| Die Hard with a Vengeance: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | |
| Type: | film |
| Artist: | Michael Kamen |
| Cover: | Die Hard with a Vengeance (soundtrack).jpg |
| Released: | May 16, 1995 |
| Recorded: | April 1995 |
| Genre: | Film score |
| Length: | 66:06 (standard) 154:01 (deluxe) |
| Chronology: | Die Hard soundtracks |
| Prev Title: | Die Hard 2 |
| Prev Year: | 1990 |
| Next Title: | Live Free or Die Hard |
| Next Year: | 2007 |
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.[1]
The score was released by RCA Victor on May 16, 1995, being the only album from the Die Hard series to be released in conjunction with the film. Despite not featuring the complete score, the album consisted of seven cues from Kamen's score, with the songs "Summer in the City" by the Lovin' Spoonful, "Got It Covered" by Fu-Schnickens and "In Front of the Kids" by Extra Prolific also being included. Compositions from classical musicians such as Alexander Mosolov's "Iron Foundry", Brahms' 1st and Beethoven's 9th symphony were incorporated into the score, arranged by Kamen and also included in the album.[2]
On December 7, 2012, La-La Land Records released the complete score album featuring nearly an hour of the film's music as well as alternative cues that were not included in the film score.[3]
Filmtracks.com wrote "Given all of this mess, perhaps it is no surprise that there never has been and probably never will be a truly satisfying album release of music from Die Hard With a Vengeance."[4] Daevid Jehnzen of AllMusic wrote "The soundtrack to the third installment of the Die Hard series features a dynamic, exciting score that accurately conveys the non-stop thrills of the movie."[5] A reviewer from The Ultimate Rabbit wrote "While it may not have the same exhilarating or emotional sweep as his score for Die Hard 2, what Kamen has put together here is great and highly enjoyable to listen to."[6] Simon Brew of Den of Geek wrote "the late, great Michael Kamen’s score is a belter".[7] Matt Rooney of JoBlo.com wrote "As crazy and fast-paced as the movie can be, his music doesn't always take the same path by going for big and bold, but rather gives it a tense undercurrent that can evolve into something that sounds a bit tragic."[8]