In celebration of Universal’s 100th Anniversary, Intrada proudly presents world premiere release of famous Henry Mancini soundtrack to legendary Stanley Donen romantic thriller in Hitchcock vein, starring handsome Cary Grant, vulnerable Audrey Hepburn, would-be agent Walter Matthau plus baddies George Kennedy and James Coburn. Mancini anchors with justifiably famous rhythmic main theme in triple meter, then follows with haunting variants, romantic ideas, splendid source cues, jazz and – in particular – early examples of trademark dramatic writing with sliding string figures, sustained suspense lines and dissonant brass clusters for effect. Musical highlights are many: grim hook fight scene on rooftops, exciting Metro chase sequences, tuneful opening ski run source numbers for France locales. Special nod to tender, saddened piano & string version of main theme when Hepburn returns from identifiying her slain husband, then finds her room completely empty. Scene sets stage for one of the most sophisticated thrillers of the sixties, Mancini punctuates it all the way to final twist! Complete 77-minute soundtrack presented from original scoring session elements made in London, all courtesy of both Sony Pictures and Universal Pictures. Mancini re-recorded brief highlights for RCA label in 1963, sadly left off all tender & haunting variants of main theme plus – incredibly – virtually all dramatic scoring. Now, alongside that admittedly famous album, enjoy at last the complete 77-minute soundtrack. Alongside new release of Hatari, this Intrada CD is important debut of an original soundtrack from Mancini’s most famous era (Breakfast At Tiffany’s, Hatari, Charade, Experiment In Terror, The Pink Panther) as all Mancini albums from the period were re-arranged and re-recorded 30-minute programs with emphasis on dance mood. Intrada is happy to remedy oversight on one of Mancini’s greatest! Henry Mancini conducts.
