Customer Reviews

Two for the Road

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Two For The Road is a sadly neglected film. Boasting fine direction, a wittily cynical script and two great star performances, it also features one of Henry Mancini's finest scores. The title song is easily the equal of Moon River or Charade. And yet both the film and the music have been unjustly overlooked. But this CD can at least put Mancini's music back into circulation.

Mancini film albums were never taken directly from the soundtrack. Instead, he preferred to go into the studio and do a fresh version of the score, using the same arrangements but without the breaks and edits that film music is usually subjected to. Thus the album flows along, especially once the obligatory choral version of the title song is out of the way.

All the usual Mancini ingredients are here - a bit of jazz, romantic ballads, a quirky theme or two to underline the film's comic moments. And all with that kind of Hollywood-esque French flavour that helped to make Mancini's scores for Charade and A Shot In The Dark so delightful. On a recent drive through France from Calais to Languedoc, I found Two For The Road's title track endlessly popping into my imagination.

The music is old-fashioned by the standards of modern film music, but that is hardly a drawback. Henry Mancini was one of the best - and busiest - film composers of his day. Anyone who doubts his ability to provide both emotion and background should listen to the final track on this CD - the film's final scene. It sums up everything that was good about the film - and Mancini himself.

The only downside is the CD's regrettably brief running time - typical of the albums of the sixties.

This is Mancini at his best,and it ranks right up there with his "Charade"
and "Breakfast At Tiffany's" as one of the great romantic scores of the
1960s.The main theme is delightful,one of his best tunes,and both versions
presented here are excellent(The instrumental version is especially so!)
The score makes it very clear why Mancini was so good at scoring this
type of movie.The score fits the film perfectly.A delight.

Title song is a favorite of many artists including Mancini. Must have especially if you have a 280 SL. Mancini pure and clean. Love it.

I recall my youth in every song! Very early 60's. The theme song always brings tears to my eyes. It seems to capture both the heartache and the hope of the movie. There are a couple of funky numbers, but the main theme is well worth the price of the cd! I have enjoyed it many times over. It's terrific!

This stands as Mancini's greatest achievement in his end-career stage. The theme song itself haunts you.

Justly, it has become a jazz standard, played to great effect by many, many talented jazz musicians.

And yet, as memorable as it is, the tune carries a sad sort of feeling in its intensely romantic frame.

The movie (itself fairly forgettable) posed a problem for the composer: it's the story of a constantly bickering couple taking a long trip together. How can you back this up with appropriate music?

So, many of the tracks seem disconnected, I think because of the inevitably mixed premise we have operating here. Mancini was a thorough professional.

But, if you're feeling fancy-free, come wander through this world with me. The unexpected poignancy of this title tune does not, for some reason, make it into the various "best of" collections of Mancini's work, and I do not know why. It's one of his all-time best works.

I was first introduced to this movie as a young girl in the late sixties. Now in my late fifties this movie still reminds me of the days gone by. I have enjoyed so much of Henry Mancini's music.
Whenever I want to drift back into those moments during my teens when we were finding and exploring our first love interest and soon entering into our first marriages and the ups and downs of those times, I think about this movie.
Much of it read like my life.
I can't wait to get the soundtrack. I hold precious to the movie and hope others are enjoying it as much as I do.
Albert Finney was so good looking and sexy and Audrey Hepburn was just a classic lady.
Marsha: Philly girl

I have been waiting for quite a while to purchase this gem at a reasonable price, and it is well worth it!
Henry Mancini created yet another wonderful, memorable soundtrack for "Two for the road". Lovely and sometimes whimsical. My favorites are "Happy Barefoot Boy" and both the Choir version and instrumental theme song "Two for the Road". If you are a fan of Henry Mancini music, you need to have this as part of your collection!

This is reletively typical Henry Mancini: big vocal chiors, nice, light jazz orchestration, and an easy-listening sound that actually has some subtence. It is sweet, without being sacrine.

You will want to get a hold of this if you like Mancini's other work, or if you want to learn what his work is about.

I love the feeling, hearing this, that i am stepping into a time, gentler than now, and long gone. There is a gentleness here that is very resonenet and touching.

Hearing this is also a great way of exposing yourself to musical textures we have, unfortunately, forgotten about. Using a vocal group, the way Mancini does, was common in the sixties, but now, few below a certian age know this style even exsists. Hammond organs are also all over this record, and we rarely get to hear them used like this.

Historical or musical, this is great to hear.

Henry Mancini was a genius at writing music. This CD is a wonderful product and I enjoy listening to it over and over. I had always loved the music from the show, "Two for the Road" and so I was anxious to have the music so I could listen to it without always haveing to view the DVD. This a soundtrack from the movie.