to physical training, Mira Sorvino, who had never handled a gun prior to this film, took weapons training to prepare for her role. Sorvino, who majored in Asian studies at Harvard, speaks Mandarin, and lived for eight months (1988–89) in Beijing, where she studied Chinese, taught English, and saw Chinese films, including Hong Kong action films, felt The Replacement Killers brought her a step closer to her goal of making a film in Mandarin and working with a Chinese director. Prior to the start of filming, Sorvino had blown out her voice from screaming in reshoots of Mimic; Fuqua liked the effect and asked her to keep it, which required Sorvino to yell prior to each day's shoots to burn out her voice. Soundtrack The original motion picture score was composed by Harry Gregson-Williams. Alan Meyerson mixed the sound elements for the chorus, while Richard Whitfield edited the film's music. The soundtrack for the film was released on March 10, 1998 by the Varèse Sarabande music label. In an interview with Hideo Kojima, he stated it was the film's soundtrack that lead him to hire Harry to work on the soundtrack of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. Additional music In addition to the film score by Harry Gregson-Williams, several modern songs by cutting-edge artists were included on the soundtrack (although never officially released as a cd) including: "Keep Hope Alive" by The Crystal Method "Jaan " by Talvin Singh featuring Amar "Makes Me Wanna Die (The Weekend Mix)" by Tricky "Rocco" by Death In Vegas (album: Dead Elvis) "Boom Boom Caw" by Brad "33" by Hed PE "Escape From The City Of Angels" by Ithaka (featuring Marta Dias) / Album: Flowers And The Color Of Paint) Release The Replacement Killers premiered in cinemas on February 6, 1998 in wide release throughout the US, and had a five-week theatrical run. Home media Following its cinematic release in theaters, The Replacement Killers was released on DVD and VHS by Columbia TriStar Home Video in the United States on July 1, 1998. Special features for the DVD include scene selections and the featurette specials; Chow Yun-Fat Goes Hollywood along wth an edited HBO special: "Where the Action is". A VHS format edition was released on March 30, 1999. On March 5, 2002, a Special Edition DVD was released. Features include: digitally mastered audio and anamorphic video; widescreen presentation; audio in English