Die Hard 2 (soundtrack)

Last updated

Die Hard 2: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Die Hard 2 (soundtrack).jpg
Film score by
ReleasedAugust 31, 1993
Recorded1990
Studio 20th Century Fox Scoring Stage, 20th Century Fox, Los Angeles
Genre Film score
Length40:37 (standard)
122:11 (deluxe)
Label Varèse Sarabande
Producer
Die Hard soundtracks chronology
Die Hard
(1988)
Die Hard 2: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
(1993)
Die Hard with a Vengeance
(1995)
Michael Kamen chronology
Cold Dog Soup
(1990)
Die Hard 2
(1990)
The Krays
(1990)

Die Hard 2: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the film score to the 1990 film Die Hard 2 , the second film in the Die Hard film series starring Bruce Willis as John McClane. The film score is composed by Michael Kamen which reuses few themes from the first film's score and excerpts from Jean Sibelius' poem "Finlandia" incorporated into the score. It was recorded at the 20th Century Fox Scoring Stage and performed by the Los Angeles Motion Picture All-Star Orchestra.

Contents

Release history

Die Hard 2's score was not released along with the film; it was published by Varèse Sarabande on August 31, 1993, three years after the film's release. The accompanying album consisted only 40 minutes of music, part of an hour's score being used in the film. [1] On November 5, 2012, Varèse Sarabande published a 2-CD deluxe edition which consisted of the complete score and alternate cues which were not used in the score. [2]

Critical reception

Jonathan Broxton in his review for Movie Music UK wrote "Die Hard 2 is one of Michael Kamen’s most bombastic action scores, and was written during the period where his action music was successful and ubiquitous in Hollywood [...] his true genius was revealed when he composed from the heart rather than the bicep; his beautiful dramatic and romantic scores offered a much more revealing portrait of who he was as a person. Despite this, Die Hard 2 offers more than half an hour of Kamen action music at its best, and will offer a perfect illustration of why he was so in demand for so much of the late 1980s and 1990s." [3] Christian Clemmensen of Filmtracks.com wrote "Die Hard 2 is a sufficient and occasionally entertaining score, serving as a decent alternative on album (either on the shorter or longer releases) for those who do not care to spend a fortune on the historically rare Die Hard albums." [4] Steven McDonald of AllMusic wrote "there's something very traditionally 1950s about much of this score—the drawn-out orchestral stabs, for example, are classic stuff that resemble any one of a dozen Bernard Herrmann thriller scores; one can almost see the odd angles, the monochromatic film noir photography, the desperate looks and desperate actions, and jarring cutaways. In that, it's terrific homage. However, it's not likely to make it a regular visitor to the CD player in the average soundtrack buff's household." [5]

Track listing

Standard edition

Die Hard 2: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack standard track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Colonel Stuart"1:29
2."Baggage Handling"3:48
3."General Esperanza"2:14
4."The Annexe Skywalk"3:11
5."The Church"1:15
6."The Doll"3:50
7."The Runway"3:57
8."In The Plane"1:37
9."Icicle"2:53
10."Snowmobiles"2:40
11."The Terminal"6:13
12."Finlandia"7:30
Total length:40:37

Deluxe edition

Die Hard 2: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack deluxe disc one track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Nude Tai Chi / Marching Through the Hotel Corridor"1:28
2."Colonel Stuart"3:05
3."Could We Have a Few Words Please"1:04
4."Into the Baggage Area / Baggage Flight"5:16
5."Snowfall on Blueprints"1:15
6."General Esperanza"2:12
7."Dead for Two Years"1:57
8."Powering Up"6:29
9."Kicked Out of the Tower"2:07
10."Marching to the Annex"3:26
11."Skywalk Shootout"3:34
12."Skywalk Aftermath / Looking for a New Miracle"2:34
13."Attention Dulles Tower"1:27
14."Crashing the Jet"5:56
15."John Picks Up Doll"2:36
16."The Army's Arrival / The Idea"3:49
17."Colonel Stuart's Speech"1:14
18."Landing Esperanza's Plane"3:00
19."Meeting Esperanza"4:33
20."John Punches Esperanza"3:18
Total length:60:20
Die Hard 2: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack disc two track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Little Problems"1:40
2."Fight with the Sentry / Fight at the Church Continues"3:12
3."Shootout and Snowmobile Chase"6:48
4."Dick-Head"6:53
5."Chasing the Jet"3:08
6."Fight on the Wing"5:19
7."Fight on the Wing Continues"4:04
8."Finlandia" (Finale; composed by Jean Sibelius)4:04
9."The First Killings" (alternate)1:51
10."Baggage Flight" (alternate)4:17
11."Powering Up" (alternate)4:16
12."Attention Dulles Tower" (alternate)1:30
13."Crashing The Jet"2:14
14."Colonel Stuart's Speech" (alternate)1:12
15."The Doll" (album version)3:54
16."Finlandia" (End Titles; composed by Jean Sibelius)7:29
Total length:61:51

