"Bruce Willis stars as New York City Detective John McClane, newly arrived in Los Angeles to spend the Christmas holiday with his estranged wife (Bonnie Bedelia). But as McClane waits for his wife's office party to break up, terrorists take control of the building. While the terrorist leader, Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) and his savage henchman (Alexander Godunov) round up hostages, McClane slips away unnoticed. Armed with only a service revolver and his cunning, McClane launches his own one-man war." --DVD liner summary for Die Hard
Like old habits, good movies Die Hard. It's been thirteen years since John McClane took on his first batch of terrorists at the cinema, establishing in the process another durable template for the genre that Lethal Weapon resuscitated and redefined a year before. By the time Die Hard's second sequel arrived, paradigms had merged: reluctant interracial partners were suckered into the cat-and-mouse game of terrorists. (In fact, the script that became Die Hard with a Vengeance was first considered as the basis for Lethal Weapon 4.) What else could its makers do but a conceptual double-dip? Die Hard's problem, if you will, is that it's an evolved forefather: dozens of imitators followed, including Die Hard 2, with only minor details--the locale, the nature of the love interest--varied, because the film leaves little room for progression, improvement, comment, or subversion.
Impressions, in brief, I got from my trillion-zillionth viewing of Die Hard... I was struck by the twinning of characters: McClane and Al (Reginald Veljohnson), his LAPD confidante, are mirrored in Agents Johnson and Johnson (Robert Davi and Grand L. Bush); Hans and the opportunistic Ellis (Hart Bochner) almost cancel each other out; Deputy Chief Dwayne T. Robinson (Paul Gleason) and tabloid-ready reporter Thornburg (William Atherton, adapting his Ghostbusters performance) share a long face and a short fuse; and Argyle (De'voreaux White) and Theo (Clarence Gilyard Jr.) are the good black driver and the bad--both spend the majority of their screen time in cramped spaces surrounded by luxury technology. This clever motif affirms Die Hard's strong grasp on relativity: its every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
Die Hard is solid, and countless facsimiles haven't threatened its foundation. For an in-depth analysis of the film, I refer thee to Fox's new two-platter "Five Star Collection," where insight from its creators and Die Hard connoisseur Eric Lichtenfeld mingle together on a subtitle track--reams of text pops up in bite-size morsels, all of it nourishing. Lichtenfeld's college thesis on Die Hard is the main source of information, but smart quotes are in supply from even folks like Steven E. de Souza, who penned the script along with Jeb Stuart. De Souza laments the popular confusion of protagonists and antagonists, arguing that writers mixing them up accounts for the failure of so many action films. Damn if he isn't persuasive. That I'm attributing acute thinking to the author of Beverly Hills Cop III and Judge Dredd is nothing short of miraculous--Die Hard's got the Midas touch, and this DVD set is the latest stop on its path of inspiration.
The THX-approved "Five Star Collection" marks Die Hard's first appearance in deluxe form, although it came out once already on a (dark, non-anamorphic) DVD that bested the LaserDisc by virtue of not having side breaks. Remastered for this new edition, the 2.35:1, 16x9-enhanced image improves on either with a transfer that is no longer oversaturated, much better defined, and without any obtrusive edge-enhancement. The colour orange is now under control and Jan De Bont's cinematography looks more accurately lit. There remains the frame delay effect of close-ups in the airplane interior that opens the film, but it ain't a big deal.
The 5.1 sound comes in similar DTS and Dolby Digital configurations; this is an older mix, before the advent of the former. While the subwoofer isn't vibrating every second, I think the bassy depths that Die Hard plumbs will pleasantly surprise, and split surround activity is generous. Maybe it could be louder. (Note: there is an unmotivated rear channel effect to go with some questionable rumble, wherein we see an explosion in the distance but hear it in back.) Other audio options: a full-length commentary by unguarded McTiernan and production designer Jackson DeGuvia (recorded separately) and a partial one from special effects supervisor Richard Edlund. (His observations are intermittent but also explicitly indexed for us; sample chapter title: "65mm and anamorphic: The way God intended movies to be made.") Between the participants, one gains specific appreciation for McTiernan's technique--his command of montage and the geography of a location.
Disc One offers seamless branching access to an alternate cut of Die Hard in which the FBI take an additional step to shut down the skyscraper's power. It's a good though hardly monumental moment, and its sole F/X shot is unfinished and in black-and-white, thus serving to distract. Still, I champion the effort; commentary and subtitles remain functional during this extended version. The final notable extra on Disc One is DVD-ROM access to a Die Hard script-to-screen comparison.
