In addition to this, I have a feeling that during the scene where Dudikoff is being chased on the motorbike, the choice to use the music from Missing in Action (1984), was made because it better suited the film. I'm guessing the editor and Sam got the idea to go through Cannon's existing music catalogue and use the appropriate music (genius thinking)
The scene where Dudikoff is being searched for in the weapons garage by Ortega and the Ninjas, the music from 'Enter the Ninja (1981) is playing. I have a feeling the same applies, they chose existing music that better suited the film.
It would still be fun to see the film with the original intended score, however it's undeniable that the chosen music works perfectly.
I wonder if that build up/crescendo music where Dudikoff is hiding under the truck on its way to Ortega's garage, was also taken from the cannon catalogue or if it was part of the original score. I love this music sequence either way.
It's very interesting that composer Michael Linn is credited with the ORIGINAL music composed by credit (not music by). It's fascinating how specific wording like this means that the film features film music composed by other composers that were previously recorded for the company.
That's Hollywood for you guys! The studios make the films, even if they are independent. They're essentially big companies that have many assets and money at their disposal and can make creative decisions that require lots of investigation to figure out - for example the how the score for this film came to be. For the longest time, based on the American Warriors cd and other posts on IMDb, I thought the score for this movie was just a 30 minute music suite that consisted of music that would generally fit the film. However now after investigating, it turns out it's the result of non-linear thinking by the creative heads, and the use of existing studio materials.
Great work Cannon and the artists associated with this masterpiece.
Signature: To any BluRay/DVD distribution company: please release No Retreat No Surrender sequels on BluRay!
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JohnMatrix (726)
6 years ago
Wow. Great input and nice investigative work bad_habitt! I am a long time fan of the American Ninja movie music as well. This music is what makes this movie great - no doubt about it. In fact no following sequels in American Ninja franchise came close music-wise. I always thought that the music in American Ninja was just perfect. I also later started noticing on repeated viewings of Enter The Ninja and some other Cannon films that I hear American Ninja music and was wondering what’s up with that. So now we know, thank you!
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