Fox Home Entertainment / 2007 / 495 Minutes / Rated R
Street Date: November 20, 2007
List Price: $129.95 [Buy now and save at Amazon or DVD Empire ]
Overall Grade

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Bottom Line Worth a Look
Reviewed by Peter M. Bracke
Wednesday, November 21, 2007

The Movie Itself: Our Reviewer's Take

Over the last twenty years, John McClane has become such an iconic part of the action-film landscape that it's hard to remember a time when he wasn't etched in our pop culture consciousness. Starting with 'Die Hard' and continuing through three sequels, the character has proven to be one of the most durable in a very fickle genre. Aside from James Bond and Indiana Jones, there may be no other action movie hero who has lasted as long or remained as beloved by audiences. McClane redefined the boundaries of the action archetype, bringing a warmth, humor, unpredictability and an almost fanciful sense of masculine derring do to the genre.

1988's 'Die Hard,' of course, was the film that started it all, and broke all preconceptions for what an action hero could be. Bruce Willis' John McClane is a NYC cop who has relocated to Los Angeles to reconcile with his upwardly-mobile wife (Bonnie Bedelia), but ends up trapped in a skyscraper with a bunch of mercenary thugs led by the sniveling Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman). Simple premise, great action, airtight execution. And unlike the muscled action heroes of yore (this means you, Gov. Schwarzenegger), McClane is not a superman, but rather just an ordinary guy stuck in an extraordinary situation. His cocky facade masks a palpable vulnerability, but that only makes him even more courageous. By the time he gets around to kicking Gruber's ass at film's end, he's already rewritten every cliche in the action movie playbook.

Just wrapping up his run in TV's 'Moonlighting,' Willis was at his hungriest in 'Die Hard,' and he almost single-handedly carries the entire movie on his well-oiled shoulders. McClane's got more quips than James Bond and Freddy Krueger put together, but somehow Willis makes the character endearing rather than smarmy. Rickman is also the best villain of the entire 'Die Hard' series, coming off as the kind of uber-nasty psycho who would stab you with a knife, lick off the blood, and then stab you again. And the seemingly incongruous pairing of Willis and Bedelia manages to generate real sparks, making us actually believe that this guy would risk everything to save his wife, instead of just another tired plot device. Add to that John McTiernan's economical direction and a breathless set of stunt sequences that still hold up, and 'Die Hard' stands head-to-head with the absolute best action flicks of the '80s.

The Video: Sizing Up the Picture

All four John McClane films are making their high-def debut this week -- both here, as part of 'The Die Hard Collection,' and as standalone Blu-ray releases. Each of the films are presented in 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 encodes, framed at an aspect ratio of 2.40:1. However, that's about the only consistency you're going to get with this set, which each transfer varying considerably from the others in terms of quality. (Note that I've included individual ratings for each of the video transfers below. The overall Video rating is a composite score for all four presentations.)

Die Hard

First up is the oldest flick in the bunch, and unfortunately 'Die Hard' looks every one of its twenty years. You'd at least hope for a clean source, but this one's both grainy and bespeckled. Black are fine, but contrast could have been punchier. The image is quite soft and flat throughout, and shadow delineation is generally left wanting. Likewise, there's never any depth to the presentation, and although detail is decent overall, it doesn't deliver the level of upgrade compared to the standard DVD that I've come to expect.

At least color reproduction is pretty good, with little bleeding or chroma noise, although fleshtones can appear too pink. I also noted some banding and pixelization during fast action. Despite these issues, I'm still giving the video transfer an above average score, if only because it's far from the worst catalog title I've seen. Having said that, especially for such a high-profile release, it's hard not to rank this this one as a disappointment.

My video score for the original 'Die Hard': 3 stars (out of 5)

Die Hard 2: Die Harder

Coming only two years later but with a much bigger budget, 'Die Hard 2' doesn't deliver much of a jump in picture quality over 'Die Hard.' The picture still looks flat, soft and lacking in definition. Blacks and contrast are about on par with the original as well, and again there's no "pop." Likewise, shadow delineation remains only fair, with fine textures pretty much lost in the darkest areas of the picture.