Personnel

Album credits

Performer credits

Related Research Articles

<i>X-Men: The Last Stand</i> (soundtrack) 2006 film score by John Powell

X-Men: The Last Stand – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was composed by John Powell and released on May 23, 2006 by Varèse Sarabande and Fox Music. X-Men: The Last Stand was the third film in the series, and Powell was the third composer used following Michael Kamen and John Ottman.

<i>Batman Begins</i> (soundtrack) 2005 soundtrack album by Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard

Batman Begins: Music from the Motion Picture is the soundtrack album to Christopher Nolan's 2005 film Batman Begins. It was released on June 15, 2005. The soundtrack drew from the film score, composed by Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard, as well as contributions by Ramin Djawadi, Lorne Balfe and Mel Wesson.

<i>Live Free or Die Hard</i> (soundtrack) 2007 film score by Marco Beltrami

Live Free or Die Hard: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the film score soundtrack to the 2007 film Live Free or Die Hard, the fourth instalment in the Die Hard film series. The film score is composed by Marco Beltrami who incorporates the compositions by Michael Kamen for the predecessors. The soundtrack was released under the Varèse Sarabande label on July 2, 2007.

<i>Star Trek</i> (soundtrack) 2009 soundtrack album by Michael Giacchino

Star Trek: Music from the Motion Picture is a soundtrack album for the 2009 film Star Trek, composed by Michael Giacchino. The score was recorded in October 2008 since the film was originally scheduled to be released the following December. It was performed by the Hollywood Studio Symphony and Page LA Studio Voices at the Sony Scoring Stage in Culver City, California. The score incorporates the "Theme from Star Trek" by Alexander Courage and Gene Roddenberry.

<i>Star Trek: Nemesis</i> (soundtrack)

Star Trek: Nemesis – Music from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is a soundtrack album for the 2002 film, Star Trek: Nemesis, composed by Jerry Goldsmith. Released on December 10, 2002 through Varèse Sarabande, the soundtrack features fourteen tracks of score at a running time just over forty-eight minutes, though bootleg versions containing the entire score have since been released. A deluxe edition soundtrack limited to 5000 copies was released on January 6, 2014 by Varèse Sarabande.

<i>The Rocketeer</i> (soundtrack) 1991 film soundtrack

The Rocketeer: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack album composed by James Horner for the 1991 film of the same name directed by Joe Johnston. The original score was released by Hollywood Records on June 10, 1991, which includes much of Horner's score and two cover songs — "Begin the Beguine" (1935) and "When Your Lover Has Gone" (1931) — all of them were performed by Melora Hardin and arranged by Billy May. Upon release, the album was issued in multiple physical formats.

The Iron Giant is the 1999 animated science fiction film directed by Brad Bird for Warner Bros. Feature Animation. The film featured original score composed by Michael Kamen, in his first and only collaboration with Bird, as all his future films were scored by Michael Giacchino beginning with The Incredibles (2004). The score featured additional performance from the Czech Philharmonic symphony orchestra at Prague, conducted by Kamen himself and recording of the score happened within one week.

<i>Die Hard</i> (soundtrack) 2002 film score by Michael Kamen

Die Hard: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack for John McTiernan's 1988 action film Die Hard starring Bruce Willis, that features an original score composed by Michael Kamen and incorporates diegetic music pieces. It has been critically acclaimed and assessed as one of Kamen's best works in film music and won him a BMI TV/Film Music Award for his work on the score.

<i>RoboCop</i> (soundtrack) 1987 soundtrack album by Basil Poledouris

RoboCop: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack to the 1987 film of the same name, composed by Basil Poledouris and performed by the Sinfonia of London. Poledouris previously worked with director Paul Verhoeven on the 1985 film Flesh and Blood. The score combines synthesizers and orchestral music, reflecting RoboCop's cyborg nature. The soundtrack was released by Varèse Sarabande in 1987. An expanded version was released by Milan Records on July 17, 2015.

