“From the “Pink Panther” and “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” to “Gunn” and “Charade,” Mancini’s film scores went beyond background music. They expressed a new American modernism that embraced simplicity, sleekness and space. Free of heavy classical motifs found in many earlier film scores, Mancini’s music was streamlined for sensuality, with many of his soundtracks becoming more memorable than the films’ actors and plots.”