Die Hard had a strong opening box office, but it was its staying power that impressed. While generating a decent $80 million gross, it was the film's popularity on video and cable that made it a modern classic. The film was so popular, it became a unique genre. You had studios racing to make "Die Hard on a train," "Die Hard on a bus," "Die Hard on a plane," and "Die Hard just about anywhere."

The story is of an ordinary police officer trapped inside a California office tower on Christmas Eve while terrorists attempt to steal $600 million in bearer bonds from a seemingly impenetrable vault. The structure is deceptively simple, but it works exceedingly well. John McTiernan solidifies his reputation as a genius action film director, his follow up to the hit Schwarzenegger film Predator. His tight pacing and frenetic camera work keep the film and the viewer on edge throughout the its two-hour-plus running time. Jan DeBont's cinematography is inventive and stylized.

Willis justified his (then huge) $5 million paycheck. Is there anyone else you can think of who could have played such a sarcastic character less obnoxiously than Willis?

The Video: How Does The Disc Look?

The film’s theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 is presented in a pretty good high definition transfer compressed with the AVC video CODEC. Alas, the film’s print isn’t up to modern standards, and even though the film never looked better, this is not a spectacular transfer. It’s a bit dark, which also tends to suppress shadow detail. Colors are fine, with natural flesh tones and vivid holiday decorations. The problem is the sharpness. The whole presentation is a little soft, and there are occasional lapses in camera focus. I suspect the director and editor decided that performance took precedence over focus. Consequently, small object detail and finely grained textures suffer. Perhaps some of the sharpness issue may be related to Jan DeBont's excellent photography; a classic Panavision look, it’s replete with lens flares and soft edges.

The Audio: How Does the Disc Sound?

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track sounds as good as a slightly harsh circa-1988 recording can sound. Sound effects seem compressed, and even though gunfire is enhanced with some bottom end, it lacks the dynamic range to have much aural impact. Surround effects kick in selectively, but much of the emphasis is on the front sound stage. Michael Kamen’s score has more expanse than the sound effects. Most of the time, I felt like I was listening to stereo rather than an enveloping 5.1 track. Since I reviewed Live Free or Die Hard before I started on the collection, I was spoiled by that more modern, very aggressive, dynamic, and immersive mix.

The alternate tracks are in English Dolby Surround 2.0, French Dolby Digital 5.1, and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1. The audio is supported by subtitles in English, Spanish, Cantonese, and Korean.

The Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

Expect ported supplements from previous DVD releases in full screen.

We begin with a feature-length audio commentary by director John McTiernan and production designer Jackson DeGovia. The two were not recorded together, but have been edited into a cohesive whole. The pair shares equal time as McTiernan focuses on the overall production and the cast and crew while DeGovia explains in detail the look of the film from a design standpoint. The track can be a bit dry at times as McTiernan is a bit of a laconic speaker, but I enjoyed it very much.

A second scene-specific audio commentary features special effects supervisor Richard Edlund. This one is "scene-specific" because Edlund doesn't speak throughout the entire movie, only during pertinent parts. Technical and interesting.

A third commentary is in the form of subtitles, contributed by various cast and crew. This track appears as text on the bottom of the screen throughout the film; participants include screenwriter Steven E. DeSouza, supervising sound editor Stephen Hunter Flick, composer Michael Kamen, producer Lawrence Gordon, actor Alan Rickman, analysis by film journalist and historian Eric Lichtenfeld, and several others. The comments move fairly quickly and are quite informative.

Newscasts (7:59, 480p) are complete, stand-alone versions of the news broadcasts found in the film. Not very interesting, I’m afraid.
 
The Stills Gallery (9:27 minutes) sequences automatically, backed by Kamen’s orchestral score. It includes concept art, continuity photos, and publicity stills.
 
Trailers and TV Spots include three of former and four of the latter. Trailers are in 480p and the TV spots are in full screen. Programmed disc navigation caused looping when the play all option was selected. I had to eject and reload the disc before I could navigate them separately.

Fox on Blu-Ray includes high definition trailers for Die Hard 2: Die Harder (so soft that I could hardly tell it was HD), Die Hard with a Vengeance, Live Free or Die Hard, and Alien vs. Predator.

