Explosive!
Summary
Jerry Goldsmith provides an impressive if not incredible score for a classic and underrated action movie. The main titles and end credits are the highlights so I’m not sure if you would want to invest in the full score but I’m a completist so it’s definitely worth picking up if you can find it.
Review: Jerry Goldsmith is one of the all-time great movie composers and there has been a hole in movies since his passing that has never quite been filled. He has done every conceivable genre but action was one of his very best; Extreme Prejudice is one of Walter Hill’s finest films so it’s only fitting to have the maestro himself provide the score and he doesn’t disappoint.
It’s a quintessentially Goldsmith score that sounds of the time with 80’s synths mixed with orchestra but it’s also reminiscent of his score for Total Recall with hints of First Blood. My favourite track is Arrival/Main Titles which introduces all the characters in badass style and is another one that’s on my gym playlist… I should probably join a gym one of these days but that sounds like too much work.
I’m not sure how often you would listen to the full score as some of it isn’t quite as exciting as the main titles and end credits but as it’s Goldsmith then it’s worth tracking down if you can find it. I can’t help but wonder how awesome it would have been if Ry Cooder had done the music instead but as it stands Extreme Prejudice is an adequate score for a classic actioner.