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Special Features
- Includes:
- Die Hard
- Commentary by director John McTiernan and production designer Jackson DeGovia
- Scene-specific commentary by special effects supervisor Richard Edlund
- Subtitle commentary by various cast and crew
- Branching version with the extended power shutdown scene back in
- Die Hard 2
- Commentary by director Renny Harlin
- Die Hard with a Vengeance
- Commentary by director John McTiernan
- Bonus fourth disc:
- Wrong Guy, Wrong Place, Wrong Time: A Look Back at Die Hard
- The Continuing Adventures of John McClane
- Live Free or Die Hard teaser trailer
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Directed by Renny Harlin, the 1990 sequel, Die Hard 2 (unofficially referred to as Die Harder), doesn't match the level of the original, but it's still an exciting thrill ride with some terrific action sequences. One year after the Nakatomi incident, McClane (Willis) is awaiting his wife's (Bedelia) plane to arrive at Dulles Airport when he stumbles onto a plot to paralyze the entire airport, including all the planes trying to land. It's up to McClane to take on the cadre of bad guys despite all the bureaucrats standing in his way, and before the planes run out of fuel and crash to the ground. The cast includes William Sadler as rogue military man Col. Stuart, Dennis Franz as the latest bureaucratic cop to get in McClane's way, Richard Thornburg as the annoying reporter from the original movie, John Amos as a special-forces commander, early-in-their-career John Leguizamo and Robert Patrick as terrorists, and future politician and Law and Order actor Fred Thompson as the head of air traffic control.
The third film in the series, Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995), was again directed by John McTiernan and uses a different concept. The villain (played by Jeremy Irons) claims to have planted bombs all over New York City and gives John McClane (Willis), now alchoholic and separated, a series of clues to try to track them down. Along the way, he's aided by, and eventually teams up with, a Harlem shopkeeper named Zeus Carver (Samuel L. Jackson). The interplay between Willis and Jackson is engaging, but better suited to the Lethal Weapon franchise it was previously considered for, and not till the end does the movie return to the familiar McClane-vs.-villains-showdown format.
The 2007 Die Hard Collection is a four-disc set that comes up short when compared to the previous six-disc Ultimate Collection , which is now out of print. That 2001 set had two discs for each film (plus, Die Hard was a Five Star Collection release). This set does away with all of the second discs, though it retains the features that were on the movie-only discs, including director commentaries and the seamlessly branched version of the first film with a scene added back in. There's also a brand-new fourth disc, but it's pretty minor. "Wrong Guy, Wrong Place, Wrong Time" is a 40-minute retrospective of the original movie. Wide-ranging but rather dull, it collects interviews with director John McTiernan, cinematographer Jan De Bont, screenwriters Jeb Stuart and Steven E. De Souza, other crew, and actors Reginald Veljohnson, Hart Bochner, and William Atherton. Also from 2007, "The Continuing Adventures of John McClane" looks at the second and third movies in the series. It's a mere 13 minutes and only interviews the two directors, Renny Harlin and (in new and old footage) John McTiernan. Last, three trailers for the 2007 film, Live Free or Die Hard, make this set look like something that was released merely to have something on the shelves while the new film was in theaters. --David Horiuchi
Product Description
Disc 2: **"Die Harder" Widescreen Feature **Directors commentary
Disc 3: **"Die Hard with a Vengeance" Widescreen Feature **Directors commentary
Disc 4 Bonus Disc: **Inside Look: LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD **Wrong Guy, Wrong Place, Wrong Time: A Look Back At Die Hard **The Continuing Adventures of John McClane
Customer Reviews
How about the other two, for good measure? Die Hard 2: Die Harder has audio commentary with director Renny Harlin; HBO First Look special "The Making Of Die Hard 2"; original making-of featurette; deleted scenes; three visual effects sequence breakdowns and side-by-side comparisons; two mini featurettes on the film's stunts; trailers and TV spots, while Die Hard With a Vengeance will have audio commentary with director John McTiernan; CBS Television special "A Night To Die For; HBO First Look special "The Making of Die Hard With A Vengeance"; original making-of featurette; alternate ending; three special effects and stunt breakdowns; storyboard sequence; trailers and TV spots. All these are 2-discers, by the way. Wow.
After seeing all (and I mean ALL) the other reviews trashing this product, I feel it is necessary to bring attention the positive side to this product (and yes, there is one). The fact of the matter is that, for those movie enthusiasts who don't yet own the Die Hard films in their libraries and/or who have little or no interest in the usually excessive "extras," this package is an excellent value.
For $28.00 you get three great actions movies with some extras (the ones that are probably actually worth watching anyways), a preview of the upcoming fourth Die Hard, as well as a voucher to see it for free when it comes to theaters. It is beyond me how anybody could call this a bad deal.
Comparatively, the previous boxed-set everybody else keeps mentioning is around $10.00 more in price, doesn't include the free movie ticket (a $10.00 or more value in some areas these days), and has fatter cases that will hog more of your precious shelf-space. Sure, they have the infamous "second" discs flaunted by movie studios, but unless you are seriously obsessed with the movies, these second discs usually amount to junk anyways - usually thrown together to give the studio an excuse to inflate the price and bulk up their own profits.
In the end, for the vast majority of movie-watchers, this new edition of the Die Hard collection amounts to a more than ample package and experience, and at a price to "die" for.
**UPDATE** Upon acquiring and opening my copy of this Die hard boxed-set, I have found that the "free" movie voucher is good up to only $8.50 (not $10.00 as I previously mentioned in this review). This is still a sufficient discount, and should cover the majority of one admission - if not all - in most theaters around the country. While this won't affect my score, I do feel readers are entitled to know exactly what they will be getting, and to know that I had no intention to mislead anybody with my previous comments on this feature.
**SECOND UPDATE** Be forewarned, AMC Theatres really don't want to take the Die Hard movie vouchers. I attempted to use mine at the AMC near me recently, and succeeded only after taking my case to the guest services counter. Employees there claimed AMC doesn't honor the vouchers, but nowhere on the voucher or in the theater or its box office was there any form of disclaimer stating so in writing for customers to see freely. So, if you are planning on using your voucher at an AMC, don't be surprised if the cashier turns it down, and be prepared to stand your ground. It's amazing to me that a movie theater would be so reluctant to take a coupon (one for which they get completely reimbursed) issued directly from the very studios that are keeping them in business.
This is a Die Hard set for people like me who don't care about a million extra features and just want to enjoy the movies at an affordable price. Don't get me wrong, it isn't like I dislike extras, but to be honest I only watch them once or twice, so to me it isn't worth the extra cash.
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