In November 2018, La-La Land Records released Die Hard: 30th Anniversary Remastered Edition featuring additional cues and demos, and sold over 5,000 units.

Kamen initially saw a mostly incomplete version of Die Hard and was unimpressed,[2] as he saw the film as primarily about a "phenomenal bad guy" who made McClane seem less important.

[3] His original score incorporates pizzicato and arco strings, brass, woodwinds and sleigh bells added during moments of menace to counter their festive meaning.

[4] The score incorporates diegetic music, which includes the Beethoven's 9th Symphony (commonly known as "Ode to Joy")[5] and the classical piece of Brandenburg Concerto No.

[12] It featured only 21 tracks that are heard from the film's score, including an instrumental arrangement of Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn's song "Let It Snow!

"[15] Mfiles wrote "It's a rare action score that blends sincerity and self-parody in a manner that never compromises its respective movie, although one suspects McTiernan dialled down some of Kamen's more eccentric flourishes for that very reason ...

He praised "the clever combination of the themes, the interpolation of the classical music and the songs, and the rich and vivid action set pieces".

[8] Soundtrack Beat wrote "Kamen's score masterfully builds suspense, propelling all the plot's high-octane action while enriching the characterizations.