With two great star performances, and a great supporting cast, the film is sleek and looks great thanks to the brilliant cinematography of Michael Chapman. One of the smartest decisions director Kaufman made was hiring the incredible Japanese composer, Toru Takemitsu. It was a bold choice and a choice that really paid off. Takemitsu composed unique scores for some classic Japanese films, including Woman in the Dunes, Kwaidan, The Face of Another, Double Suicide, and others. In 1970 he scored director Akira Kurosawa’s film, Dodes’ku-den, turning in a score of great warmth and melody that made Kurosawa’s beguiling film even more beguiling. His second score for Kurosawa, Ran, was a true masterpiece of film scoring, a symphonic work of tremendous power and beauty. Rising Sun would be his first and only American film scoring assignment.

Takemitsu wrote a very long score for the film, but in the end several incredible cues went unused and the music that was used was occasionally truncated and moved around. A CD release of the score did not present it in the best light, with a short running time and several pieces not by Takemitsu. The general impression was that Takemitsu’s score just wasn’t that interesting. We’re hoping that this first-ever complete CD release will change that view because hearing the score as Takemitsu wrote it is an entirely different experience – an addictive, mesmerizing neo-noir tone poem of exquisite orchestral color and sounds (including wonderful use of the Ondes Martinot), with a great main theme that weaves itself in and out of the score like wisps of smoke. It is a major rediscovery and one that would hopefully put the music’s reputation firmly where it belongs – as one of the best and most interesting scores of the 1990s. The previous CD release had only about twenty-six minutes of Takemitsu’s score. This release adds over forty minutes of score cues and the score is presented as it was meant to be heard in the film. - KRITZERLAND

1 Seiichi Tanaka, San Francisco Taiko Dojo– Taiko Drum Opening 0:50
2 Toru Takemitsu– Board Meeting 1:15
3 Toru Takemitsu– Drive To Connor's Loft 2:15
4 Toru Takemitsu– Girl On Table 3:36
5 Toru Takemitsu– Web Meets Connor 0:52
6 Toru Takemitsu– Crime Scene 1:11
7 Toru Takemitsu– Body Examined 1:05
8 Toru Takemitsu– Arrival At Apartment 1:04
9 Toru Takemitsu– Checking Out The Apartment 1:44
10 Toru Takemitsu– Driving 0:46
11 Toru Takemitsu– Eddie Revealed On Disc 2:38
12 Toru Takemitsu– Looking At The Disc 3:18
13 Toru Takemitsu– Chase 1:07
14 Toru Takemitsu– Golf Course 1:48
15 Toru Takemitsu– So Eddie Witnessed The Murder 2:09
16 Toru Takemitsu– Yakuza Pursuit 1:03
17 Toru Takemitsu– Car In Alley 1:05
18 Toru Takemitsu– Security Room 1:45
19 Toru Takemitsu– Web's Confession 2:48
20 Toru Takemitsu– Eddie's Alive 1:25
21 Toru Takemitsu– The Hall 2:10
22 Toru Takemitsu– Eddie's Showdown 6:11
23 Toru Takemitsu– Mystery Figure Revealed 2:52
24 Toru Takemitsu– Senator Morton Gets Faxed 2:02
25 Toru Takemitsu– Interrogation 3:20
26 Toru Takemitsu– Nakamoto Steps 1:32
27 Toru Takemitsu– Cemented 2:38
28 Toru Takemitsu– Always Leave The Cage Door Open 1:39
29 Toru Takemitsu– Credits 3:40
30 Unknown Artist– Source Music 3:30
31 Unknown Artist– Don't Fence Me In Songwriter – Cole Porter 1:44
32 Unknown Artist– Single Petal Of A Rose Songwriter – Duke Ellington 2:08
33 Toru Takemitsu– Medley (Credits - Short Version) 3:05
34 Seiichi Tanaka, San Francisco Taiko Dojo– Tsunami 8:07