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60 of 63 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This Director's Cut 3 DVD Box Set Is What You Want!, December 6, 2001
After Mel Gibson made himself a household name with the Mad Max Trilogy, he took a little time off, then returned to the screen in 1987 for the successful "buddy-cop" movie: Lethal Weapon. You can't deny the chemistry between Gibson's Martin Riggs & Danny Glover's Roger Murtaugh. The relationship has the perfect blend of dramatic heart and humor, which is the key to the success of the film. Initially, no sequel was planned (in fact the original filmed ending had both men saying goodbye forever), but director Richard Donner thought the characters were so good together, he just couldn't end the picture with them going their seperate ways. As a result, Lethal Weapon 2 was released two years later, adding Joe Pesci to the mix of this winning formula as Leo Getz ("Whatever you want...Leo Getz"). With the huge success of the sequel, it was only a matter of time before Lethal Weapon 3 hit theaters in 1992, adding yet another new key character, Rene Russo's Lorna Cole, a sort of "alter ego" of the Martin Riggs character. Since these movies are based on good chemistry between the characters, it's amazing to me how they're able to add new elements without deterring the original winning formula. Blind luck? Or Hollywood genius? You be the judge. Now you may be wondering about which Lethal Weapon DVD Box Set to pick up, since there are two of them available. The first set has the first 3 films as well as Part 4 all together in a nice Black case. The other has only Parts 1-3 in a shiny silver case. Why get the shiny case box set? This is the special "Director's Cut" Legacy edition, which includes added footage to the first 3 Lethal Weapon movies. Lethal Weapon 1 has about 7 minutes of extra footage cut back into the film which adds some more insight into the Martin Riggs character. (...) The other films also have some added footage that are not as involving but still enjoyable to watch. I have to point out to many out there, Director's Cuts can be any length, so that doesn't mean you're going to get 20 minutes of extra footage every time you buy one. You also get DTS sound with this set, which isn't available on the other one. It's true that special features on the discs are pretty slim. But I do urge you to pick up Lethal Weapon 4 separately (Part 4 has a whole side of a disc devoted to extra Features) and enjoy the Lethal Weapon movies in all their glory.
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40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Listen up action fans!, November 5, 2000
I have had the pleasure of viewing this three-pack of action movies, and let me say this: There is no better sound than DTS (for now). If you love Mel Gibson or the Lethal Weapon Series, this is the one to get. Sure there's a four-pack of movies, but I've viewed them too, and well, there is not the quality that you get with this three pack. Trust me I fought tooth and nail for the other set, but viewing them both showed the four-pack is just not as good as this set, especially for the price. Suggestion: Get this set then get Lethal Weapon 4 seperately if you want. It's cheaper in the long run, too!
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18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Gettin' a little more'n what'cha got before..., December 13, 2001
As I'm sure many of you know, if you want to get the ultimate definitive editions (so far) of the first three `Lethal Weapon' flicks, this is the set to get! Included in each movie: at least a few extra minutes that director Richard Donner rescued from the cutting-room floor. Seven minutes are returned to LW1, featuring Murtaugh (Danny Glover) checking if he's still "got it" at the police firing range, Riggs bearing down on a schoolyard sniper, and a few other added bits. The highlight of LW2's new footage is Leo Getz (Joe Pesci) using his skills as a former mob accountant to recall the address of the stilt house. Not too much is added to number 3; probably the most noticeable of this is our heroes' use of a high-performance automobile to wring info out of a high-society gangsta. Sadly, this set is somewhat devoid of special features. I was disappointed that Warner didn't use the `Lethal 4' DVD release (which included a half-hour restrospective and a feature-length commentary track) as the model to go off of for the LW Director's Cut DVDs. Aside from the obligatory trailers & restored scenes, there's not much else to these discs. Only LW2 has a featurette that goes behind-the-scenes during the nighttime helicopters-shooting-at-Riggs'-trailer scene. Still, the sound & picture quality of these discs practically blow away (doh!) their VHS counterparts, which were pretty good themselves. Thanks to those extra background channels, you can really hear the reverb when our heroes start poppin' caps at the bad guys! I only wish Warner would finally get around to releasing their mo-pic DVDs in sturdy plastic keep cases, rather than those fairly flimsy & not-very-durable cardboard snap sleeves they seem to favor... `Late
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