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DIE HARD
The Five Star Collection DVD release of DIE HARD is available individually for $29.98, or as part of DIE HARD - THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION, which also features special editions of DIE HARD 2: DIE HARDER and DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE, for $79.98 |
This DVD review
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DVD
reviews are Copyright © 2002 THE CINEMA LASER and may not be copied
or reprinted without the written consent of the publisher. |
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DIE
HARD is without question one of the greatest action movies of all
time. In the years since it has been released, it has become the yardstick
against which all action genre entries are now measured. After DIE
HARD, suddenly every action film was an imitator of the central concept
of a lone hero, facing overwhelming odds to save the day. In an effort
to cash in on the film’s success, Hollywood churned out films best described
as DIE HARD on a boat, DIE HARD on a plane, DIE HARD
on a bus and DIE HARD on a mountain… you get the idea. DIE HARD
itself even spawned two entertaining sequels, but there is nothing quite
like the original.
Back
in 1988, Bruce Willis was considered a lightweight actor, with the comedic
television series MOONLIGHTING as his only outstanding credit.
At the time, casting Willis as the leading man in a gritty action movie
such as DIE HARD was something of a risk. However, Willis was perfectly
suited to the role of a blue-collar hero, who proved to be a lot smarter
than the film’s well-educated Euro-trash bad guys. In DIE HARD,
Willis portrays John McClane, a New York City police detective, who comes
to Los Angeles to spend Christmas with his estranged wife Holly (Bonnie
Bedelia) and their children. McClane arrives in LA just in time to meet
up with Holly at her company’s Christmas Eve office party.
Unfortunately,
a group of international terrorists crash the party shortly after McClane’s
arrival, seizing the entire office tower and taking the partygoers hostage.
Armed with only his service revolver, McClane is able to break away from
the terrorists and begins throwing a monkey wrench into their well-calculated
plans. Fortifying himself with the terrorists’ own weapons, McClane enters
into a deadly game of one-upmanship with their leader Hans Gruber (Alan
Rickman), while trying to find a way to contact the authorities and save
the hostages lives.
Much
of the success of DIE HARD lies with the chemistry between the
actors. Although Willis is isolated from the other performers for much
of the film’s running time, a radio does allow him to interact with Hans,
as well as Sgt. Al Powell (Reginald VelJohnson), the street cop that becomes
his connection to the outside world. Both Rickman and VelJohnson make
an indelible impression with their roles in DIE HARD, however it
is Rickman’s superb performance as the as the sophisticated, but ruthless
terrorist leader that has helped propel the film into its genre classic
status. I should also mention director John McTiernan’s incredible sense
of pacing and his brilliant staging of the film’s numerous action sequences,
as another key ingredient in the film’s enormous success. The solid supporting
cast of DIE HARD features Alexander Godunov, Paul Gleason, William
Atherton, Hart Bochner, De'voreaux White, James Shigeta, Robert Davi and
Grand L. Bush.
20th
Century Fox Home Entertainment has made the Five Star Collection edition
of DIE HARD available on DVD in a 2.35:1 wide screen presentation
that has been enhanced for 16:9 displays. For a rehash of a Laserdisc
transfer, the original non-anamorphic release of DIE HARD looked
quite good. However, the new 16:9 enhanced transfer leaves the previous
presentation in the dust. There are marked improvements in all areas of
the image, which appears cleaner, sharper and better defined on this release.
Film grain has been greatly reduced and the colors are stronger, with
better-looking flesh tones. There is not a hint of chroma noise or bleeding
during the presentation. Blacks appear very solid and contrast is good,
however the film stocks used to shoot DIE HARD are a bit dated-
offering some what reduced shadow detail, compared to newer film stocks,
and a slightly flat looking image in some of the darker sequences. The
dual layer DVD doesn’t display any noticeable signs of digital compression
artifacts.
For
this release DIE HARD features both Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 channel
soundtracks. For a 1988 release, this is a very kicking soundtrack. Plenty
of activity in all the channels, which is just what one wants from such
an intense action movie. Sounds can be precisely localized or pan in between
channels in a fluid manner. Dialogue is crisply rendered and is completely
intelligible, although there are a couple of moments when the voices are
just a tiny bit harsh sounding. The bass channel is deep and downright
explosive- which is absolutely perfect for this material. DIE HARD
features one of my favorite action movie scores, which was composed by
Michael Kamen. Kamen’s music has a full-bodied sound and it takes advantage
of the entire soundstage- washing over the viewer throughout the film,
without ever becoming intrusive. Differences between the Dolby Digital
and DTS soundtracks are almost non-existent, although the higher bit rate
of DTS allows for a more spacious quality and slightly improved sonic
detail. English and French Dolby Surround soundtracks are also encoded
onto the DVD, as are English and Spanish subtitles.
Full
motion video, animation and sound serve to enhance the cool 3-D interface
of the DVD’s interactive menus. Through the menus, one has access to the
standard scene selection and set up features, as well as the supplementary
materials contained on this two-disc set. Disc one contains three commentaries,
two of the audio variety and one text based. The first audio commentary
runs throughout the entire film and it features director John McTiernan
and production designer Jackson DeGovia. The second audio commentary features
special effects supervisor Richard Edlund, whose comments are scene specific
and have been chapter encoded for easy access. Both supplementary audio
tracks are highly informative and fans will find them well worth listening
to. The text-based commentary appears on a subtitle track and offers a
wealth of information on the film from various sources. Disc one also
offers an extended branching version of the film, with a longer version
of the power shutdown sequence, and a number of DVD-ROM features.
On
to disc two, we find a wealth of additional supplements. From The
Vault includes various outtakes, bloopers and scene extensions,
as well as the extra scene offered in the extended branching version of
the film. Also featured in this section is a more complete look at the
newscast footage from the film, as well as magazine articles on the film.
The Cutting Room offers and interactive look at the editing
process, sequences in the film that were shot with multiple cameras running
at the same time, plus a chance to understand the complexities of a film
soundtrack. This section also includes a Why Letterbox?
demo that shows and explains why wide screen films must be presented in
their correct aspect ratio- this type of demo should be included on each
and every DVD released on the market. The Interactive Slideshow
offers still images from all aspects of the production that are accompanied
by musical selections from the film’s score. Occasionally, a special symbol
will appear on the screen offering the view to delve into greater on a
particular image. The Script offers a look at the film’s original shooting
script, which differs in a number of respects from the completed film.
Ad Campaign offers three theatrical trailers, seven TV spots
and a seven-minute featurette from the film’s original theatrical release.
Disc two also contains additional DVD-ROM features.
As
far as action movies go, DIE HARD is certainly one of the best
of its breed. I’ve seen DIE HARD at least ten times and it never
fails to thrill, amuse and thoroughly entertain me. 20th Century Fox Home
Entertainment’s Five Star Collection release of DIE HARD is the
absolute best the film has ever looked and sounded in the home venue.
Combined with the excellent supplemental features, this is a must own
DVD for action fans.