If you ask me, the first thing that any aspiring auteur need own is a video camera. And the second? Die Hard: Five Star Collection, because of a platter's worth of fun lessons in filmmaking that rival, for practicality and affordability, the many textbooks I've read on the subject. There's no shortage of Die Hard arcana, either--the genius of DVD producer David Prior is that his supplemental material simultaneously accommodates for active and passive interests in the movies.
A landing pad interface links six sections and, maybe, just maybe, a "Mr. Bill"-esque Easter egg. Without further ado:
FROM THE VAULT
Is where you'll find, for starters, two sets of outtakes: "The Vault" is a jumble of deleted scenes, alternate takes, and bloopers, and it's here that we finally glimpse an explanation for the radical change in the colour of John's undershirt; "Extended Power Shutdown Scene" is the same omission that has been reinstated for the seamless branching version of the film on Disc One.
- "The Newscasts" is another collection of odds and ends culled from VHS footage of the actors playing the anchors
- "Magazine Articles", a Prior specialty (Titus and Big Trouble in Little China), reproduces a pair of unabridged articles from AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER and CINEFEX, replete with clickable stills
THE CUTTING ROOM
- Scene Editing Workshop - In a word: wow. Back in 1993, The Criterion Collection's Bram Stoker's Dracula enabled LaserDisc owners to retool a scene with the aid of outtakes, but LD's search capabilities were just too slow, imposing a gap between viewer edits. Prior's recycled the idea to much better effect for this package, allowing us to reassemble three sequences (a two-part encounter between Hans and Takagi in the boardroom and McClane's venture into the air ducts) from a selection of takes. We can check our "final cut" against the release version. When this exercise is over, you'll realize how talented Die Hard's editors, Frank J. Urioste and John F. Link, really are. For the smoothest results, try it on DVD-ROM.
- Multi-Camera Shooting - Sometimes, there are no second takes--can't implode a building twice. Plus, a lone piece of static coverage does an editor no favours. This is a multi-angle presentation of three sequences filmed from different directions. I perhaps would've enjoyed seeing the various angles together on one screen in synch, although achieving that is next to impossible without significantly diminishing the size and effectiveness of each.
- Audio Mixing - Another educational wannabe-director's aid. Raise or lower the volume of dialogue, music, and foley for the big number where McClane has foiled Hans with an empty gun and Hans' goons aim for the glass. Of course, a real mixer literally prepares hundreds of tracks, but the gimmick sharply illustrates the consolidating power of sound.
- Why Letterbox - A from-the-hip demonstration of why Die Hard looks terrible in pan-and-scan, hosted by Prior and telecine operator Larry Yore. A must for DVD newbies.
- Glossary - It won't replace Ira Konigsberg's The Complete Film Dictionary, but this listing of terms and their definitions, running the gamut from "180º Rule" to "Work Print," will come in handy for those who find the DVD's scattered jargon alienating.
Moving on...
INTERACTIVE SLIDESHOW
A soothing animated gallery of production stills that occasionally lights up with the Nakatomi Corporation logo (modelled after a samurai insignia). Toggle on it, and you'll be treated to blueprints and other goodies.
THE SCRIPT
The shooting screenplay in full; a DVD-ROM drive is not required to read it here, unlike Disc One's script-to-screen feature.
AD CAMPAIGN
Three trailers, seven TV spots (I forgot that Die Hard opened in limited engagement before going wide), and a circa 1988 making-of featurette (7 mins.). To be honest, the heading got my mouth watering for reproductions of the one sheet and the like, so despite the plethora of previews on hand, this area felt weak to me.
DVD-ROM FEATURES
'net stuff and game demos of Alien vs. Predator, Sanity, and Alien Resurrection.
When my gripe is confined to the contents, or lack thereof, of a single submenu, I say break out the watered-down champagne and make fists with your toes. (Aside: the majority of Disc Two is anamorphically enhanced, to boot!) To Mr. Prior's habit of crafting marvellous Special Edition DVDs: Die Hard.-Bill Chambers
© Film Freak Central; filmfreakcentral.net. This review may not be reprinted, in whole or in part, without the express consent of its author.
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DVD GRADES:
Image A
Sound A
Extras A+
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DVD VITALS:
RunningTime
132 minutes
MPAA
R
AspectRatio(s)
2.35:1 ONLY, 16x9-enhanced
Languages
English DD 5.1,
English DTS 5.1,
English Dolby Surround,
French Dolby Surround
CC
Yes
Subtitles
English, Spanish
2 DVD-9s
Region One
Fox
the critic
Buy the DIE HARD poster at Moviegoods (click on image)
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Published: June 29, 2001
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