The legendary Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) tells a story of heroics, excitement, and wit. Directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley, featuring Hollywood stars Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland, and with the brilliant music of the celebrated film composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold, this film was truly a cinematic phenomena in 1938 and a treasure to this day. The key swashbuckler characteristics: integrity, wit, and charm are all revealed to the listener right away with the theme that opens the very beginning of the film and will be heard throughout. This theme is a march-like melody with a frequent accented dotted eighth-note to sixteenth-note rhythmic figure that is very easy to remember and to identify. This theme makes the listener think of triumph and bold action, inviting them into the film right away. It transitions to a B section that is a little darker and more ominous, telling the listener that there is danger and trouble in this film as well, which will excite the viewer. Finally, when the prologue text appears, the music is perfectly timed to transition to a C section which is much more wistful and song-like. This C section is mostly in the strings and might make the viewer think of romance, which is appropriate because this theme is used later in the film for the Robin Hood + Lady Marian scenes.
One part of the film I found particularly engaging is during the first meeting with Prince John in his hall. The music here, around 6 or 7 minutes into the film, is very regal and proper. Although this is fitting music for characters of royal blood, it is somewhat asympathetic to the emotions of the viewer- many of these characters are soon to be introduced as antagonists. When Robin arrives to the hall during minute 10, the music takes a darker turn. This is foreshadowing the danger which is waiting for him in the castle. When a fight finally does break out somewhere 14-15 minutes into the film, we hear an intense variation of the opening theme of the movie. The arrows make exaggerated sounds when they are shot from the bow and repeatedly make a percussive “thump” sound when they are fired into many different wooden surfaces. The percussive sound of the arrows are fitting for the fast-paced music and excite the listener by making the source of danger very obvious. This section of the score keeps the audience on the edge of their seat by making a constant back-and-forth between hopeful and intense as Robin takes and loses the upper-hand in the fight. The music changes in rhythm and texture again once Robin Hood and his pursuers are on horseback. A repeated downward glissando fall in the some of the strings and flute can be heard with a percussive role supporting a fuming staccato melody in the strings. To me, this effect mimicked the galloping of the horses.
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I like your idea that the royal sounds are aempathetic to the viewer rather than the scene. It’s a cool idea to go with the scene but not the viewers, rather than telling the viewers how to feel.
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I like how you pointed out that the music was regal yet counterintuitive to the character of Prince John. That was something I didn’t realize at first, I just simply thought it was just background music to just introduce the film. Good ear.
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I like how you pointed out the over-exaggerated sound effect that the arrows made. That was something I noticed while watching the film as well, but I wasn’t quite able to make that same connection of how that effect was adding to the impact of the music itself and how it in turn affects the listeners.
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