Big Trouble in Little China (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) | ||||
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Soundtrack album by | ||||
Released | 1986 | |||
Studio | Electric Melody Studios, Glendale, California | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 45:38(1986 release) 71:35 (1999 release) | |||
Label | Enigma Records (1986 release) Super Tracks Music Group (1999 release) | |||
Producer | John Carpenter | |||
John Carpenter & Alan Howarth chronology | ||||
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John Carpenter chronology | ||||
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Alternative cover | ||||
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Soundtrack.Net | [2] |
Big Trouble in Little China is a soundtrack produced by John Carpenter for the film of the same name.
With the soundtrack,Carpenter wanted to avoid the usual clichés finding that “other scores for American movies about Chinese characters are basically rinky tink,chop suey music. [He] didn't want that for Big Trouble”. Carpenter instead opted for his trademark synthesizer score mixed with rock ‘n’roll music. [3]
A soundtrack album,produced by Carpenter,was released in 1986 on Enigma Records and featured nine tracks for a total of just over 45 minutes. In 1999,an expanded edition was released by Super Tracks Music Group. It included two versions of Carpenter and his band,The Coupe De Villes (consisting of himself,Nick Castle,and Tommy Lee Wallace),performing the "Big Trouble in Little China" theme song,three tracks from Alan Howarth's previously unreleased score for Backstabbed (also known as Mørkeleg),and a track from Escape from New York ,entitled,"Atlanta Bank Robbery".
No. | Title | Artist(s) | Length |
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1. | "Big Trouble In Little China" | The Coupe De Villes | 3:13 |
2. | "Pork Chop Express" | 3:40 | |
3. | "The Alley" | 2:00 | |
4. | "Here Comes the Storms" | 2:20 | |
5. | "Lo Pan's Domain" | 4:30 | |
6. | "Escape from Wing Kong" | 8:00 | |
7. | "Into the Spirit Path" | 7:07 | |
8. | "The Great Arcade" | 7:50 | |
9. | "The Final Escape" | 6:58 | |
Total length: | 45:38 |
No. | Title | Artist(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Big Trouble In Little China" | The Coupe De Villes | 3:13 |
2. | "Pork Chop Express" | 3:40 | |
3. | "The Alley" | 2:00 | |
4. | "Here Comes the Storms" | 2:20 | |
5. | "Lo Pan's Domain" | 4:30 | |
6. | "Escape from Wing Kong" | 8:00 | |
7. | "Into the Spirit Path" | 7:07 | |
8. | "The Great Arcade" | 10:00 | |
9. | "The Final Escape" | 4:47 | |
10. | "Big Trouble In Little China -Reprise-" | The Coupe De Villes | 3:08 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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11. | "Opening" | Alan Howarth | 3:35 |
12. | "Alexandra" | Howarth | 5:57 |
13. | "Blue Planet Interlude/Final Stab" | Howarth | 5:41 |
No. | Title | Length |
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14. | "Atlanta Bank Robbery" | 3:31 |
Total length: | 71:35 |
Both the 1986 release and 1999 release are out-of-print.
Big Trouble in Little China (Limited Edition) | |
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Soundtrack album by | |
Released | January 2009 |
Studio | Electric Melody Studios, Glendale, California |
Genre | |
Length | 96:29 |
Label | La-La Land Records |
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Empire | [4] |
In 2009, a complete 2CD limited edition of the soundtrack was released by La-La Land Records which includes every note of music from the film, including both versions of the title song, remastered. In 2016, it was re-released as part of the film's 30th anniversary, with new artwork and packaging. Both versions have an error on Pork Chop Express on the intro, it plays slightly fast, then slows down to its normal speed. The original 1986 versions don't have this error, this is because the 2009 and 2016 CD's are mastered from the film's audio master, rather than the original master tapes. This is also audibly evident in the film too.
