A Good Day to Die Hard (soundtrack) explained

A Good Day to Die Hard: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Type:Soundtrack
Artist:Marco Beltrami
Cover:A Good Day to Die Hard (soundtrack).jpg
Recorded:2012–2013
Studio:Newman Scoring Stage, 20th Century Fox, Los Angeles
Genre:Film score
Length:64:39
Label:Sony Classical
Prev Title:Live Free or Die Hard
Prev Year:2007

A Good Day to Die Hard: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the film score soundtrack to the 2013 film A Good Day to Die Hard, the fifth and final instalment in the Die Hard film series. Marco Beltrami composed the film score, his second film in the Die Hard series. The album was released under the Sony Classical Records label on February 12, 2013.

Development

Marco Beltrami who previously scored Live Free or Die Hard (2007) returned to score music for A Good Day; he previously associated with director John Moore on Flight of the Phoenix (2004), The Omen (2006) and Max Payne (2008).[1] Beltrami incorporated Kamen's thematic material from the first three films into the score for Live Free or Die Hard.Beltrami composed the score entirely in time signature mimicking Kamen's composition under minor ninth chords and used odd harmonies as a modernistic approach.[2]

Moore referenced Lalo Schifrin's action music to evoke the 1970s and 1980s feel, which Beltrami led to utilize horns, harmonica, muted brass, triangles and bongos, where most action film scores does not utilize it due to its clichéd nature. The Russian flavor was emulated with the use of instruments such as Balalaika and dulcimers to an extent. Moore instructed on Beltrami that how the Russian military drums sounded different to the American drums, which led Beltrami to modify the percussion styles.

For the cue "McClane's Brain", Beltrami called few Balalaika, harmonic and saxophone players to record the piece and wrote things that they wanted to sample as well as music which would become an integral part of the score. As they jammed on with numerous ideas, they ended up with this particular cue which became the aforementioned composition. The piece was not played to McClane until the last day of the recording where the director had to search on that particular cue. The cue only used in the film's end credits.

Beltrami had nearly six weeks to write the film's score, which led his protégés and fellow musicians Buck Sanders, Marcus Trumpp and Brandon Roberts to assist him on the score. While Sanders programmed the score, Trumpp and Roberts composed additional pieces. The scoring sessions happened in parallel when the film was still under production with additional scenes being shot. In the end, he wrote nearly 120 minutes of music out of which, 80 of those minutes were included in the final film.

Release

The film's score soundtrack was distributed by Sony Classical Records and released it digitally on February 12, 2013, followed by a physical release on February 19.[3] [4]

Release

Filmtracks.com summarised "Overall, his second entry by Beltrami into the franchise is more satisfying than its predecessor, but you have to realize just how far the sound of these films has come over the decades of the concept's existence on screen. Gone is the prickly suspense of yesteryear, replaced by straight forward action that will please a different set of listeners. That said, you have to commend Beltrami and his crew for their obvious, fantastic loyalty to Kamen's identity for the lead character and their refusal to abandon that integrity despite a very challenging production process. For some action-oriented film music collectors, this score will be the best listening experience in the franchise."[5]

Gregory Heaney of AllMusic wrote "the score for A Good Day to Die Hard definitely feels like it's adapted to the series' change in scope."[6] A. O. Scott of The New York Times called it as a "bludgeoning score",[7] while Peter Debruge of Variety described it as "pulsating".[8] Sean Wilson of MFiles called it as "an entertainingly tongue-in-cheek score from one of Hollywood's most overlooked composers."[9] Chris Bumbray of JoBlo.com wrote "Marco Beltrami's score – which echoes Kamen's themes from the early movies, tries to make you think you're watching something exciting."[10] Lisa Kennedy of The Denver Post wrote "Marco Beltrami (who's done better) composed a score that is standard-issue action: insistent to the point of flat-out pushy."[11]

Personnel

Orchestra

Instruments

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Clarke . Brett . 2011-12-27 . Marco Beltrami to Score 'World War Z' . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20120511141505/https://filmmusicreporter.com/2011/12/27/marco-beltrami-to-score-world-war-z/ . 2012-05-11 . 2024-08-26 . Film Music Reporter . en-US . Beltrami is also set to write the music for the action thriller A Good Day to Die Hard. The project marks the composer's second movie in the Die Hard series following 2007's Live Free or Die Hard. The movie reunites Beltrami with director John Moore who has worked with the composer on his previous three features Flight of the Phoenix, The Omen and Max Payne..
  2. Web site: Schweiger . Daniel . 2013-02-22 . Interview: Warm Bodies and A Good Day to Die Hard composers Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders write music to die for . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20150417132057/https://www.assignmentx.com/2013/interview-warm-bodies-and-a-good-day-to-die-hard-composers-marco-beltrami-and-buck-sanders-write-music-to-die-for/ . 2015-04-17 . 2024-08-26 . Assignment X . en-US.
  3. Web site: December 22, 2012 . Sony Classical to Release Marco Beltrami's 'A Good Day to Die Hard' Score . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20140928010932/http://filmmusicreporter.com/2012/12/22/sony-classical-to-release-marco-beltramis-a-good-day-to-die-hard-score/ . September 28, 2014 . January 10, 2013 . Film Music Reporter.
  4. Web site: January 18, 2013 . A Good Day to Die Hard' Soundtrack Details . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20141002081610/http://filmmusicreporter.com/2013/01/18/a-good-day-to-die-hard-soundtrack-details/ . October 2, 2014 . February 17, 2013 . Film Music Reporter.
  5. Web site: 2013-02-23 . A Good Day to Die Hard (Marco Beltrami) . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20140404160054/https://www.filmtracks.com/titles/die_hard5.html . 2014-04-04 . 2024-08-26 . Filmtracks.com.
  6. Web site: Heaney . Gregory . Review: A Good Day to Die Hard [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] ]. live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220120120810/https://www.allmusic.com/album/a-good-day-to-die-hard-original-motion-picture-soundtrack--mw0002474844 . 2022-01-20 . 2024-08-26 . AllMusic . RhythmOne.
  7. News: Scott . A. O. . 2013-02-13 . When Action Is the Family Business . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20150907233339/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/14/movies/a-good-day-to-die-hard-with-bruce-willis.html . 2015-09-07 . 2024-08-26 . The New York Times . en-US . 0362-4331.
  8. Web site: Debruge . Peter . 2013-02-13 . A Good Day to Die Hard . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20151030030514/https://variety.com/2013/film/reviews/a-good-day-to-die-hard-1117949241/ . 2015-10-30 . 2024-08-26 . Variety . en-US.
  9. Web site: Wilson . Sean . 2013 . Marco Beltrami: A Good Day to Die Hard – review of the original film score soundtrack . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20130819194408/https://www.mfiles.co.uk/reviews/marco-beltrami-a-good-day-to-die-hard.htm . 2013-08-19 . 2024-08-26 . MFiles.
  10. Web site: Bumbray . Chris . 2013-02-14 . Review: A Good Day to Die Hard (Chris Bumbray's take) . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230705022326/https://www.joblo.com/review-a-good-day-to-die-hard/ . 2023-07-05 . 2024-08-26 . JoBlo . en-US.
  11. Web site: Kennedy . Lisa . 2013-02-13 . Movie review: "A Good Day to Die Hard" starts on promising note, takes turn . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20170522113004/https://www.denverpost.com/2013/02/13/movie-review-a-good-day-to-die-hard-starts-on-promising-note-takes-turn/ . 2017-05-22 . 2024-08-26 . The Denver Post . en-US.

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