The first known NZ feature film to also have its own soundtrack release was the 1977 33rpm LP of Sleeping Dogs. Other titles that are on 33rpm LP and/or audio cassette, but have not (as of December 2010) found their way to CD are: Solo (1978), Goodbye Pork Pie (1980), Battletruck (1981), Smash Palace (1981), Strata (1984), Bridge to Nowhere (1986), Queen City Rocker (1986) and The Leading Edge (1987).
Details on these rare LPs can be found at the Soundtrack LP page.
New Zealand sound scores have suffered the same problem that most aspects of New Zealand film production has experienced - insufficent funds. The recognized first "breakthrough" film, SLEEPING DOGS,had a budget of $450,000nz! The first film to have a million dollar budget was SMASH PALACE in 1981. The same year, the NZ/US joint production of RACE FOR THE YANKEE ZEPHYR, with its $6 million budget, was released with its international lead actors and its grand Brian May score. By most accounts, SMASH PALACE is the better product, although not because of its sparse score. In my opinion, one of the best of the early New Zealand film scores is the one that Dorothy Buchanan wrote for the 1980 featurette, LINCOLN COUNTY INCIDENT, unfortunately a title very difficult to location and only on vhs. Probably the first all-New Zealand production that resulted in a high quality soundtrack CD is John Charles' UTU. In spite of difficulties, there are some soundtrack gems from New Zealand, and my list includes (In alphabetical order):
NOTE: Links to soundtracks that can be downloaded at iTunes are flagged by 
Links to soundtracks that can be heard at Streaming Soundtracks are flagged by
Alex
An Angel At My Table
Dean Spanley
Desperate Remedies
District 9
Good For Nothing
Heavenly Creatures
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, The
Lord of the Rings:Fellowship of the Ring
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Memory & Desire
Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence
Mt. Zion
The Navigator
Perfect Strangers
The Piano
The Quiet Earth/Iris
The Silent One
Under the Mountain
Utu
Whale Rider
What Becomes of the Broken Hearted
World's Fastest Indian, The
However there are some original New Zealand soundtrack scores that are less known because they have never made it to cd and, in some cases, are difficult to experience. That does not mean that they are unworthy of attention; so I offer a list, in alphabetical order, of some favourites of mine that are not on cd although are on dvd. Links to audio clips are found at film title pages.
Bad Blood
Black Sheep
Constance
Crush
Fracture
Goodbye Pork Pie
Heart of the Stag
Luella Miller
Out of the Blue
Perfect Creature
Spooked
The Ugly
Vigil
The Vintner's Luck
Links to soundtracks that can be heard at Streaming Soundtracks are flagged by
AlexAn Angel At My TableDean SpanleyDesperate RemediesDistrict 9Good For NothingHeavenly CreaturesThe Hobbit: An Unexpected JourneyThe Hobbit: The Battle of the Five ArmiesHobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, TheLord of the Rings:Fellowship of the RingLord of the Rings: Return of the KingLord of the Rings: The Two TowersMemory & DesireMerry Christmas Mr LawrenceMt. ZionThe NavigatorPerfect Strangers
The PianoThe Quiet Earth/IrisThe Silent OneUnder the MountainUtuWhale RiderWhat Becomes of the Broken HeartedWorld's Fastest Indian, TheHowever there are some original New Zealand soundtrack scores that are less known because they have never made it to cd and, in some cases, are difficult to experience. That does not mean that they are unworthy of attention; so I offer a list, in alphabetical order, of some favourites of mine that are not on cd although are on dvd. Links to audio clips are found at film title pages.
Bad Blood
Black Sheep
Constance
Crush
Fracture
Goodbye Pork Pie
Heart of the Stag
Luella Miller
Out of the Blue
Perfect Creature
Spooked
The Ugly
Vigil
The Vintner's Luck
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