The disc offers a D-Box track for seismic stimulation.

The 132-minute film is organized into fifty-five chapters.


A year after the events of Los Angeles' Nakatomi Plaza, John McClane is back in action. During a trip to the airport to pick up his wife for Christmas, McClane is once again "up to his ass in terrorists." A South American or Central American dictator is being flown to America to stand trial, but a group of dedicated mercenaries have other plans. They intend to seize the airport and free the criminal; they will stop at nothing to accomplish their mission, even using hundreds of passengers trapped in planes that cannot land with the instrument landing system shut down as bargaining chips.

With his wife's plane in a holding pattern consuming its remaining fuel, and with his abundant sense of duty, McClane jumps in to find and destroy the terrorists. This takes him all over a vast airport, some of which is under construction, and its darkened runways. With a belligerent airport police captain, an ineffectual FAA, and by-the-book military getting in his way as much as the enemy, it will take some innovative thinking and a couple of crazy, impulsive decisions for McClane to survive this one.

The filmmakers cleverly acknowledge the similarities to the first film. McClane comments about the absurdity of such an event happening twice to one man. The film is well directed by Renny Harlin and you can definitely see the elements that would later become his cinematic trademarks: slow motion, warm hues, and the graceful choreography of gratuitous violence.

Die Hard 2: Die Harder is not a perfect film; the film can drag at times with an overabundance of exposition and some forced attempts at plot twists. McClane's wife finds herself improbably on the exact same plane as the obnoxious reporter she belted at the end of the first film. His appearance lacks purpose other than to tie the sequel with the original and give Bonnie Bedelia’s Holly Gennero McClane some interesting screen time. Even though the film could have been trimmed a bit tighter, the overall result is still effective and fun.

The Video: How Does The Disc Look?

The film’s theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 is presented in a slightly better high definition transfer compressed with the AVC video CODEC. The film’s print seems a little sharper, and consequently, the transfer is noticeably better. Shadow detail is improved; a good thing, too, since much of the action takes place out of doors at night. Colors are better; flesh tones are natural. The whole presentation isn’t up to modern standards, and so remains a little soft, but the overall appearance is simply superior to the first film. Small object detail and finely grained textures have improved without being as revealing as I would have liked. Regardless, the film never looked better.

The Audio: How Does the Disc Sound?

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track sounds better than its predecessor as well. Sound effects are still a little compressed, but they are beginning to open up a bit. Gunfire, again enhanced with some bottom end, has better dynamic range, but still hasn’t achieved an impressive aural impact. Surround effects are more active, with more pans and discrete effects. Michael Kamen’s score has more heft, better timbre, and a reasonable soundstage. Dialog is always distortion-free but lacks that in-the-room presence I admire.

The alternate tracks are in English Dolby Surround 2.0, French Dolby Digital 5.1, and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1. The audio is supported by subtitles in English, Spanish, Cantonese, and Korean.

The Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

Expect ported supplements from previous DVD releases in full screen.

We begin with an audio commentary by director Renny Harlin. He seems at ease and enthusiastic about what has so far been his biggest hit to that time. Interestingly, Harlin opens the commentary by revealing that he was actually hired to direct Alien 3 long before the David Fincher-directed version was conceived. I really enjoy Harlin's commentary tracks; he is very enthusiastic and has a talent for remembering all sorts of details about the film's history, production, and release. This may be his best commentary to date.

There are four deleted scenes (non-anamorphic widescreen 8:15). There's actually a long and funny scene with Marvin, the janitor, explaining how to get to the Skywalk, but you can tell why it was cut. It's long and all its information could be summarized in one or two sentences. The other scenes are actually scene extensions with extra bits here and there and not particularly illuminating.

The HBO First Look - Die Harder: The Making of Die Hard 2 (full screen, 23:08) featurette was (if I remember correctly) actually originally broadcast on the Fox network during the film's original theatrical release. This is a bit more in-depth than the usual EPK promotional featurette, with clips highlighting how they seamlessly edited together eleven different locations in a single scene, and how the filmmakers were challenged trying to produce artificial snow when Mother Nature didn't cooperate.

The Featurette (full screen, 4:07) featurette is a promotional extended trailer with cast and crew comments. Strictly EPK fluff.

