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How a Wagner Opera Defined the Sound of Hollywood Blockbusters

“Ride of the Valkyries” has been featured in hundreds of films, including 'The Birth of a Nation,' 'Jarhead,' and most famously, Apocalypse Now.'

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“Ride of the Valkyries,” a seminal work by the composer Richard Wagner, has been featured in hundreds of films and television shows across the past century. The music critic, Alex Ross, explains just how this sound has defined movies like 'Apocalypse Now,' 'The Birth of a Nation,' and 'Jarhead.'