I remember seeing this 1987 film years ago. I didn't find the score too interesting, so I never picked up the Varese album, but I see I can get it not too expensive on vinyl from discogs.
I have it. It's very much of its time (a time you tend to be fond of, First Breath), a small ensemble surrounding a piano with plenty of synths. It's a somewhat bluesy score, and the melodramatic moments feel a little over-the-top (the small ensemble straining to be dramatic), but I like it overall.
I saw the film with director Tony Bill just before it came out. The climactic shot is out of focus, and when a friend of mine asked why, he admitted it was just a mistake.
Newton really had a tough identity crisis in the late 80s. All his scores prior to The Package are trash. Suddenly he becomes a tender My Girl composer, a Barbra Streisand collaborator/humper, Joel Schumacher collaborator with both Kenny G (Dying Young) and LA Masters Chorale (Flatliners), does a bad Seagal film, and graduates to Oscar nomination glory with a projected flop of an adaptation of a 60s TV series starring Harrison Ford.
Newton really had a tough identity crisis in the late 80s. All his scores prior to The Package are trash. Suddenly he becomes a tender My Girl composer, a Barbra Streisand collaborator/humper, Joel Schumacher collaborator with both Kenny G (Dying Young) and LA Masters Chorale (Flatliners), does a bad Seagal film, and graduates to Oscar nomination glory with a projected flop of an adaptation of a 60s TV series starring Harrison Ford.
While I don't particularly love 5 CORNERS, OFF LIMITS or RUSSKIES, I'd hardly call them trash! PROMISED LAND has some great tracks. But yeah, THE PACKAGE was my WTF moment with JNH.
The first orchestral score CD I got by him was THREE MEN & A LITTLE LADY, which a mate picked up for me from Tower Records in London. Although it only had 20 minutes of score, it's a really nice 20 minutes. I owned the Varese synth score LP's and CD's he'd done and PROMISED LAND, but having heard THE PACKAGE and COUP DE VILLE, I knew he had some serious orchestral chops. I agree that his 90's action/adventure/animation scores are a thrilling combination of the best of JW and JG*.
Incidentally, Tony Bill worked with Cliff Eidelman a couple of times and Michael Convertino.
*oops, that comment was referring to another JNH thread.
Speaking of his synth era, I swear that I heard some of the trailer music from The Vanishing (1993) in Off Limits, but it wasn't on the CD. I've tried to rewatch the movie to hear the music again and it's either NOT there or I'm misremembering what scene I heard it in. It starts at about 37 seconds here and definitely has an 80's JNH sound with the guitars that come in:
