.4

The two screams you just heard came from Will Ferrell and Enkerman and Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker in the Empire Strikes Back.

0:30.2

Movie screams seem like easy work, but they're not.

0:33.6

That's why some of the best are so iconic.

0:36.6

You have scary ones like Captain Quint from Jaws.

0:42.0

Ah!

0:44.0

Hey!

0:45.0

Or Janet Lee from Psycho.

0:47.0

Ah!

0:49.0

Oh, yeah!

0:51.0

In the original screen queen, Faye Ray from King Kong Wayback in 1933.

0:56.8

Ah!

0:58.8

Ah!

1:00.8

Then you've got non-horror screams, like Kevin from Home Alone feeling the burn of Aftershave.

1:06.8

I can't seem to find my toothbrush or pick one up when I go out today.

...

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