The Bad Guys (full screen, 6:39) featurette highlights the villains for more EPK content, essentially interviews that give away entirely too much. Renny Harlin and William Sadler participate. The Interview With Renny Harlin (full screen, 6:44) featurette gives the director the opportunity to talk about the film; another strictly promotional piece.

The Breaking the Ice (full screen, 4:10) featurette focuses on the nighttime snowmobile chase and the associated stunts. Similarly, the Chaos on a Conveyor Belt (full screen, 7:53) featurette focuses on the firefight in the airport’s luggage facility.

Visual Effects Breakdowns is anther full screen extra. Ejector Seat (3:19) and Airport Runway (1:58) begin with the storyboards or matte painting, shows the blue-screen work, then the travelling mattes, the practical work, and the completed sequence. The Storyboard Sequence (2:58) switches back and forth between the drawings and the finished airline terminal firefight sequence.

You’ll find the film’s Trailers and TV Spots, – four the first and two of the second, in 480p and full screen. Some of the spots are in remarkably bad condition.

Fox on Blu-Ray includes high definition trailers for Die Hard, Die Hard with a Vengeance, Live Free or Die Hard, and Alien vs. Predator.

And, once again, there’s a tush-tossing D-Box track.

The 124-minute film is organized into forty chapters.


A few years have passed since we last saw NYPD Detective John McClane. Things aren’t going well for him these days. He's separated from his wife, developed a bit of a drinking problem, and is currently under suspension. That suspension is cut short by the explosive arrival of a terrorist who identifies himself only as "Simon." It seems this lunatic has a bit of a grudge against McClane and literally wants to abuse him to death.

Simon imposes a frustrating game of Simon Says, which McClane is obligated to play or people will die. Each challenge could kill our hung over hero. For example, Simon’s very first instruction has McClane walking the streets of Harlem with racially inflammatory signs suspended front and back from his shoulders. He’s rescued by an electronics shop owner named Zeus (Samuel L. Jackson), not because he’s a Good Samaritan, but because he doesn’t want to bring the wrath of the NYC police force down on his neighborhood. Zeus is a bit anti-white, but his interference draws him into Simon's demented game.

The chemistry and verbal banter between McClane and Zeus also gives this sequel a distinct advantage. Previous films in the series functioned as lone hero type stories. McClane's isolation and reliance only on his wits had audiences rooting for him; his victories were made that much sweeter by virtue of how seemingly stacked the odds were against him. But with Samuel L. Jackson in the mix, it's now two against the enemy, and their interaction and chemistry adds a new layer to the drama.

The great action set pieces are amazing, especially the destruction of a New York City subway station, and the pacing is dizzyingly brisk. But if there's a problem with the film, it's in its resolution, which feels rushed and out of sync with the preceding two hours. Yet despite any shortcomings, Die Hard with a Vengeance is the better of the two sequels and holds up well on repeated viewings. John McTiernan, director of the first film, returns and he again proves himself quite the master of visceral filmmaking. McTiernan had said that sequels are unnecessary unless you can find somewhere new to take the characters. Die Hard With A Vengeance does just that.

The Video: How Does The Disc Look?

Ah, that’s better. The film’s theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 is presented in a better yet high definition transfer compressed with the AVC video CODEC. The film’s print seems almost as sharp as a current film. Shadow detail is excellent, even during the nighttime climax. Colors are great with natural flesh tones and vivid red blood. The whole presentation stands up well to modern standards, but doesn’t quite have the needle sharp look of the more recent Live Free or Die Hard. Small object detail and finely grained textures are very fine indeed, with subtle details like text on objects and papers and the faces of actors in long shots much clearer than in the two older films in this collection. Like its predecessors, the film never looked better.

The Audio: How Does the Disc Sound?

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track sounds even better than the second film in the series. Sound effects are less compressed and feel more open. The bottom end is more robust; I finally enjoyed the bass as tactile as well as audible. Gunfire finally has more of a visceral punch. Sound effects have a better dynamic range. Surround effects are much more active, with more pans and discrete effects. Michael Kamen’s score has a pleasant and convincing timbre spread across a broad soundstage. Dialog is distortion-free but still lacks that in-the-room presence I admire.

