It's certainly the most piratey sounding Sinbad score I can think of. My favorite Sinbad score by far is Roy Webb's for the 1947 film, but I don't think I'd describe any of it as piratey in sound.
Given the obscurity of the film (and the less-than-stellar reviews from people who have seen it), it's none too surprising that John Morris's Yellowbeard had yet to be mentioned, but this may be his best score for a movie that Mel Brooks had nothing to do with...
...and speaking of, half the cast of Young Frankenstein! Half of Monty Python! Cheech and Chong! Peter Cook and Spike Milligan! David Bowie! (no, seriously) How do you screw that up?
I know one pirate movie I love and wish they released the score to is Errol Flynn’s Against All Flags made in 1952 with the legendary Maureen O’Hara. Hans J. Salter wrote the music. Love the scene where Flynn’s character goes down the main sail with his cutlass rendering it useless the way Douglas Fairbanks Sr hit all three sails in the silent film The Black Pirate. Glorious, old-fashioned fun on the silver screen. I think I’d like to have that music for the memories watching it with my dad and now my kids. Can’t say it’s a standout just a favorite movie would be my reason to get it.
I have a soft spot for a silly old (but it's knowingly tongue-in-cheek) 60s pirate movie starring Doug McClure and Jill St. John called The King's Pirate, which was a semi-comedic remake of the earlier Errol Flynn pirate film Against All Flags (which had a score by Hans Salter which I can't recall because I've only seen the film once).
The film has never been released on home video to my knowledge, but there's a pan and scan version on YouTube right now (looking much worse than my old VHS copy recorded off TV though):
The action music is quite repetitive but I have a soft spot for this delightful score by Ralph Ferraro (check out the main title for a taste). Ferraro composed only five feature film scores (plus three TV movies and a bit of episodic television in the late 60s/early 70s). But (like Alexander Courage for example) he had a much longer career in Hollywood as an orchestrator, working a lot for two very prominent film composers who really couldn't be more different from each other: Leonard Rosenman and Randy Edelman!
I hear touches of Rosenman here and there in the King's Pirate score, so I would guess that Rosenman rubbed off a bit on Ferraro... only I think the first time they worked together was the following year, on Hellfighters! So maybe it was Ferraro who put his stamp on a lot of Rosenman...
I kinda liked the first POTC soundtrack, at least the main theme. But I have a hard time viewing them as "pirate" music. Way to modern and removed from the classical sound.
I’d heard every score mentioned but Black Sails. I don’t care much for modern tv series they lack fun and take themselves too seriously, but I do like pirate stuff. I watched some of the show and didn’t care for it (maybe it was the actors I can’t remember). I couldn’t remember the music so I listened to some on YouTube. Not my cup of tea, but it was good to go back to it. I’ll take Korngold any day. So, to end this here’s my list of favorite movies and then scores. From almost 50 years of pirating: Captain Blood Treasure Island (1990) The Black Swan Against All Flags Swiss Family Robinson (only down this far because it’s not strictly a pirate movie) Treasure Island (1950) Princess and the Pirate The Black Pirate (1926) The Sea Hawk Pirates of the Caribbean Curse of the Black Pearl Pirates of the Caribbean At World’s End Muppet Treasure Island
Scores: The Sea Hawk Cutthroat Island Treasure Island (1990) Captain Blood The Black Swan POC At World’s End POC Curse of the Black Pearl POC Dead Men Tell No Tales Against All Flags (just watched it again and enjoyed the music) Swiss Family Robinson ( would love to get this one) Treasure Island (1950) would be nice to get this Muppet Treasure Island
Special category is Peter Pan. I consider them pirate movies sure, but I love the story so to me it’s different and more fantasy. To rank those scores I’d say: Hook Peter Pan (1953) Return to Neverland Peter Pan (2003) Finding Neverland Pan
There’s probably others but I can’t think of them.
That’s it. I’ve heard the rest and they have their moments but these I’d listen to in full. Thanks for all the replies and input.
Not sure if this would qualify, but Harry Gregson-Williams' Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas is a great score with a bit of swashbuckling style to it.
One of my personal favorites. HGW clearly enjoyed this assignment and it shows in the exuberance of the performers (even if the actually recording suffers from the Media Ventures/Remote Control mixing problems of the era).
The Netherlands put out a very kid friendly Pirate film in 2020 called "Pirates Down The Street" with a wonderfully playful score by Matthijs Kieboom. Moviescore Media released the soundtrack in 2020. You can hear samples on the Moviescore Media website.
And I like James Newton Howard's very piratey score for "Treasure Planet" from 2002. An animated sci-fi version of Treasure Island.
I have a soft spot for a silly old (but it's knowingly tongue-in-cheek) 60s pirate movie starring Doug McClure and Jill St. John called The King's Pirate, which was a semi-comedic remake of the earlier Errol Flynn pirate film Against All Flags (which had a score by Hans Salter which I can't recall because I've only seen the film once).
The film has never been released on home video to my knowledge, but there's a pan and scan version on YouTube right now (looking much worse than my old VHS copy recorded off TV though):
The action music is quite repetitive but I have a soft spot for this delightful score by Ralph Ferraro (check out the main title for a taste). Ferraro composed only five feature film scores (plus three TV movies and a bit of episodic television in the late 60s/early 70s). But (like Alexander Courage for example) he had a much longer career in Hollywood as an orchestrator, working a lot for two very prominent film composers who really couldn't be more different from each other: Leonard Rosenman and Randy Edelman!
I hear touches of Rosenman here and there in the King's Pirate score, so I would guess that Rosenman rubbed off a bit on Ferraro... only I think the first time they worked together was the following year, on Hellfighters! So maybe it was Ferraro who put his stamp on a lot of Rosenman...
