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
"Finlandia" (End Titles; composed by Jean Sibelius)
7:29
Total length:
61:51
Personnel
Album credits
Composer and conductor – Michael Kamen
Producer – Christopher S. Brooks, Michael Kamen, Stephen P. McLaughlin
Orchestra – Hollywood Studio Symphony, The Los Angeles Motion Picture All Stars Orchestra
Orchestrators – Bruce Babcock, Chris Boardman, Don Davis, Mark Koval, Michael Kamen, Phil Giffin, Ron Gorow, William Ross
Orchestra leader – Stuart Canin
Recording and mixing – Armin Steiner
Recordist – John Bruno
Mixing – Mike Matessino
Mastering – Daniel Hersch
Score editor – Mike Matessino, Neil S. Bulk
Supervising music editor – Christopher S. Brooks
Assistant music editor – James J. George
Scoring crew – Chuck Garsha, John Bruno, Terry Brown
Music consultant – Eric Lichtenfeld
Executive producer – Robert Townson
Performer credits
Bass – Arni Egilsson, Barry Lieberman, Bruce Morgenthaler, Buell Neidlinger, Charles Domanico, Drew Dembowski, Ed Meares, Margaret Storer, Richard Feves, Susan Ranney, Tim Barr
Bassoon – Charles Coker, David Riddles, Julie Feves, Ken Munday, Michele Grego
Cello – Armand Kaproff, Barbara Hunter, David Shamban, Dennis Karmazyn, Douglas Davis, Fred Seykora, Jody Burnett, John Walz, Marie Fera, Paula Hochhalter, Ray Kramer, Robert Adcock
Clarinet – Charles Boito, Dominick Fera, Jim Kanter
Drums and percussions – Robert Zimmitti, Emil Radocchia, Larry Bunker, Peter Limonick, Steven Schaeffer
Flute – Janet Ketchum, Paul Fried, Sheridon Stokes
French horn – Brad Warnaar, Brian O'Connor, David A. Duke, Richard Perissi, Richard Todd, Vincent DeRosa
Harp – Katie Kirkpatrick
Keyboards – Artie Kane, Patrick Seymour
Oboe – Barbara Northcutt, Don Ashworth, Joan Elardo, Leslie Reed, Tom Boyd
Trombone – Alan Kaplan, Richard Nash, Lloyd Ulyate, Phillip Teele, Bob Payne
Trumpet – Burnette Dillon, Malcolm McNab, Mario Guarneri
Tuba – John T. Johnson
Viola – Alan DeVeritch, Carol Mukogawa, David Schwartz, Denyse Buffum, Harry Shirinian, Janet Lakatos, Linda Lipsett, Linn Subotnick, Mihail Zinovyev, Myer Bello, Myra Kestenbaum, Peter Hatch, Ray Tischer, Roland Kato, Sam Boghossian, Valerie Dimond
Violin – Alexander Treger, Alice Sachs, Anatoly Rosinsky, Arnold Belnick, Berj Garabedian, Bill Hybel, Bonnie Douglas, Bruce Dukov, Clayton Haslop, Connie Kupka, Daniel Shindaryov, Debra Price, Dixie Blackstone, Dorothy Wade, Edith Markman, Franklyn D'Antonio, Gwenn Heller, Haim Shtrum, Harold Wolf, Harris Goldman, Herman Clebanoff, Irma Neumann, Israel Baker, Jacqueline Brand, James Getzoff, Jennifer Small, Jennifer Woodward, Josef Brooks, Joy Lyle, Julie Gigante, Karen Jones, Mari Botnick-Tsumura, Marshall Sosson, Michael Markman, Nancy Roth, Nathan Kaproff, Patricia Johnson, Paul Shure, Polly Sweeney, Ralph Morrison, Rene Mandel, Ron Clark, Ronald Folsom, Russ Cantor, Sheldon Sanov, Sid Sharp, Spiro Stamos, Stanley Plummer, Stuart Canin
^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.
.jpg)
