Breadcrumbs Section. Click here to navigate to respective pages.
Chapter

Chapter
A Bridge Too Far? Music in the British War Film, 1945–80
DOI link for A Bridge Too Far? Music in the British War Film, 1945–80
A Bridge Too Far? Music in the British War Film, 1945–80 book
A Bridge Too Far? Music in the British War Film, 1945–80
DOI link for A Bridge Too Far? Music in the British War Film, 1945–80
A Bridge Too Far? Music in the British War Film, 1945–80 book
Click here to navigate to parent product.
ABSTRACT
This chapter assesses the scoring practices in British war movies from 1945 to 1980, charting the development of a martial idiom borrowed from military and ceremonial music, and the various ways in which specific national characteristics—including an eccentric spirit of comic-book adventuring—were emphasized musically. In the 1960s and 1970s, music helped the genre become a more thoughtful reflection on issues associated with war, yet the romanticized portrayal of resilience in the face of impossible odds could still, with a little musical help, turn some of the worst defeats in British military history into a source of fierce national pride.