Let it snow movie soundtrack full#

As the credits played and that First Christmas song played again I realised I had questions. But I was also left confused, and concerned for the welfare of a piglet. There’s also a cameo from Janet from The Good Place and she’s… Bad Janet. Most recognisable are Joan Cusack, Kiernan Shipka, a.k.a Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Isabela Moner, a.k.a live-action Dora the Explorer. The song also concludes the entire film, playing as the credits role and the protagonists reunite after the traumatic events of the film.It’s basically every trope from previous coming-of-age movies but with snow and a banger new Christmas song (I can’t belieeeve that it’s the first Christmas that I loved yooooooou). Like the characters in the song, the protagonists in the film also have no place to go as they are hostages in a skyscraper. As well as its Christmas-themed nature, the words of the songs help play out what is happening in the film.Īlthough maybe a bit on the nose, the third line of the song is “and since we’ve no place to go, Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!” In-keeping with the juxtaposition, these musical festive frills are added to menacing moments in the film, to remind the viewer that this gritty action film they’re watching, is actually taking place at Christmas.Ĭoming back to the use of Christmas music in the film, Let it Snow is a clever choice for a recurring theme thanks to its lyrics. Read more: What makes Christmas music sound so Christmassy?

Let it snow movie soundtrack full#

The inclusion of sleigh bells, pizzicato and arco strings, with full brass, and flurrying woodwinds match every stereotype used by composers when writing ‘Christmassy’ music.

In the original score, classic Christmas tropes were used in the instrumentation. So let’s examine other musical choices which place this film firmly into the Christmas movie genre. We’ve already mentioned two classic Christmas songs, Winter Wonderland, and Let it Snow! which feature in the film, and there’s also a third track, Christmas in Hollis, which plays early on in the movie.

This is played by the musicians shown at the party at the beginning of the movie, before the action starts to take place. His musical influence also means that the film features another well-known piece of classical music Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. “I kind grew up around opera and even though I’m musically illiterate, I think in musical forms at least.” This musical way of directing came naturally to McTiernan, who said in the director’s commentary: “I found myself thinking of movies as musical structures. Theo, the sole computer hacker in Gruber’s terrorist group, hums Singin’ in the Rain, and the Christmas classic, Let it Snow, which is sung by sergeant Al Powell both while overhearing it at a gas station before he arrives at Nakatomi Plaza, and again after he finishes his preliminary investigation there. Many characters in the film end up singing the musical theme most associated with them, including Gruber who hums the Ode to Joy while in an elevator earlier in the film. His previous work included eleven ballets, one saxophone concerto, and an electric guitar concerto which was originally performed by Eric Clapton. Michael Kamen wrote the score for Die Hard and its two subsequent sequels, Die Hard 2 (1990) and Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995). As McClane learns that the authorities will be no immediate help, he realises that he has to take on the terrorists completely alone in order to save all the hostages, and his wife. When help does come, it arrives in the form of LAPD sergeant, Al Powell (Reginald VelJohnson), who can only help McClane out from down on the ground. McClane, who is not part of the company, manages to remain unnoticed and escapes into different parts of the building, unsuccessfully trying to alert local authorities to the situation. Unbeknownst to the guests, a terrorist plot organised by a German criminal mastermind, Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman), is unfolding, and those at the party soon become hostages to the group.