Press Release from Dragon's Domain:
Dragon’s Domain Records presents the world premiere soundtrack release of PENTATHLON, featuring music composed by David Spear for the 1994 action film directed by Bruce Malmuth (NIGHTHAWKS, HARD TO KILL), written by William Stadiem, Gary T. McDonald and Malmuth, starring Dolph Lundgren, David Soul, Renée Coleman, Roger E. Mosley, Daniel Riordan and Philip Bruns.
Released in 1994, PENTATHLON tells the story of Eric Brogar (Lundgren), an Olympic athlete born in East Germany before the Berlin Wall fell, who dreams of a better life. Brogar has been training for the Pentathlon, a combination of five sporting events (shooting, swimming, fencing, horse-back riding and cross-country running), first devised by Pierre de Coubertin, the man responsible for creating the modern version of the Olympics. de Coubertin believed these skills were essential training for soldiers in the 19th century. Now, competing in the Pentathlon at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, Eric wins the Gold Medal and uses the opportunity to escape from his Stasi secret police minders at the airport. Despite being shot in the leg, Brogar manages to reach the bus of the United States team and request asylum.
His joy in succeeding, however, is short lived. Settling in Los Angeles with his girlfriend, Julia (Coleman), also an athlete, Brogar descends into an angry depression when the Berlin Wall finally comes down and he realizes that he never needed to defect. After losing his temper and busting up a local bar, Julia leaves him. Over the next four years, Brogar’s life continues to spiral out of control. He winds up working as a short order cook for John Creese (Mosely) and has gotten so out of shape, he can’t even defend himself against an assault from three puny punks. When Brogar doesn’t show up for work one day, Creese comes to his apartment and inadvertently discovers Brogar’s Olympic past. Taking pity on him, Creese offers to become his trainer and whip him back into shape. Unknown to Brogar, his former coach, Heinrich Müller (Soul) is no longer an athletic trainer and has transitioned into the leadership of a Nazi terrorist group. Arriving in Los Angeles with his men, Müller has the intention of assassinating the visiting German ambassador and avenging himself on Brogar.
David Spear began his career orchestrating many film scores for Elmer Bernstein including AIRPLANE, ANIMAL HOUSE, HEAVY METAL and GHOSTBUSTERS. After his Broadway debut as Music Director of MERLIN, THE MAGICAL MUSICAL, Spear wrote scores for three Academy Award nominated films: RAINBOW WAR, BALLET ROBOTIQUE, and THE COURAGE TO CARE. He composed the music for the Emmy Award winning National Geographic documentary, SURVIVING EVEREST. One of his first major scores was for the 1981 vampire thriller FEAR NO EVIL, composed in collaboration with the film’s writer/director Frank LaLoggia. He led the Indianapolis Symphony for the 2008 premiere of THE LANGSTON HUGHES PROJECT featuring Ice-T and the Ron McCurdy Quartet. A dedicated educator, Spear served as faculty at Berklee College of Music (1991-1995), USC Thornton School of Music (1995-2006), NYU (2009-2013), and at Portland State as 2017 Artist-in-Residence. His work in academia and industry thrives on decades of creative collaboration with many notable artists, directors and scholars.
Dragon’s Domain Records presents PENTATHLON, featuring music composed and conducted by David Spear for the very first time on compact disc. The music has been mastered by James Nelson at Digital Outland and the liner notes have been written by author David Hirsch.
