Yippee-Ki-Yay, its almost time for A Very Soundscapes Christmas. This year I will be featuring the soundtrack from that quintessential Christmas movie Die Hard ^-^ Die Hard is a 1988 American action film based on the 1979 novel Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorp. Die Hard follows off-duty New York City Police Department officer John McClane (Bruce Willis) as he takes on a group of highly organized criminals led by Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman in his feature film debut), who perform a heist in a Los Angeles skyscraper under the guise of a terrorist attack using hostages, including McClanes wife Holly, to keep the police at bay. Nothing Lasts Forever is the sequel to Thorps 1966 novel The Detective, which itself had been adapted into a 1968 film of the same name starring Frank Sinatra. Fox was contractually obliged to offer Sinatra the lead role in Die Hard, but he turned it down and the film was instead pitched as a sequel to the 1985 action film Commando starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. When Schwarzenegger also turned it down, the film was pitched to, and rejected by, a host of the eras action stars before Willis was chosen. Sylvester Stallone, then Burt Reynolds, then Richard Gere, then Harrison Ford, then Mel Gibson The studio did not have faith in Willis action star appeal, as at the time he was known for his comedic role on television. Bruce Willis was also shooting Moonlighting (1985) concurrently which accounts for why nearly all of McClanes scenes take place at night. Willis would shoot his TV series during the day and then come to the Fox lot in the evening to work on this film. Made on a $28 million budget, Die Hard went on to gross over $140 million theatrically worldwide, and received a positive reception from critics. The film turned Willis into an action star, became a frequent comparison for other action films featuring a lone hero fighting overwhelming odds, and is now widely considered one of the greatest action movies ever made. The films success spawned a franchise which includes four sequels, video games, and a comic book. Beethovens 9th Symphony is featured prominently in Michael Kamens score throughout the film, in many guises and variations (mostly as a leitmotif for Gruber and the terrorists), and thematic variations on Singin in the Rain are also featured as the theme for the character Theo. McTiernan said that he incorporated those themes into the films soundtrack as an homage to Stanley Kubricks A Clockwork Orange (which featured both pieces of music). Basing his score around thematic variations on well-known pieces is a conceit that Kamen previously used in Brazil. Bachs Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 is playing during the party sequence near the films beginning. As the film has a Christmas setting, the score also features sleigh bells in some cues, as well as the Christmas pop standard Winter Wonderland. Two 1987 pop songs are used as source music: near the films beginning, limousine driver Argyle plays the rap song Christmas in Hollis, performed by Run–D.M.C., and later, while talking on the phone in the limousine, Argyle is listening to Stevie Wonders Skeletons. The end credits of the film begin with the Christmas song Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! (performed by Vaughn Monroe) and continues/concludes with Beethovens 9th Symphony. So tune-in from 7pm this Friday for a jolly, merry time... avoiding bullets and running across floors barefoot. Sounds like a typical Christmas to me? xD
Posted on: Wed, 17 Dec 2014 23:25:17 +0000
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