= VISIONS OF EIGHT =

THE DIRECTORS:

MILOS FORMAN (Czechoslovakia) - The music of Munich ranging from the brass bands of the beer halls to a stirring presentation of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony is combined with the events to the Decathlon to create a blend of musical motion unlike anything ever before presented on film. Only a director with the myriad talents of Forman could harness such diverse elements into a single entity.

KON ICHIKAWA (Japan) - The compression of time against human barriers is the theme of Ichikawa's segment that incorporates the pressures that build to a few split seconds of released energy in the 100 meter dash.

CLAUDE LELOUCH (France) - Selecting The Losers as his theme for 'Visions Of Eight', Lelouch says he chose this area because he has always wanted to make a film about loneliness.

JURI OZEROV (U.S.S.R.) - The beginnings, the thoughts and feelings of athletes before they compete was selected by Orerov for his portion of 'Visions Of Eight'.

ARTHUR PENN (United States) - The beauty and grace of man's eternal struggle against gravity is the theme of Arthur Penn's contribution to 'Visions of Eight'. An internationally famous motion picture director after much experience on the Broadway stage, Penn selected his subject because: 'It seemed to me to be visually the most beautiful action.'

MICHAEL PFLEGHAR (Germany) - 'I felt I could really put my heart and soul into a subject like that,' Pfleghar said of his section - The Women. The result is a tribute to the grace and beauty of the female form that extends from brute force to the depths of despairs experienced by the defeated.

JOHN SCHLESINGER (Great Britain) - The long distance runner war selected by Schlesinger to show the plight of a single human trying to win recognition against the overwhelming spectacle of the Olympics.

MAI ZETTERLING (Sweden) - An accomplished actress turned praised-and-successful director, Mai Zetterling surprised everyone by studying weightlifters for her 'Visions Of Eight' sequence. 'These men work in almost total isolation and they are obsessed. I am not interested in sports, but I am interested in obsessions.'

As any composer will tell you, satisfying one director can be a fulltime assignment in itself. Imagine then, trying to fulfill the visions of eight directors. That Henry Mancini has succeeded in this project is proof that his music knows no limits: it breaks down language barriers; leaps over national boundaries; and shatters all diplomatic and political hurdles. Mild-mannered Hank Mancini is indeed Superscorer!

If the accent is on the physical, so is VISIONS OF EIGHT, David Wolper and Stan Margulies have amassed the talents, the insight and the miles of footage of eight outstanding international directors and their camera crews - each focusing on a separate aspect of the 1972 Olympiad.

Transcending the physical, Mancini has underscored the mood and thoughts of the athletes. What he has created could justifiably be called the ninth vision. (Proof that it can stand an its own, non-visually, can be heard in the concert suite Hank fashioned from this score.)

I asked Mancini if he had a particular favorite - which is akin to asking the dog rather than the kennel owner to indicate the pick of the litter. But Hank didn't disappoint me. He mentioned the gymnast Ludmilla's Theme and the losers Theme for the Losers.

And indeed, those two themes are the most memorable for reasons which have delighted fans of Mancini scores for years: he is a master melodist. Along with flowing themes, Hank can etch a portrait in sound that captures the precise mood frozen on film.

The charming, bitter-meet smile of the gymnast comes to life in Ludmilla's Theme; so do her graceful body movements. Bach-type inner voices add to the poignancy of Theme for the Losers. Listen to the 7/4 meter of Warm Up and imagine the limbering-up rituals that athletes go through for arms, feet, legs and torsos in general: the undulatory rhythm provides perfect accompaniment.

Gentle rock rhythms and teasing brass underscore Pretty Girls: electronic effects are ideal for Spaced Out, Hurdles and Girdles brings out Mancini's musical humor, especially its tongue-in-cheek ending. And Salute to the Olympians bring out the best of the swinging big band Mancini.

Actually there are many facets of Henry Mancini evident here, and one of the strongest is the sports-oriented Mancini -'an interest that goes all the way back to my piccolo playing in the school band when we marched and played for the football gamer.'

That love of sports and the challenge of scoring the supreme quadrennial event come through with the same vision that the eight international directors devoted to this Olympic-sized project.

- HARVEY SIDERS
WEST CAIST EDITOR, DOWN BEAT MAGAZINE