Perhaps...Mancini's best Theme?
While I like his "moon river" theme alot on BaT, I think this one is the most superior theme by mancini. He wrote many brilliant theme's and I haven't heard them all. What is your favorite mancini theme?
shareI agree with you. As far as defining the mood and time of the film this theme, and the score in general, is spot on. It captures a sense of carefree jollity whilst being tinged with melancholic nostalgia. Not a very easy brief for any composer I would imagine, but Mancini pulled it off brilliantly. Although I’m sure that I heard that his first offering was rejected by Donen and he had to go back and rethink his approach.
share"Although I'm sure that I heard that his first offering was rejected by Donen and he had to go back and rethink his approach."
This is correct. The first theme he submitted was indeed rejected by Donen, and Mancini was (initially) a bit perplexed. But upon reflection he realized Donen was right, so he went back to work and came up with something that Donen found irresistible. And of all the movie themes Mancini composed, TWO FOR THE ROAD was his personal favorite.
And anyone who doesn't believe me can check out this link -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_for_the_Road_%281967_film%29
Anyway, my favorite Mancini soundtrack is also TWO FOR THE ROAD. Naturally I'm partial to SUNFLOWER, CHARADE, MOMENT TO MOMENT, DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES and BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S, but TWO FOR THE ROAD occupies a special place in my heart. After searching for years I finally located the soundtrack recording, and it's full of Mancini gems - "Something For Audrey," "The Donk," "Happy Barefoot Boy," "The Chaser," "The Lovely Life" and, of course, the exquisite main theme.
If I were exiled to a desert island and only allowed 10 DVDs, TWO FOR THE ROAD would be at the top of my list. I love EVERYTHING about this film. Well, OK, some of Audrey Hepburn's wardrobe in the final (Mercedes Benz) segment is a bit much, but apart from that the movie's a timeless masterpiece.
MARK: You still want a child?
JOANNA: I still want a child - I just don't want THAT child.
My favourite Mancini themes are Breakfast At Tiffanys, Two For The Road and Wait Until Dark.
shareMine too, except wait until dark. It was incredibly dark for him. I was disappointed with mancini from the beginning with his use of the dualing pianos, both out of tune in a different way.
Wait until dark is the exception among some very fine themes.
Henry Mancini said that tihs was his favorite.
shareMy favorite THEME IS that of two for the road. Now, if were talking SOUNDTRACKS, Breakfast At Tiffany's is dense with gems. "Sally's Tomato" is a great tune he wrote for the movie, but you can barely hear it in the actual movie. "The Big Blow Out", "Breakfast At Tiffany's", and almost all the others are all winners.
shareThe soundtrack from Two for the Road casts a somber shadow among our couple and with the use of all the plush European landscapes, the meandering travel of the young couple, it really establishes a sincere mood. I loved the way it was played throughout the movie. It could sound willowy or upbeat depending on the tempo. That is the sing of greatness, when a composer can change the delivery of the tempo and have such different effects on the mood.
shareTwo for the Road is my favorite.
I also really like Victor/Victoria (Crazy World is a beautiful song)
Human Beings...Wowshare
Two for the Road is my favorite of his themes. I can only assume that the title song was ruled ineligible for Oscar consideration for some reason. Otherwise, how can one explain the Oscar going to "Talk to the Animals"?
shareI recently watched "Two for the Road" for the first time in many, many years. In fact, I remember going to see it with a date in 1967!
The theme immediately grabbed me and I wondered why I had forgotten such a magnificent, rather haunting musical creation.
The movie itself moved from the memorable to the disturbing to the rather overdone. The clothes? My gosh, I remember when such clothes were coming out in the stores and they were such a change from those of the early 60's, from the preppy look to the Jackie Kennedy look. I was madly in love with those clothes!
but, back to the music. I obviously need to be on the lookout for more Mancini themes.
my favorite, very moving, perfect
shareI absolutely agree with you on that one. Plus, in my opinion the opening credits music belongs to the finest Mancini ever wrote. If I recall it correctly, then he also mentioned in his autobiography that the solo violin was played by Stéphane Grappelli, one of the greatest violinists of popular/jazz music (but unfortunately not on the soundtrack album recording).
Anyway, it's a beautiful theme, especially in this bittersweet arrangement. Even if the movie were bad (which it, of course, isn't), I could watch it all day long - simply for the music. The Mancini genius, nothing less.
"The first theme he submitted was indeed rejected by Donen, and Mancini was (initially) a bit perplexed. But upon reflection he realized Donen was right, so he went back to work and came up with something that Donen found irresistible."
Anyone know if Mancini's first attempt ever saw the light of day in some shape or form? Maybe he reused the material for another film project? Or released it in its own right? I'd love to hear it.
Appreciate the tidbit about a second try, and yes, this, together with Sunflower (Loss of Love), are my two favourite Mancini themes.
Personally, the theme from Sunflower is, in my opinion, almost perfection - I made a complete cassette tape (one side) of just this theme back to back and listen to it quite often (until cassette tapes were out of fashion). Two For The Road is more moody, and sort of a "slow burn", and is my second Mancini favourite. In some ways, it reminds me of Francis Lai's theme for "Hello, Goodbye".