Gadhouse Vinyl Club: Visions of Eight – Henry Mancini (1973)

August 20, 2016

Visions of Eight by Henry Mancini (1973)

This August, we are in the dignity moment of 2016’s Summer Olympic in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Thus, I have a look for the best Olympian songs.

Actually, you may perceive the Olympic Fanfare theme by John Williams which first roared in 1984’s Los Angeles Olympic. I won’t review Mr. Williams’, his theme is already great.

Nonetheless, I will review very rare and classy album “Visions of eight” by Henry Mancini, the soundtracks based on the American documentary with the identical name about the 1972’s Summer Olympic in Munich, (West) Germany through the vision of eight different filmmakers. The sounding of this martial album will arrogant your audio player!

Visions of Eight produced by David L. Wolper and Stan Margulies, It was screened at the 1973’s Cannes Film Festival and in 2013 the film was selected as the Cannes Classics plus Visions of Eight won the best documentary award at the Golden Globe Awards in 1974.

The eight directors and his films

Miloš Forman directed The Decathlon
Kon Ichikawa directed The Fastest
Claude Lelouch directed The Losers
Yuri Ozerov directed The Beginning
Arthur Penn directed The Highest
Michael Pfleghar directed The Women
John Schlesinger directed The Longest
Mai Zetterling directed The Strongest

The motion pictures is the federation between picturesque cinematography and music production harmoniously with high resolution.

Praised to the talented of the exquisite composer and conductor, Henry Mancini, who is well rewarded by his substantial television scores and film soundtracks such as The Pink Panther Theme and the Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

The album concluded the diversity soundtracks with a variety of sports and scene during competition.

Ludmilla’s Theme Piano
Pretty Girls
Spaced Out
Warm Up
Soft Light
The Race
Salute To The Olympians
Olympic Village
Ludmilla’s Theme (Reprise)
Hurdles And Girdles
Theme For The Losers
Salute To The Olympians (Finale)

Mancini did an exceptional job beyond his regular role in dramatics and epic orchestration based on the jazzy and easy listening sensibility. Associated with sport themes is flourishing his skill has no boundary.

Furthermore, if you ever watched the films in 1970’s before especially the European ones The melody of themes of this Mancini’s album are the European sensation (although the film was headed by American) which commonly conducted the rhythm with electric organ like the rising score of the “Pretty Girls” the track full of overwhelming and grand feeling on the overture scene, “Theme for the Losers” represent the emotions of both triumph and defeat and Ludmilla’s Theme consigns the beautifulness movement like Bolshoi Ballet of the legend Ludmilla Ivanovna Tourischeva, a former Russian gymnast and a nine-time Olympic medalist for the Soviet Union, the piano theme soloed by Mancini himself.

The 1972’s Summer Olympic is the historic Olympic celebrate the humanity with athletic achievements. However, unforgettable tragedy overshadowed by the Munich massacre or the Five Black September, eleven Israeli athletes, coaches and West German police officers was killed by Palestinian terrorists.