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.

Fast-foward over a decade and we have 2007's 'Live Free or Die Hard.' Surprisingly, things get back on track with this long-in-development fourth entry, which turned out to be one of the biggest hits of year. McClane is still McClane, as ornery and resourceful as ever, albeit a bit more grizzled. This time, he's up against crazed patriot Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant), who's out to "redeem" America with an all-out attack on its technological infrastructure. With the FBI unable to catch the criminal mastermind, it's up to McClane and a geeky hacker (Justin Long) to foil the villian's plot, as well as save McClane's daughter Lucy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead).

Directed by Len Wiseman ('Underworld'), 'Live Free or Die Hard' works as a surprisingly resonant retelling of the "aging old relic story," where the fighter must jump back into the ring for one last fight to ensure his legacy. But it also doesn't forget what made the first film such a gas, giving us wall-to-wall old-school action that needs little assistance from overdone CGI or slapdash music video editing. 'Live Free or Die Hard' is both modern and retro, giving us all the stunts, explosions, humor and ridiculous violence we loved the first time around, but also throwing in enough new emotional wrinkles for the McClane character that it doesn't all feel stale. It's the perfect sequel that plays just as well to newbies as it does long-time fans of the series.

As a franchise, the Die Hard series stands tall. In the character of John McClane, Willis found his best-ever role, and with a combination of brawn, brains and snarky wit, created a whole new icon of the action movie. Add to that some of the most top-notch stunt sequences and effects the genre has ever seen, and you have a series of four films that truly do rival such legendary franchises as James Bond, the Terminator and Mad Max. I can't claim that the 'Die Hard' series hasn't had its ups and downs, but even in its weakest moments, the Die Hard series has never been less than a total blast.

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.)

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.)


Live Free or Die Hard

Especially after watching the first three films in the franchise, this one is the sonic equivalent of a sledgehammer. Obviously this is a modern film, which gives it an immediate advantage over its predecessors, but beyond that this also happens to be a truly exceptional mix by any measure.

As I wrote in my review of the standalone edition, surrounds are highly aggressive and truly enveloping. Directionality is all over the place, with sounds zipping about the soundfield with excellent transparency. I was equally impressed with how atmospheric sounds were so well-dispersed that they're often hard to localize -- always a sign of well-done sound design. Dynamics are also pounding, with 'Live Free or Die Hard' delivering some of the deepest and most forceful low bass I've heard in my eighteen months of reviewing next-gen titles. The sheer crunch and realism of the entire frequency spectrum is just as impressive. And I was absolutely shocked that I had no dialogue balance problems.

'Live Free or Die Hard' offers up an absolutely first-rate, 5 star audio presentation.

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


Live Free or Die Hard

Finally we come to the last film in the series. I certainly found it to be the best supplemental package of the four movies, not only because it's the newest but also thanks to the terrific 90-minute documentary and several other valuable extras.

Audio Commentary - Director Len Wiseman, star Bruce Willis and editor Nicholas de Toth all join in for a lively, informative chat. Unfortunately, it's only going to anger fans already pissed that there is no Unrated cut on this Blu-ray. The trio talk at length about their express intent to shoot the film as a "hard R," complete with more blood, bullets and F-bombs (most looped in during ADR). Of course, we don't get to see all of that here, so it's doubly frustrating to not be able to compare the two versions given so much discussion of the differences. Otherwise, the rest of track is strong, touching on all the main points we want to hear about, from revisiting an iconic franchise over a decade since the last installment, to the use of practical stunts versus excessive CGI, to the touchy subject of Willis' age. A solid track all around.

Documentary: "Analog Cop in a Digital World" (SD, 97 minutes) - As much as I enjoyed the audio commentary, it can't compare to this kick-ass doc. This far exceeds the usual EPK crap, and not just because it's so darn long. Fox apparently sent multiple camera crews to the shoot, because we get tons of great fly-on-the-wall footage, plus on-set cast & crew interviews and extensive dissection of the effects and stunts. The doc also provides some good historical context for the film, sure to help newcomers understand 'Live Free's place within the franchise. If you only watch one extra on this disc, make it this one.

Featurette: "Yippie Ki-Yay, Mother******" (SD, 23 minutes) - I was surprised that co-star Kevin Smith didn't chime in on the commentary track (as he's done on so many of his films), but here he gets to sit down for a one-on-one chat with Willis on the Fox lot. It's as rapid-fire as you'd expect, with Smith so full of praise for the 'Die Hard' franchise and the John McClane character that I half expected him to get down on his hands and knees and start shining Willis' shoes.

TV Excerpt: "Fox Movie Channel Presents: Fox Legacy" SD, 6 minutes) - Unlike the great doc, this is just a lame promotional vignette that's basically a commercial for the previous 'Die Hard' films.

Music Video (SD, 5 minutes) - A clip for a really stupid song called "Die Hard" by Guyz Nite. I never thought I'd hear a rock-rap tribute to the 'Die Hard' films, but now I can die with that wish fulfilled.

Featurette: "Behind-the-Scenes with Guyz Nite" (SD, 6 minutes) - Did we really need a featurette on the making of the music video? You almost have to wonder if this one was meant to be a joke.

Theatrical Trailers (HD) - The centerpiece here is a couple of previews for two of Fox's other A-list Blu-ray titles, 'The Simpsons Movie,' 'Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.' Once again, you'll also find trailers for all four 'Die Hard' flicks, plus 'The Siege,' which as I write this hasn't even been announced for Blu-ray yet (is Fox giving us a hint?)

Supplement rating for 'Live Free or Die Hard': 3.5.

HD Bonus Content: Any Exclusive Goodies in There?

Fox hasn't provided much in the way of exclusive features for 'The Die Hard Collection' on Blu-ray. The only genuine new extra can be found on 'Live Free or Die Hard,' and it's only a marginal interactive game. The rest of the exclusives are all interactive functions rather than true bonus content:

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.