I love the score

Yeah that is true some of the music is re-used from previous cannon pictures. However the way it's re-used and re-edited into this move, its just fits seamlessly, like it was composed specifically for the scene.

Like the Ninja compound training scene you mentioned, the music hits every beat and pulse of the scene as if the composer made the music specifically for the energetic flow of the scene.

I have also noticed that the same sequence of music is used for 3 pivotal action scenes in the film:

1. Ninja trap in the garage.

2. Black Star Ninja attack on Joe in the prison.

3. Final showdown scene between Joe and Ortega's Ninjas/The Black star Ninja.


It's difficult to asses if those scenes were actually edited to the music track, as opposed to the music being edited to the video, because if you notice, the music hits all the beats and queues in the scenes, however it is the exact same music!

I wish Mark Hartley interviewed the post-production sound team from American Ninja on the upcoming Cannon documentary.

If you look at the post production credits of the film, the video editing department has around 10 people, the sound editing department has around 25 people!

I know all these people do different jobs however it's still interesting to note how many people actually contributed to the sound design/music editing of this film.

I wonder if there is any other independent film out there which re-uses the same musical sequence 3 times during pivotal scenes in the film, and makes it work so effectively.

Gotta love it :-)

http://www.petitiononline.com/bluray85/petition.html - Sign the American Ninja Blu Ray Petition!

How about the instrumentation used in the warehouse where Joe is trying to make his getaway from the black star ninja and that dark synthesizer kicks in when Joe is creeping through the top vent of the warehouse. It sounds absolutely amazing and so captivating. Linn goes through a *beep* load of different motifs during this sequence which just keep on building and building but hardly resolve till the next scene. Such great scoring - there should be a 150 page book written on the scoring of this film. It's just so creatively brilliant. You can hear the Bernard Herman inspiration through it, however since it's based in 1985, it has that mid 80's synth element to it that just transcends the score to another dimension altogether.

The most amazing thing about the score, in my opinion, is that it's completely timeless. I've been re-watching this film sporadically every 3 or 4 years since 1991 and it has blown me away every time. It's only a matter of time before someone approaches it from a scholarly perspective and provides a thorough dissertation on it. The reality is, this score will be just as powerful 20 years from now as it is today and was 27 years ago, it is because it's not only a period score, but also a timeless score inspired by the creativity and ingenuity of the golden age of cinema greats such a Bernard Herman (Citizen Kane). One day, my friends, the genius of this score will be known and acknowledged and the future generations will be able to fully appreciate it from a scholarly perspective. It could even be referenced in schools and composition classes. The fact is that Linn jumps in out out of eastern music with his motifs whilst also using period instrumentation along with intellectual referencing with the military motifs whilst at the same time incorporating thrilling bass and percussive grooves . It just blows me away every time I hear the score along with the film. Sheer brilliance.