Die Hard Collection
Posted by admin | Posted in Movies | Posted on 07-07-2010
5
Description
Disc 1: DIE HARD BLU-RAY Disc 2: DIE HARDER BLU-RAY Disc 3: DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE BLU-RAY Disc 4: LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD BLU-RAYAmazon.com
Die Hard is the movie franchise that made a movie star out of TV star Bruce Willis, and created an entire action-movie genre of its own. In the original 1988 film, Willis plays wisecracking New York cop John McClane, who arrives at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles to meet up with his estranged wife, Holly (Bonny Bedelia), a… More >>
When I think Blu-ray, I expect high quality video and sound, otherwise there is no point to buying a blu-ray version of an already existing dvd.
The first two movies, Die Hard 1 & 2 from the 80′s, look terrible visually. FOX did a horrible job in re-mastering these for blu-ray, or they did not re-master them at all. It is possible they used the regular dvd’s and just up-converted them without remastering/restoring them digitally. Sound is decent. The third film, Die Hard with a Vengeance is more recent from the 90′s, but it doesn’t look great. The fourth film does look good and sounds great, but it would be more convenient to just purchase the fourth film as a blu-ray version and get the first three on regular DVD if you don’t own them already. You would save a lot more money and you would be getting the same thing as this box set here. FOX definitely messed up with this whole set.
Rating: 2 / 5
First, let me start by saying I love the Die Hard movies. So when I saw this collection on BD, I just couldn’t refuse!
You already know the movies, so let’s get to the overall package.
Positives:
+ DTS MA on every movie that really reinvigorates the films
+ Good set of extras, not a single feature from the standard DVDs is left out, making you think these are the definitive versions to have
+ Special box saves you space on shelf and keeps discs safe. It’s a little bigger than the Planet Earth – The Complete BBC Series [Blu-ray] boxset (without the slipcase).
+ Exactly the same discs as individual releases, so you’re not getting gimped versions of the already released BD movies –they’re the same.
+ Live Free or Die Hard is a total show-stopper, demo material, A+ reference disc. Both in terms of video and audio, this is one of the best movies to showcase what High Definition is all about (and the movie itself is a great ride, btw)
Negatives:
- In the first three movies, both subtitles and dubs in spanish are CASTILLIAN, not Latin American. Why on earth did FOX included castillian dubs/subs on an AMERICAN, region locked disc, goes beyond me. They should know by now that most latin people HATE the castillian dubbing, specially when these movies have such great voice acting. Granted, I always prefer to watch movies in their original languaje w/subs, but there’s always the chance to borrow or watch the movie with people that prefer to hear it in their own language. Even the regionalized castilian subtitles are distracting. This is not a problem on the 4th movie. The voice acting and subs are the way they should be for an american release.
- The first 2 movies look downright awful, to the point it seems you put the SE DVD and upconverted it. Time is totally not an excuse: just look at the impressive video quality of Batman: The Movie [Blu-ray]: a 40 yo movie that looks absolutely fantastic (more than it deserves, if I may be so bold). And that flick is probably just being released to make a quick buck on the batman fever, so FOX, you’re telling me you couldn’t give a AAA movie such as Die Hard a proper transfer? Come on…
- The 3rd movie looks way better, but still does not compare to the visual blast that is Live Free or Die Hard.
- The 4th movie is the theatrical, PG-13 version, not the UNRATED one. Again, what’s going on here! Simply put, FOX could have put both version on the same disc via seamless branching. This has been a reality since the days of DVD, and there are a couple BD that have this feature already, so NO excuse.
- The special features on every disc are Standard Def. only to the point most of them look like VHS (this is no exaggeration). Not a single drop of remastering love (let alone HD treatment) has been poured on even the alternate endings.
Bottom line? This is looking like a future double dip. If you don’t care for extras or hearing the movies in a language other than English, this will probably suit you fine, even without the unrated cut of Live Free or Die Hard.
However, this is far from being the Definitive version of the movies to have, to the point of getting me wondering if FOX actually knows the fact that this edition of the movie should be the one for all the american continent. Moreso, I’m left guessing if they care about what their public wants: both their High Definition users and their non-north american audience.
Rating: 3 / 5
I grew up with the Die Hard movies. I really liked the 1st movie and am in the minority becuase I also enjoyed the second. The 3rd and 4th movie I liked, though not as much, because they didn’t feel like Die Hard movies as much as the first two did. 1&2 consentrated mostly on John McClain. With the 3rd you had Samuel Jackson. He was a big focus during the movie, but was similar enough to Bruce Willis’ character that it didn’t distract too much from the movie.
With the 4th movie, it didn’t feel like Die Hard so much. At times, it almost felt like a sequel to 16 blocks, that had been watered down to a PG13. Don’t get me wrong though, I did enjoy the movie, but it definitely isn’t the Die Hard I grew up with.
The audio was very good on all films, but I was disappointed by the earlier films video quality. After recently seeing what Warner Bros. were able to do for Blade Runner, the first two movies are pretty disappointing. BR is 25 years old and they were able to make it look like it was made almost yesterday (except for obviously dated tech). I wish they would have taken a little more time and cleaned up the films better.
While this is a good deal for all 4 movies, you might want to wait for an unrated version before purchasing these. I’m hoping the reason there wasn’t an unrated blu-ray version is that they’re going back to do some re-edits to make it better than the unrated version released on DVD.
Rating: 3 / 5
The Die Hard films are the greatest action series ever made. This is a small collection of the trilogy. It does not have all the extras of the six disc ultimate box set that was released a couple years ago, but you get what you are paying for here. For $30 you get the three films. You can look at it as only getting half of the old box set, but you are getting it for half the price as well.
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.
Rating: 5 / 5
Let me start by assuring you that, no, I am not employed by Fox or the production or development teams behind the Die Hard franchise, nor am I one of the actors / actresses involved. I’m just a regular movie buff like most everybody else who surfs the movie pages on Amazon. Now that that is out of the way . . .
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.
Rating: 5 / 5