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Prologue" | 2:15 |
2. | "Pork Chop Express (Main Title)" | 4:01 |
3. | "Abduction At Airport" | 4:17 |
4. | "The Alley (Procession)" | 1:12 |
5. | "The Alley (War)" | 2:31 |
6. | "The Storms" | 2:42 |
7. | "Tenement / White Tiger" | 3:49 |
8. | "Here Come The Storms" | 4:15 |
9. | "Wing Kong Exchange" | 4:40 |
10. | "Lo Pan's Domain / Looking For A Girl" | 3:16 |
11. | "Friends Of Yours? / Escape Iron Basis" | 7:18 |
12. | "Escape From Wing Kong" | 5:38 |
13. | "Hide" | 4:35 |
Total length: | 50:44 |
No. | Title | Artist(s) | Length |
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1. | "Call the Police" | 7:32 | |
2. | "Dragon Eyes" | 1:12 | |
3. | "Into the Spirit Path" | 7:05 | |
4. | "The Great Arcade" | 7:53 | |
5. | "The Final Escape (Lo Pan's Demise / Getaway)" | 7:02 | |
6. | "Goodbye Jack" | 3:14 | |
7. | "Big Trouble In Little China (End Credits - Album Version)" | The Coupe De Villes | 3:22 |
8. | "Stingers Montage" | 5:24 | |
9. | "Big Trouble In Little China (Original Version)" | The Coupe De Villes | 3:01 |
Total length: | 45:45 |
The Coupe De Villes
John Howard Carpenter is an American filmmaker, actor and composer. Although he worked in various film genres, he is most commonly associated with horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s. He is generally recognized as one of the greatest masters of the horror genre. At the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, the French Directors' Guild gave him the Golden Coach Award, lauding him as "a creative genius of raw, fantastic, and spectacular emotions".
Halloween III: Season of the Witch is a 1982 American science fiction horror film and the third installment in the Halloween film series. It is the first film to be written and directed by Tommy Lee Wallace. John Carpenter and Debra Hill, the creators of Halloween and Halloween II, return as producers. Halloween III is the only entry in the series that does not feature the series antagonist, Michael Myers. After the film's disappointing reception and box office performance, Michael Myers was brought back six years later in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers.
Big Trouble in Little China is a 1986 American fantasy martial arts action-comedy film directed by John Carpenter and starring Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, Dennis Dun and James Hong. The film tells the story of Jack Burton, who helps his friend Wang Chi rescue Wang's green-eyed fiancée from bandits in San Francisco's Chinatown. They go into the mysterious underworld beneath Chinatown, where they face an ancient sorcerer named David Lo Pan, who requires a woman with green eyes to marry him in order to release him from a centuries-old curse.
Assault on Precinct 13 is a 1976 American action thriller film written, directed, scored, and edited by John Carpenter. Austin Stoker stars as a police officer who defends a defunct precinct against a relentless criminal gang, along with Darwin Joston as a convicted murderer who helps him. Laurie Zimmer, Tony Burton, Martin West, and Nancy Kyes co-star as other defenders of the precinct.
Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers(also known as Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers, and Halloween 666: The Origin of Michael Myers) is a 1995 American slasher film directed by Joe Chappelle and written by Daniel Farrands. The film stars Donald Pleasence in his final film appearance, Paul Stephen Rudd and Marianne Hagan. It is the sixth installment in the Halloween film series, and concludes the "Thorn Trilogy" story arc established in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers and Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers. Set six years after the events of Halloween 5, the plot follows Michael Myers as he stalks the Strode family, cousins of Laurie Strode, in order to kill his last surviving relatives, while Dr. Sam Loomis pursues him once more. The film also reveals the source of Michael's immortality and his drive to kill.
The Boy Who Could Fly is a 1986 American fantasy drama film written and directed by Nick Castle. It was produced by Lorimar Productions for 20th Century Fox, and released theatrically on August 15, 1986.
Halloween is an American slasher media franchise that consists of twelve films, as well as novels, comic books, a video game and other merchandise. The films primarily focus on Michael Myers who was committed to a sanitarium as a child for the murder of his sister, Judith Myers. Fifteen years later, he escapes to stalk and kill the people of the fictional town of Haddonfield, Illinois. Michael's killings occur on the holiday of Halloween, on which all of the films primarily take place. The original Halloween, released in 1978, was written by John Carpenter and Debra Hill, and directed by Carpenter. The film, inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho and Bob Clark's Black Christmas, is known to have inspired a long line of slasher films.
