This is another entry in my Complete Score Breakdown Series, focusing on the complete scores to films that have had abbreviated previous releases or have gone unreleased.
Today we are looking at Sneakers (1992) by James Horner.
While I’m a non-fan of the saxophone, I am able to tolerate it and still enjoy Sneakers very much. It is a very playful, exciting, wondrous score with some of Horner’s best trademarks from the 90’s presented in a very well-produced package. I love the use of female vocal with hard-hitting percussion, alongside woodblock ticking and low-end piano, with the eerie later Apollo 13 “Darkside of the Moon” motifs making appearances as well; it all gels perfectly. If I enjoyed the existing CD, I was overwhelmed by how much I enjoyed the complete score as heard in the film.
The CD runtime is a decent 48 and ½ minutes, but when one hears the spectacular unreleased music in Sneakers, suddenly the CD runtime is bare bones. The complete score as heard in film runs 69 minutes, but with an alternate film cue version and an edited film cue version of a CD track, the complete known score actually comes to over 73 minutes, resulting in about 26 minutes of unreleased material.
The unreleased stuff is so great! Hardly any of it contains saxophone so I can rave about it wholeheartedly. “Spying on Janek” is the first of my favorite pieces, followed by an extended version of “Cosmo…Old Friend” which adds another 2 minutes and 10 seconds of warm solo piano material as Robert Redford has a scene with Mary McDonnell in the following scene, even though the same cue plays non-stop. “Safety Not Guaranteed” features is a very exciting suspense cue featuring a bold duet between prominent xylophone and woodblock percussion. My favorite unreleased cue I call “Playtronics Discovery” is a 5-minute piece that begins with David Strathairn’s character deciphering the bridge that took Redford to Cosmo’s hideaway and deduces where Playtronics is located, and the Sneakers team discover the location and case the joint. It is a terrifically fun, suspenseful piece loaded with creative instrumentation and orchestral writing and a terrific example of the stellar material left off the album. Another great cue, “Cosmo Wises Up”, is so fierce in its aggressive propulsion that it almost takes on an Aliens vibe.
The “Main Title” was edited in the film and both “Playtronics Break-In” and “The Escape / Whistler’s Rescue” were divided in the film. The CD track “Goodbye” features an alternate film version in the movie that takes a more subdued approach similar to the “Cosmo…Old Friend” material rather than the more buoyant take presented on the CD.
This full complete score really should be released; this is a classic Horner score. The full score is not too long and does not overstay its welcome, it is just such pleasant, whimsical, and fast-paced music that it’s simply a joy to listen to and deserves to be heard in its entirety.
CURRENT CD RELEASE RUNTIME: 48min 25sec COMPLETE SCORE RUNTIME (AS HEARD IN FILM): 68min 55sec ALL KNOWN ORIGINAL MUSIC WRITTEN FOR THE FILM (INCLUDING UNEDITED CD TRACKS, UNUSED TRACKS, AND/OR ALTERNATE FILM VERSIONS, WITH NO IDENTICAL DUPLICATION REGARDING FILM TRACKS & CD TRACKS): 73min 20sec
UNRELEASED SCORE RUNTIME: 26min 50sec
Complete Score Cue Titles and Cue Times (unreleased cues named by me for the sake of identification):
+ – previously unreleased (or includes previously unreleased material)
1. Sneakers Introduction (0:40) + 2. Main Title (1:57) – (edited from CD track) 3. The Bank Sneak (1:14) + 4. It’s a Living (1:41) + 5. Mr. Brice (0:54) + 6. Spying on Janek (1:23) + 7. Little Black Box (0:20) + 8. Into the Office (1:58) + 9. “Too Many Secrets” (6:06) 10. Well Wishes (1:12) + 11. The Hand-Off (3:00) 12. Cosmo…Old Friend (9:20) + – (extended film version; features an additional 2:10 of solo piano score) 13. Safety Not Guaranteed (1:13) + 14. Playtronics Discovered (5:16) + 15. Planning the Sneak (3:15) 16. Sneakers in Position (4:02) + 17. Playtronics Break-In Pt. 1 (4:11) 18. Playtronics Break-In Pt. 2 (3:47) – (edited from CD track; missing last 2:45 from CD version) 19. Cosmo Wises Up (1:47) + 20. The Escape (1:20) 21. Whistler’s Rescue (2:08) 22. Goodbye (3:08) + – (alternate film version) 23. The Sneakers Theme (3:22) 24. “…and the Blind Shall See” (4:30)
Current CD Release Track Titles and Track Times:
1. Main Title (2:59) 2. “Too Many Secrets” (6:17) 3. The Sneakers Theme (3:35) 4. Cosmo…Old Friend (7:10) 5. The Hand-Off (3:07) 6. Planning the Sneak (3:22) 7. Playtronics Break-In (10:39) 8. The Escape / Whistler’s Rescue (3:24) 9. Goodbye (3:24) – (CD version) 10. “…and the Blind Shall See” (4:30)
You're not a fan of the trumpet AND the saxophone?!
Branford Marsalis is effective here on saxophone as he was on Goldsmith's Russia House. A Sneakers expansion is long overdue, I agree the missing material is excellent. The movie I found to be a missed opportunity given the cast involved, hasn't dated too well and borders guilty pleasure zone.