<i>RoboCop 2</i> (soundtrack) 1990 soundtrack album by Leonard Rosenman

RoboCop 2: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack to the film of the same name, composed by Leonard Rosenman and released by Varèse Sarabande in 1990. An expanded version of the soundtrack was released on March 15, 2019.

<i>The Equalizer</i> (soundtrack) 2014 film score by Harry Gregson-Williams

The Equalizer (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the 2014 film The Equalizer starring Denzel Washington and directed by Antoine Fuqua. Featuring musical score composed by Harry Gregson-Williams, the soundtrack was released through Varèse Sarabande on September 23, 2014.

<i>Knight and Day</i> (soundtrack) 2010 film score by John Powell

Knight and Day (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the album consisting of the film score composed by John Powell for the 2010 satirical action comedy film Knight and Day directed by James Mangold, starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz. The soundtrack was released through Varèse Sarabande on June 24, 2010.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is a 1986 science fiction film directed by Leonard Nimoy based on the television series Star Trek: The Original Series and the fourth film in the Star Trek film series. The film is scored by Leonard Rosenman, who is the third Star Trek film composer after Jerry Goldsmith and James Horner. The score received an Academy Award nomination.

Star Trek: Insurrection is the musical score for the 1998 science fiction film of the same name. It is the fourth musical score for a Star Trek film composed by Jerry Goldsmith, following The Motion Picture (1979), The Final Frontier (1989) and First Contact (1996). Insurrection is directed by Jonathan Frakes, based on the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and is the ninth Star Trek film overall. The album was released through GNP Crescendo Records on December 22, 1998.

<i>Starship Troopers</i> (soundtrack) 1997 film score by Basil Poledouris

Starship Troopers (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the film score composed by Basil Poledouris to the 1997 film Starship Troopers directed by Paul Verhoeven. It was released through Varèse Sarabande on November 4, 1997, and featured 11 tracks. The complete score was later released as a double CD "deluxe edition" on June 2016.

<i>Die Hard with a Vengeance</i> (soundtrack) 1995 film score by Michael Kamen

Die Hard with a Vengeance: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack to the 1995 film Die Hard with a Vengeance, the third instalment in the Die Hard film series starring Bruce Willis as John McClane. The film is scored by the recurrent composer of the series, Michael Kamen who incorporated his themes from the first two films as well as Johannes Brahms' 1st and Ludwig van Beethoven's 9th symphony. Kamen's work has been positively received and won BMI TV/Film Music Award for his work in the score.

<i>The Omen</i> (1976 soundtrack) 1976 soundtrack album by Jerry Goldsmith

The Omen (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the score soundtrack for the 1976 film of the same name directed by Richard Donner. The film's original score is composed by Jerry Goldsmith which consisted of choral elements predominantly used throughout with the film with foreboding Latin chants. The score was criticially acclaimed for which Goldsmith won his only Academy Award for Best Original Score in his career.

<i>The Omen</i> (2006 soundtrack) 2006 soundtrack by Marco Beltrami

The Omen (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the 2006 film The Omen, a remake of the 1976 film of the same name directed by John Moore. The film score was composed by Marco Beltrami, who reuses themes from the original film's score composed by Jerry Goldsmith. A score album featuring 20 tracks was released through Varèse Sarabande label on June 6, 2006, the same day as the film's release.

<i>Hancock</i> (soundtrack) 2008 film score by John Powell

Hancock (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the film score soundtrack to the 2008 film Hancock, directed by Peter Berg and starring Will Smith. The film score is composed by John Powell and released under the Varèse Sarabande label on July 1, 2008.

<i>I, Robot</i> (soundtrack) 2004 film score by Marco Beltrami

I, Robot is the film score soundtrack to the 2004 film I, Robot, directed by Alex Proyas starring Will Smith. The musical score is composed by Marco Beltrami and released under the Varèse Sarabande label on July 20, 2004.

References

  1. "Die Hard 2 Soundtrack (1990)". Soundtrack.net. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  2. "Die Hard 2: Die Harder – The Deluxe Edition Soundtrack (1990)". Soundtrack.net. Archived from the original on July 1, 2017. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  3. Broxton, Jonathan (August 6, 2020). "DIE HARD 2 – Michael Kamen". MOVIE MUSIC UK. Archived from the original on May 7, 2021. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  4. Clemmensen, Christian (February 15, 2012). "Die Hard 2: Die Harder (Michael Kamen)". Filmtracks.com. Archived from the original on September 26, 2012. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  5. "Review: Die Hard 2 [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]". AllMusic. Archived from the original on October 24, 2022. Retrieved August 24, 2024.