On the bright side, colors are a bit better saturated than 'Die Hard,' particularly reds and blues, which look more vivid and clean. Fleshtones still skew a bit too much toward the reds too much for me, with poor Bonnie Bedelia looking much like Miss Piggy's long-lost sister. At least there are no major compression artifacts to speak of, so that's a plus.

An overall wash with its predecessor, 'Die Hard 2' earns a video score of 3.

Die Hard with a Vengeance

This is where things happily start picking up. Finally, with 'Die Hard with a Vengeance' we have a noticeable upgrade over the standard DVD release. That old transfer was laced with awful edge enhancement, which I'm happy to say Fox has largely rectified here. The image is sharp, but no longer overrun with edge halos (I did still notice some slight ringing, usually on wide shots with lots of highly-contrasted areas). Contrast is also much better than on the first two 'Die Hard' flicks, and 'Vengeance' has a much brighter, more detailed style. Depth finally pops, and colors are more robust yet also more natural. Fleshtones, too, are finally accurate.

The source print is still not pristine, however, with a pretty consistent level of fine grain and some dirt. I also was disappointed to see some noise and compression artifacts -- for example, right during the opening bomb explosion, some slight pixel break-up is noticeable in a far shot of a cloud of smoke. There is also a slight print wavering from time to time, though it's generally not intrusive.

All in all, 'Die Hard with a Vengeance' is a clear improvement over its predecessors, earning it a solid 4 star video rating.

Live Free or Die Hard

Given that this is a brand new film, it should come as no surprise that this one boasts by far the best picture quality of the four flicks. As I wrote in my full length review of the standalone version of this disc, the film itself is far from generic in its visual design, making bold use of hard-edged hues and harsh contrast through much of its runtime. Blacks are incredibly deep with superior shadow delineation, so that even minor details remain clearly visible throughout. Though fleshtones are slightly skewed due to the film's heavy use of blue, I was impressed by how fantastic close-ups in particular look -- I could make out every last pore on Bruce Willis' skin. The presentation is also razor-sharp, yet not edge-enhanced into oblivion, which further increases the 3-D effect.

The only deficiencies are a handful of scenes that break down under noticeable noise, at times resulting in oversaturated colors that only serve to increase the fuzziness. Still, these scenes are the exception to the rule, with the overall picture quality on this one earning it a robust 4.5 star video rating.


The Audio: Rating the Sound


Fox offers up matching DTS-HD Lossless Master Audio 5.1 Surround tracks for all four flicks in 'The Die Hard Collection' (all encoded at 48kHz/24-bit), but not unlike the video transfers, this one's another mixed bag. (Again I will offer up an individual Audio rating for each flick below, with this review's overall Audio score an average of all four.)

Die Hard

Kicking things off is the series' first installment, and it's a nostalgic return to the days before multi-channel surround was commonplace in theatrical exhibition. This remix clearly has a processed feel, with discrete effects only jumping in during the big bang moments, as if only a select frequency range was bled out and directed to the rears. That does give the surrounds some sense of life during the action scenes, but don't expect imaging that's seamless, or any sustained atmosphere. There's only minor score bleed, too. Fidelity on the rest of the track is only average, with flat highs and a compressed feel to the midrange that's dated. Likewise, low bass is fine, but hardly couch-shaking. Dialogue is also somewhat muted in the mix.

My score: 3 (out of 5).

The Supplements: Digging Into the Good Stuff

'The Die Hard Collection' has to be among Fox's most highly-requested catalog titles on Blu-ray, making it somewhat disappointing that the studio hasn't produced any new supplements for this box set. To be fair, the studio did re-issue each of the earlier films back in 2001 on DVD (each as a two-disc special edition) and they've ported over most of those extras here, Unfortunately, I found those sets rather lackluster even at the time (none included any new documentary material), and my feelings haven't changed watching all this stuff once again on Blu-ray. It's wafer-thin, and almost entirely comprised of EPK material. (Fox hasn't even upgraded the vast majority of this material for high-def, with most of the video-based extras receiving 480p/i/MPEG-2 encodes only.)
Die Hard

