INTRADA
Announces:
TRAIL OF THE PINK PANTHER
Composed and Conducted by HENRY MANCINI
INTRADA Special Collection Volume 163
When Henry Mancini composed the music for Trail of the Pink Panther, the series had the feeling of a well-oiled, relaxed machine, especially
in Mancini’s assured collaboration with director Blake Edwards. The score sports an easygoing vibe that also accounts for what might be Mancini’s most freewheeling renditions of the Panther theme, beginning with the “Main Title,” its now-classic jazz melody carrying the spontaneity of a nightclub performance, particularly with its trombone, flute and tenor sax solos that swing with the cool cat orchestra. Of all the Pink Panther sequels that the composer scored, perhaps none needed Mancini more than Trail of the Pink Panther to reassure us that the magic of Sellers and his legendary Inspector was truly eternal.
For the original 1982 soundtrack release of Trail Of The Pink Panther, the producers opted to complement the numerous outtakes of the movie with a “Pink Panther’s Greatest Hits” approach. Though Mancini recorded some forty minutes of new music for Trail Of The Pink Panther, just two themes were included on the soundtrack album, with the remaining selections drawn from the earlier movies.Intrada is proud to premiere all of Mancini’s new music composed for the film, from the 2” 24-track Dolby A-encoded session masters recorded over a two-day period in London and stored in mint condition in the MGM vaults.
Due to Peter Seller's premature death, Blake Edwards had to re-envision his plans for a 6th Pink Panther movie. In fact, Edwards had enough unseen routines from the Panther pictures to craft a completely “new” movie around them, while simultaneously using Trail’s story to make the segue to the equally bumbling NYC sergeant Clifton Sleigh, the character who would take the lead in Curse of the Pink Panther. Once Sellers’ scenes are exhausted, it’s left to French TV investigator Marie Jouvet (Joanna Lumley) to investigate the disappearance of Clouseau’s plane. Her trail leads to interviews with such famed Panther series characters as jewel thief Sir Charles Litton (David Niven), Clouseau’s assistant Hercule Lajoy (Graham Stark) and the detective’s hapless sparring partner Cato (Burt Kwouk). While their fond memoirs allow Edwards to use existing Panther stock footage for the rest of the film, a visit to Clouseau’s wine-happy father (Richard Mulligan) also gives us a peek into Clouseau’s formative years. All of their clues provide Sergeant Sleigh (Ted Waas) with the impetus to pick up Clouseau’s path in the simultaneously-filmed Curse of the Pink Panther.
This release is limited to 1200 units.
INTRADA Special Collection Vol. 163
Retail Price: $19.99
AVAILABLE NOW
For track listing and sound samples, please visit
http://store.intrada.com/s.nl/it.A/id.7014/.f
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