The Adventures of Robin Hood

The Adventures of Robin Hood had many leitmotifs; however I didn’t think that they were as apparent as the leitmotifs in Casablanca. For me, Robin Hood’s theme was probably the most apparent and identifiable followed by Robin and Lady Marian’s love theme. According to Roger Hickman in the Reel Music textbook there was also a theme for King Richard the Lionhearted, but I wasn’t able to distinguish it from the other underscoring that occurred during the movie.

This film has many of the characteristics that would classify it as a "classic Hollywood" film score. It has an abundance of music that has a full orchestral sound, utilizes leitmotifs, and relies on music to add dramatic effect to fight sequences, action scenes, and to establish mood. Some of the music in the movie sounded similar to the music in King Kong. During dramatic scenes, the composer repeated the same sequence of notes over and over again at higher and higher pitches (or octaves?) to help build tension and create suspense. One scene in which I remember this happening is when Lady Marian is being escorted to prison. I also noticed that the composer used many high pitched,disjunct phrases followed by descending pitches that were conjunct. I think that this added to a frenzied feeling to some of the fight scenes.