The film that started it all receives by far the weakest package of extras in the entire collection. For whatever reason, Fox has dropped one of the standard DVD's major features (dubbed "The Cutting Room"), which contained unique editing and audio mixing functions, a multi-angle shooting demo and even the complete script in text form. Here's what we do get:

Audio Commentary #1 - The first track features director John McTiernan and production designer Jackson DeGovia. Each were recorded separately, with this track edited together later, making this feel like a somewhat inorganic discussion. Having said that, the information imparted is pretty good, with McTiernan recalling how little faith the studio initially had in 'Die Hard' and Bruce Willis, and the various challenges in staging a top-flight action film on a tight budget. DeGovia is far more technical, particularly when describing the obstacles in creating the interiors of the fictional Naktomi building that served as the centerpiece of the film's action.

Audio Commentary #2 - This second audio commentary with special effects supervisor Richard Edlund is really only a partial track, as Edlund appears only in spots with huge gaps of silence in between (a handy index is included, so you can jump to the scenes with his comments). Since 'Die Hard' was produced before the common use of CGI, Edlund offers some fascinating tidbits on such now-archaic techniques as matting and miniatures. Kinda neat.

Cast & Crew Commentary - A bit of a misnomer, this is actually a subtitle fact track, interspersed with interview excerpts. Author Eric Lichtenfeld ("Action Speaks Louder: Violence, Spectacle, and the American Action Movie") organizes a running series of factoids and production details, with additional comments spliced in from McTiernan, DeGovia, screenwriter Steven E. DeSouza, effects coordinator Al Di Sarro, supervising sound editor Steven Hunter Flick, producer Lawrence Gordon, composer Michael Kamen, editor John Link, stunt coordinator Charlie Picerni and actor Alan Rickman. Too bad both Willis and Bonnie Bedelia are nowhere to be found.

Newscasts (SD, 7 minutes) - These are unexpurgated versions of the fake news broadcasts that litter the film. A complete throwaway for me.

Still Gallery (SD, 9 minutes) - An automated slideshow of various images, including concept art, on-set production photos and publicity stills.

Theatrical Trailers (HD) - 1080p trailers are included for 'Die Hard 2: Die Harder,' 'Die Hard with a Vengeance,' 'Live Free or Die Hard' and 'Alien vs. Predator.' There are also three additional trailers for 'Die Hard,' including the film's original teaser.

Supplement rating for 'Die Hard': 2 stars (out of 5).

HD Bonus Content: Any Exclusive Goodies in There?

Personal Scene Selections - The first three flicks all feature the ability to bookmark your favorite scenes for easy access even after you eject the disc from the player. Oddly, I couldn't find the same function on 'Live Free or Die Hard.'

D-Box Enhancement - If you're one of the half-dozen people out there who actually owns one of those D-Box home theater rump-shakers, just pop in any of the four 'Die Hard' discs and get ready for some serious, earth-shattering vibrations.

Interactive Game: "Black Hat Intercept!" - Exclusive to the 'Live Free or Die Hard' disc, this BD-Java enhanced multi-level strategy game was co-created by Kevin Smith. Basically, you step into the shoes of Smith's character in the movie, and must deduce your way through various brain teasers and obstacles before the ticking clock expires. Although I found this one more challenging than other BD-J games of its type, it should go without saying that it pales in comparison to anything you're going to find on the PS3 or Xbox.

Easter Eggs

No easter eggs reported for 'The Die Hard Collection' yet. Found an egg? Please use our tips form to let us know, and we'll credit you with the find.

Final Thoughts

John McClane has been in the pop culture consciousness for twenty years now, and it's great to finally have all of his adventures contained in one high-def box set. As is to be expected wih a series that spans two decades, the quality of this Blu-ray collection varies from film to film. The video and audio improve as the sequel number increases, and ditto the supplements. All things considered, this is fairly good set, especially given the fact you get four films for about $90. It's just a shame the first two flicks don't look better, and that Fox didn't produce much in the way of new extras for this first-ever Blu-ray release.