The alternate tracks are in English Dolby Surround 2.0, French Dolby Digital 5.1, and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1. The audio is supported by subtitles in English, Spanish, Cantonese, and Korean.

The Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

Expect ported supplements from previous DVD releases in full screen.

We begin with a feature-length commentary by director John McTiernan, screenwriter Jonathan Hensleigh, and former Fox president of marketing and distribution Tom Sherak. None of them have been recorded together, but the skillful editing by the disc's producer, David Britten Prior, ensures that the track flows well with no appreciable gaps. McTiernan and Hensleigh are the main contributors, providing insight into technical aspects of filming and how Hensleigh's original non-Die Hard script, Simon Says, was transformed seamlessly into the mythology of the series. This is the best of the first three Die Hard commentaries, simply because there is more of a story to tell.

I mentioned that the film’s climax felt rushed and out of sync with the rest of the film. The reason is because the theatrical cut’s ending was reshot after the original was deemed to portray McClane as too cruel and menacing. The Alternate Ending (6:03, non-anamorphic widescreen) involves a shoulder-fired rocket launcher and a game of "McClane Says." It’s available with an optional commentary by screenwriter Jonathan Hensleigh. He watches it cut together for the first time and says that he prefers this original ending; it's not as explosive as the theatrical version, but it’s psychologically more exciting.

The 22-minute full screen HBO First Look: Behind The Scenes featurette is hosted by Die Hard alum Reginald Vel Johnson, last seen munching some Twinkies. The special starts out weakly, but after about ten minutes or so of talking heads, it offers some impressive behind the scenes footage, including the film's opening explosion and some of the other effects and stunts. Worth a view if you're a patient person.

Next up is the CBS: A Night to Die For (full screen, 21:36) featurette. This special is hosted by costar Samuel L. Jackson and offers an extended preview of what audiences can expect with Die Hard With A Vengeance. Aside from being transparently promotional, this special attempts to deify the character of John McClane with fan testimonials from such notables as 49er Steve Young, hockey great Wayne Gretzky, Laker giant Kareem Abdul Jabbar, former NY Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, Bears coach Mike Ditka, Melanie Griffith, Ice-T, Bill Mahar, Kato Kaelin (I'm not kidding), Wayne Newton, and several others. Like the other promo short, this one takes us through the previous films. The subway car gag is featured.

The Die Hard With A Vengence (full screen, 4:20) featurette is pure EPK promo fluff. It’s the usual on-set interviews and film clips without any real information about the making of the film.

Bruce Willis Interview (full screen, 6:22) gives the star the opportunity to horse around. The short highlights McClane’s smartass quipping, but it’s more pure EPK fluff. As is Villains with a Vengeance (full screen, 4:25), which puts the spotlight on Jeremy Irons and his character.

Next we have a Storyboard Sequence (full screen, 2:10 minutes), which switches back and forth between drawings and footage as McClane is in the aqueduct and has to deal with a lot more water than he expected. Visual Effects Breakdowns include Blowing Up Bonwit, Prepping the Park, and Terror in the Subway. The feature is essentially the same as I described for the last disc.

And also similar are the Visual Effects Breakdowns (full screen, various lengths), in which various levels of special effects progress are demonstrated for The Great Jump, Shimmying Down Cable, Jackson Plummets, Grabbing Onto Crane, Fall In Front Of Taxi, Water Gushing Through Tunnel, and Willis Shot Out Of Tunnel.
 
And once again, you’ll find 480p and full screen Trailers and TV Spots, two of first and ten of the second.

Fox on Blu-Ray offers high definition trailers for Die Hard, Die Hard 2: Die Harder, Live Free or Die Hard, and Alien vs. Predator.

There is another D-Box track to tickle your anal sphincter.

The 131-minute feature film is organized into forty chapters.


The Live Free or Die Hard disc in this Blu-ray Disc collection is identical to the single disc BD edition. See my review by clicking here.


Final Thoughts

This is a terrific collection of a great franchise. The qualities of the presentations range from pretty good to superb. There are many supplements, but for the first three films, they simply duplicate what’s already been released. At least BD player owners will be able to sell their old DVDs of the Die Hard series without feeling that they’ve sacrificed any extras. Recommended.