Great breakdown as usual!
P.S. I was delighted that many of the previously unreleased tracks on JNH's The Fugitive expanded edition did include some nice saxophone cues as that score is probably my favorite use of the instrument. Maybe Twin Peaks... I'll need to sleep on it
The CD version of the "Main Title" concludes with a section of the track you call "Playtronics Discovery." The ending of "Playtronics Break-In" on the CD is an unused section that continues through the scene after Cosmo tells Wallace to stop shooting and Bishop comes in.
The CD version of the "Main Title" concludes with a section of the track you call "Playtronics Discovery." The ending of "Playtronics Break-In" on the CD is an unused section that continues through the scene after Cosmo tells Wallace to stop shooting and Bishop comes in.
Thanks for the info! I will make notations in my original post soon.
... The movie I found to be a missed opportunity given the cast involved, hasn't dated too well and borders guilty pleasure zone...
Oh how I disagree! This is a film which gets better with each viewing, the cast is superb and the story-line has sufficient humour to eliminate any thoughts as to whether it makes sense.
And James Horner's score is perfect ... probably my favourite of his.
... The movie I found to be a missed opportunity given the cast involved, hasn't dated too well and borders guilty pleasure zone...
Oh how I disagree! This is a film which gets better with each viewing, the cast is superb and the story-line has sufficient humour to eliminate any thoughts as to whether it makes sense.
And James Horner's score is perfect ... probably my favourite of his.
Mitch
I agree with your disagreement. The movie still works as a funny, charming and exciting caper. It'd be nice to see more of this type of movie, but the genre has fallen by the wayside since they rarely are "spectacular". The recent Now You See Me was an attempt, but for me that one was a muddled missed opportunity.
Not Sneakers, however. A pleasure beginning to end, and YES, please give us an expanded release, the score is just as sweet and exciting as the movie.
MV chimed in a while back and said La-La Land tried to expand this one but Universal said no. I can only hope Intrada got to them first!
I'm happy with the existing album but when I watch the movie, I realize how much is missing. The one cue I'd love to have is the piece that accompanies River Phoenix breaking into the ducts and setting the temperature. (I guess this would be "Sneakers in Position"?)
Now that I have "discovered" early James Horner: I need this score and from what Deputy and everyone is stating this needs EXPANDED and RE-RELEASED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now that I have "discovered" early James Horner: I need this score and from what Deputy and everyone is stating this needs EXPANDED and RE-RELEASED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I do love his recent Black Gold score.
Don't muddy the waters by talking about Horner's recent output. Go watch Sneakers!
Absolutely, this needs a complete release. This is probably my favorite Horner score of all time and I've been wanting a complete release forever. I sure hope somebody, someday, can get this released. Excellent breakdown of the score. I, however, love the use of the saxophone in this score. And I love getting to hear the "danger motif" played in such a quiet and subdued fashion in this score.
Have there been any updates on an expanded score for this film? It's been 2 years since Horner's untimely death and I believe the best way to honour his legacy is to start seeing more expanded/complete scores available, especially of his lesser known films. Any suggestions on who to contact about a new Sneakers release? I imagine I'm in the minority but I love this score and has been my go to listen for 20+ years.
Did you know: Delerue actually started writing score for the film before he died? I'd love to hear any finished pieces (and we know he wrote fast) recorded.
Justin, please provide more info if possible - this is quite a revelation.
By the way, when is your Rejected Scores site coming back? I know you've written that there is some issue with the web host, but surely there is another way you can get your content out there? Surely there is a better web host you can use if there is so much trouble? I only ask because I loved your site
This a case where I liked the music just fine when it came out, but over time, this has become one of my favorite Horner scores. A nifty set of themes with a few great set-pieces. I would really like a complete release. There is a lot of music that isn't on the album, and it's all good!
It think an expansion would also play well because there would be more variation over the playing time. If you take the tracks on the CD and program them into film order, it's a horribly unbalanced listening experience.
I enjoy the movie very much. I like that it's sort of an anti-action film, and I like the chemistry the cast had. They were all clearly having a lot of fun, particularly David Strathairn, and it's infectious.
My understanding is that even if all of the clearances can be had, the original tapes can only be transported two inches a second.
Oh, I'm sorry -- I was thinking about "Swing Kids" -- that's the one he started writing before he died. After Goldsmith bowed out supposedly because of a scheduling conflict.
Justin, please provide more info if possible - this is quite a revelation.
By the way, when is your Rejected Scores site coming back? I know you've written that there is some issue with the web host, but surely there is another way you can get your content out there? Surely there is a better web host you can use if there is so much trouble? I only ask because I loved your site
The problem is, I am having a hard time finding a new host provider that:
1. Is free.
2. Has a short name. My old site, for example, was: rejectedfilmscores.150m.com I don't want some long name that also looks suspicious, like: rejectedfilmscores.freegatorhostingsite.com (made up site)
There are a number of sites that claim they are free, like 20m.com, but they really aren't -- you have to buy a domain name to get the free site, so it's not actually free. I'm unemployed, so buying a domain name is out of the question.
