Think “swashbuckler,” and what do you hear? Soaring strings, fanfares of brass, and bold gestures from a large, loud orchestra? Of course you do. Such is the soundtrack for “Captain Blood,” “The Adventures of Robin Hood,” and countless other quasi-historical movies of the 1930s and 1940s. And while, for 20 years or so, that sound was replaced by a cooler, jazzier sound in cinema, it returned in 1977, full blast, thanks to John Williams’s score to “Star Wars.” The distinctive sound continues today as the typical sonic backdrop to adventure films.
The Best of Berlioz
Hector Berlioz, in 1863, photographed by Pierre Petit. Public Domain
