The Silver Screen Soundtrack Hour: Swords and Sandals

Film music sets the mood and helps elicit the emotional responses that make a good movie a great movie. Each week on CharlottesvilleClassical.org, The Silver Screen Soundtrack Hour takes a listen to music from the wide world of film scores. 

This week’s subject: “Swords and Sandals,” takes its title from an Italian film genre that dominated that country’s filmmaking from the mid-1950s through the 1960s that attempted to emulate the success of Hollywood big-budget spectaculars like The 10 Commandments, Ben Hur, and others. 

Steve Reeves as Hercules - ‘nuff said!

Over time, the term has expanded to encompass almost any film set in Greco-Roman antiquity or mythological settings. Basically, if there are swords and sandals in the movie, you’ve got a match!

On this week’s show, we’ll sample a variety of music from the genre, including works by Enzo Masetti, Hans Zimmer, Bernard Herrmann, and many more. Slip on your sandals, buckle up your sword and join us!

Produced and hosted by Ken Nail, The Silver Screen Soundtrack Hour airs on Charlottesvilleclassical.org every Thursday at 9 AM and 6 PM, plus Saturdays at Noon. You can enjoy previous editions of the show by visiting mixcloud.com/cvilleclassical. Visit our Facebook page, or contact Ken on Twitter at @ken_classical.