A Real Oldie that is Rarely Heard

I tend to agree with the general consensus that there is not much to see in either of Michael Henry Carter's "Eagle One" movies, The Hunt for Eagle One and The Hunt for Eagle One: Crash Point; but I do have an interesting observation about Mel Lewis, who composed the music for both of these films. He seemed to have decided that, since the two films share the same major characters, they should also share a leitmotif. He then decided that the best source for this leitmotif would be plainchant; and, rather than follow the path taken by so many composers that leads to the "Dies Irae" sequence, he decided to draw upon a sequence for the Easter Sunday Mass, "Victimae Paschali Laudes." The first line of text, "Victimae Paschali laudes immolent Christiani," can be translated as "Christians to the Paschal Victim offer sacrifice and praise." The remaining lines then develop the dual themes of sacrifice and resurrection. I doubt that any of the connotations of this hymn were meant to apply to the characters or situations in either of the films; but, since I found myself thinking about musical borrowing this morning, it is at least mildly amusing to see a deservedly obscure Hollywood hack drawing upon one of the earliest pieces of Western music, which deserves to be known by more than an elite contingent of music students!