Blade Description: Blade II Description:
Blade (1998) is the first installment in the Blade film series, starring Wesley Snipes in his signature role as the iconic vampire hunter. The film kicked off not only the Blade franchise but Marvel’s incredible run translating their iconic stories to the big screen.
Adapting the comics character created by Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan in 1973, Blade was written by David S. Goyer and stylishly directed by Stephen Norrington. Snipes plays a dhampir, a human with vampire abilities, who fights evil vampires led by Stephen Dorff, with Kris Kristofferson starring as Whistler, Blade’s mentor.
Mark Isham was asked to score Blade with a combination of influences from hip-hop (Snipes’ preference) to English electronica (favored by the director). A jazz trumpeter who excelled in film due to his uncanny sense of cinematic mood, Isham blended those genres with synthesizers, orchestra and choir into what is, by comic book film standards, an unusually subtle yet powerful and dramatic score.
Varèse Sarabande released the original Blade soundtrack in 1998 as a 7-track, 33-minute album. This Deluxe Edition vastly expands the sequence into a 45-track, 72-minute program, with new liner notes by Daniel Schweiger
After Stephen Norrington directed the first Blade film, the 2002 sequel Blade II was helmed by the genre maestro Guillermo del Toro. The film finds Wesley Snipes’ title character teaming up with his former vampire enemies, the Bloodpack, against a new strain of mutant vampires who are hunting humans and vampires alike. Joining Kris Kristofferson in the supporting cast were Ron Perlman, Norman Reedus and Donnie Yen.
Blade II was the second of three collaborations between del Toro and composer Marco Beltrami, after the New York subway monster thriller Mimic and ahead of the first Hellboy film. Blade II is a tour-de-force for Beltrami’s aggressive action-horror style, with symphonic thrills, scares and chases galore. It also incorporates a strong Asian element, given that del Toro was influenced by anime, with taiko drums and shakuhachi adding to the full orchestra and choir. There’s even an electronica aspect, as Beltrami collaborated with DJ Danny Saber on several cues.
Blade II was released as a 33-minute program by Varèse Sarabande in 2002, which has been nearly tripled in length for this 38-track, 97-minute 2CD Deluxe Edition. Liner notes by Daniel Schweiger incorporate new interview comments by the composer.
Blade Features: Blade II Features:
Produced by: Mark Isham
Edited by: Tom Carlson
Mixed by: Stephen Krause
Mastered by: Chas Ferry & Melinda Hurley
Produced by: Marco Beltrami & Buck Sanders
Edited by: Bill Abbott & Denise Okimoto
Mastered by: Chas Ferry & Melinda Hurley
Blade Track List:
- Born of Blood (Then) 1:43
- Headed For Trouble 0:49
- Blood Club Voices 1:24
- Party Crasher 1:07
- Quinn Stapled and Torched 1:28
- Quinn Chows Down 1:10
- Daywalker 1:26
- The House of Lords 3:33
- Karen Awakens 1:23
- The Injection 2:05
- There's A War Going On Out There 2:20
- The Slap 1:00
- Glyphs 0:40
- Somebody's Gonna Take You Out 1:40
- You've Gotta Learn To Pull The Trigger 0:54
- Stakeout 0:31
- High Tech Lair 0:56
- The Translation Completed 0:22
- Pearl Fries 0:43
- The Book of Erebus 0:52
- Blade Captured 1:01
- Whistler's A Mother 0:22
- The Subway 2:18
- History 1:26
- Sunblock 1:32
- The Last Dawn 1:27
- A Pain In The Neck 1:06
- Man In The Street 0:25
- Top Of The Food Chain 2:00
- The Beating 0:50
- Death Of Whistler 1:52
- A Hurricane's Coming 0:45
- Intruder 2:45
- One Big Happy Family 1:45
- Temple of Light 4:38
- Curtis Isn't Himself Today 1:56
- Blood Relations 2:35
- The Bleeding Stone 1:47
- The Ritual Continues 1:57
- The Thirst Always Wins 3:23
- The Wraiths Emerge 2:01
- Defrosted 1:00
- Quinn Loses His Head 0:44
- The Blood God 3:13
- It's Not Over 2:34
Blade II Track List:
CD1 – (49:38) CD2 – (46:52)
1. Blood Bank Creeps 1:31
2. Nomack The Knife 1:13
3. Blade II Main Titles 3:02*
4. Moo Cow 1:19
5. Wheel And Deal 0:48
6. Wet Whistler 2:19
7. Waiting For The Sun 3:36
8. Suckheads Infiltrate 3:29
9. Caliban By Helicopter 2:02
10. Big D Hosts Big B 2:35
11. The Imp ‘n Pimp 1:04
12. Meet The Bloodpack 3:16
13. Let’s Go To The H.O.P. 1:54
14. Reapers In The Kitchen 1:39
15. I.H.O. Paincakes 7:40
16. Scaffolding Fight 3:17
17. Priest Splits 1:27
18. Little Boy Blue 1:18
19. Bath Time 1:35
20. Nyssa Needs A Napkin 3:45
1. Suckpuppy Nut Juice 1:47
2. Sewer Pickles 5:08
3. Let The Sun Shine In 0:38
4. B Slice 1:44
5. Charge Of The Light Grenade 2:30
6. Blade’s Discharge 2:03
7. Crispy Reapers 1:19
8. Nyssa Swallows 2:59
9. Who’s The Man? 5:49
10. Big D Educates 3:33
11. Nomack Snacks 2:28
12. Blood Bath 0:58
13. Reinhart Splits 1:07
14. Family Feud 3:23
15. Smackdown 4:56
16. Nyssa Over Easy 2:37
17. Abayo 0:12
18. End Credits 2:57