Nicholas Charles Castle is an American screenwriter, film director and actor. He is known for playing Michael Myers in John Carpenter's horror film Halloween (1978). Castle also co-wrote Escape from New York (1981) with Carpenter. After Halloween, Castle became a director, taking the helm of films such as The Last Starfighter (1984), The Boy Who Could Fly (1986), Dennis the Menace (1993), and Major Payne (1995). He reprised the role of Michael Myers in a single scene in Halloween (2018), and returned again for a cameo in its sequel Halloween Kills (2021).
Thomas Lee Wallace is an American film producer, director, editor and screenwriter. He is best known for his work in the horror genre, directing the films such as Halloween III: Season of the Witch and Fright Night Part 2 and also directing the 1990 television mini-series adaptation of Stephen King's epic horror novel It. He is a long-time collaborator of director John Carpenter, receiving his first credit as art director on Carpenter's directorial debut Dark Star. Along with Charles Bornstein, he edited both the original Halloween film and The Fog.
Halloween is a soundtrack album composed and performed by John Carpenter, featuring the score to the 1978 film Halloween. It was released in Japan in 1979 through Columbia Records and in the US in 1983 through Varèse Sarabande. An expanded 20th Anniversary Edition was released in 1998 through Varèse Sarabande. In 2018, an LP was released by Mondo Records featuring mono tracks taken from the original 35mm stem of the film and for the first time features the music as originally heard in theaters and on the earliest VHS releases of the film.
Halloween is a 1978 American independent slasher film directed and scored by John Carpenter, co-written with producer Debra Hill, and starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasence, with P. J. Soles and Nancy Kyes appearing in supporting roles. The plot centers around a mental patient, Michael Myers, who was committed to a sanitarium for murdering his babysitting teenage sister on Halloween night when he was six years old. Fifteen years later, he escapes and returns to his hometown, where he stalks a female babysitter and her friends, while under pursuit by his psychiatrist.
Escape from New York: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is a soundtrack album composed and performed by John Carpenter, featuring the score to the 1981 film Escape from New York.
Alan Howarth, born 1948, is an American composer and sound designer who has worked on soundtracks for Hollywood films including the Star Trek and Halloween series, and is known for his collaborations with film director and composer John Carpenter.
The Fog is a soundtrack album composed and performed by John Carpenter, featuring the score to the 1980 film The Fog. It was released in 1984 through Varèse Sarabande. An expanded edition was released in 2000 through Silva Screen Records, containing an extra six tracks not included on the original release. In 2012, another expanded edition was released through Silva Screen Records, containing all of the tracks from the 2000 release and all of the original score cues.
Assault on Precinct 13 is a soundtrack by John Carpenter for the 1976 film of the same name, first released in 2003 through the French label Record Makers and reissued in 2013 by Death Waltz.
Halloween II is a soundtrack by John Carpenter for the 1981 film of the same name. It was released in 1981 through Varèse Sarabande. An expanded 30th Anniversary Edition was released in 2009 through Alan Howarth Incorporated.
Halloween III: Season of the Witch is a soundtrack by John Carpenter & Alan Howarth for the film of the same name. It was released in 1982 on vinyl through MCA Records and on CD through Varèse Sarabande. An expanded 25th Anniversary Edition was released in 2007 through Alan Howarth Incorporated.
They Live is a soundtrack by John Carpenter & Alan Howarth for the film of the same name. It was released in 1988 through Enigma Records. An expanded 20th Anniversary Edition was released in 2008 through Alan Howarth Incorporated.
Prince of Darkness is a soundtrack by John Carpenter for the film of the same name. It was released in 1987 through Varèse Sarabande. An expanded edition was released in 2008 through Alan Howarth Incorporated.
The following is a list of unproduced John Carpenter projects in roughly chronological order. During a career that has spanned over 40 years, John Carpenter has worked on projects which never progressed beyond the pre-production stage under his direction. Some of the films were produced after he left production.