Master of the lush, string-heavy instrumental
Not well known today, Mantovani was a recording sensation in the 1950s and well into the 60s and early 70s. The documentary “Mantovani: The King of Strings” pays homage to the man, his career, and his distinctive style. As several former associates, musicians and record producers attest, Mantovani “knew every side of the music business.”<br /><br />Born Annunzio Paolo Mantovani in 1905 in Venice, Italy, he was brought to England at the age of four. After graduating from Trinity College, he formed his own orchestra, which played in and around Birmingham. Orchestras were rarely permanent back then, so Mantovani found a degree of permanence by playing the great hotels of London. He later broadcast a lunchtime show over the BBC and went on to play cabarets and dance halls featuring tango dancers.<br /><br /> A conductor, arranger, and performer, he innovated the style of cascading strings that became his signature sound. He became the toast of London, signed with Decca Records, and racked up millions of dollars in record sales over his career. When Decca introduced Full Frequency sound for 78 rpm records, Mantovani’s instrumentals were perfect for showcasing the new, higher quality recording technique. His records were also in the forefront of stereophonic recording. Mantovani’s best-selling records include “Charmaine,” “Greensleeves,” and “The Song From Moulin Rouge.”<br /><br />Even when rock ’n’ roll began dominating the charts in the late 1950s and 1960s, Mantovani was still selling millions of records. He undertook 15 successive tours of the United States and also toured the Netherlands, Belgium, Japan, Germany, and South Africa, conquering the international market. A perfectionist, he was a tough taskmaster with his musicians and even insisted that bald members of his orchestra wear wigs to look “prim and proper.” Quite dashing himself, the conductor appeared in 39 black-and-white episodes of a 1959 British TV series that featured both British and American guest stars. Several excerpts from that series are included. Mantovani stopped touring in 1969 and passed away in 1980.<br /><br />The documentary presents an interesting overview of Mantovani’s professional career but is not terribly revealing about his non-professional life. There are a few color home movies and references to him as a family man, but other than that, little is included to shed light on the private man.<br /><br />Bonus extras include 10 performances from Mantovani’s 1959 television series: The Melba Waltz, Charmaine, Cara Mia, As Time Goes By - Petula Clark, Tonight (Perfidia) - Edmund Hockridge, Ol’ Rockin’ Chair - The Hi-Lo’s, How Deep Is the Ocean - Vic Damone, My Foolish Heart - Carol Carr, The Blue Danube, and The Agnes Waltz.
The movie title "Mantovani - The King Of Strings Special Edition [Blu-ray]," available on Movies & TV, has received an average rating of 4.6 from 13 reviewers. 
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The additional details include the following in key-value format :
 {"Genre": "Documentary/Biography, Classical", "Format": "NTSC", "Contributor": "Mantovani, Neil Sean, Ed Stewart, Ken Bruce, Petula Clark, Alan Byron", "Language": "English", "Number Of Discs": "1", "Product Dimensions": "0.7 x 7.5 x 5.4 inches; 2.93 Ounces", "Director": "Alan Byron", "Media Format": "NTSC", "Run time": "1 hour and 15 minutes", "Release date": "December 18, 2018", "Actors": "Mantovani, Petula Clark, Ken Bruce, Ed Stewart, Neil Sean", "Subtitles": "English", "Studio": "Filmrise", "Number of discs": "1"}

Here is a brief synopsis of the title : Mantovani was the most successful orchestra leader ever, selling 70 million records from the 1950s to the 1970s. Known for his unmistakable cascading strings, this documentary is the story of the man and his music..