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Currently a Herritage Assistant in Islington...loving my new job!
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Die Hard was one of those movies I almost grew up with. Over the past ten years it has developed somewhat of a ‘cult’ status, everyone knows who John McClane is…and more to the point everyone has that mental image of Bruce Willis in a dirty vest! Around five years ago I was bought the box set of Die Hard movies on DVD, and was rather disappointed by them. With only three discs and NO extras the series was crying out for a rerelease. Last year, to my amazement I found a 6 disc box set of the Die Hard films! Yes, it is just as good as you would expect, jam packed full of extras, plus the three original films presented in 5.1 surround sound (trust me machine guns sound VERY loud!) The presentation of these films is excellent, each film coming in its own box. This is more useful than you would think, as a housemate is borrowing the 2nd in the trilogy, but I have the others upstairs with me. Overall, the price of £31.99 at HMV is well worth paying for these highly entertaining films.
So, what exactly do you get? The first box contains two discs, the first being that of the film ‘Die Hard’ and the second being the special features. Die Hard is a special movie, hugely enjoyable and a film that can be watched time and time again. Be warned however that it is extremely violent, which is why it warrants an 18 certificate. Set at Christmas 1988, director John McTiernan expertly tells the story of John McClane
(Bruce Willis) a man who is quite simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. McClane is a New York cop visiting his wife in LA for the Christmas holidays. When he arrives at his wife’s (Bonnie Bedelia)office however terrorists attack. Luckily for McClane he is in the bathroom and so the terrorists do not realise he is there. This is where the fun begins! With fourteen terrorists taking control of the building McClane takes it upon himself to save the hostages, and literally embarks upon a one man mission. Armed with only a small hand gun somehow he manages to kill seven of the terrorists before the FBI even arrive upon the scene. The terrorists Hans Gruber (yes folks a German terrorist!) is played superbly by Alan Rickman, whose German accent can only be commended. Not wanting to spoil the ending I will not describe the plot anymore, other than to say expect lots of shooting, explosions, and an extremely sweaty vest!
The second disc that accompanies the film contains the extras. To be honest I was a little disappointed by these, but they are better than the previously non-existent ones of the first bow set. 20th Century Fox provide us with a few outtakes and deleted scenes, theatrical trailers and new reel footage. Where is the making of documentary I hear you cry?
The second box predictably contains the second film and the second lot of extras. I would actually say that the second film if better than the first, though I am aware people will disagree with me. Released in 1990, ‘Die Hard 2: Die Harder’ is again set at Christmas. Though the time hasn’t changed the director has, McTiernan being replaced by Renny Harlin. Once again John McClane is superbly played by Bruce Willis and Bonnie Bedelia returns to play his wife Holly. So, how did they manage to create yet another such well received film? An airport is this time taken over by terrorists, this time instead of money they are trying to secure the release of a drugs baron who is flying into the airport under armed guard. The terrorists flew their muscles, sending planes crashing to the ground. McClane gets involved because the plane his wife is on is circling the skies above them, unable to land because of the terrorists, but running dangerously low on fuel. With or without the help of the police John McClane takes it upon himself to kill the terrorists and save his wife. Really this is a case of similar plot…different location.
It has to be said the extras disc of the second movie has much more to offer than the first Finally they include the elusive making of documentary I had been waiting for! Though short at only 15 minutes this kind of thing is exactly what fans of the series want to see. Again they give us deleted scenes, a featurette and theatrical trailers. All in all this is exactly what any Die Hard fan could wish for.
The third film is again presented in the same format, one disc for the film and other disc for the special features. Made in 1995 we see a change to the usual format of the film, in fact a lot of things have changed. For ‘Die Hard with a Vengeance’ the location is New York, where John McClane has gone back to being a New York cop, having finally split up from his wife. His day is no better than in the previous two films however, as terrorists blow up a large part of downtown New York, and specifically asks to deal with John McClane. What makes this film different is the fact McClane is given a partner to work with, the unlikely hero of Samuel L Jackson. The inclusion of Jackson signals a classic film! The terrorists play a game with McClane as he has to rush across New York and get to ringing telephones in time, or the terrorists will blow up another bomb, this time in a school. This time the leader of the terrorist is superbly played by Jeremy Irons, and yet again he is playing a German…could there be a connection to the first film? Again, I don’t want to give away too much. This film has less shooting than in the previous two, but more high speed chases and explosions than you would think is possible in a two hour movie!
As for the special features, they finally seem to have got things right at the third time of asking. Here we have a behind the scenes featurette, another featurette entitled ‘McClane is back’, four behind the scenes mini documentaries, theatrical trailers, basically everything you could want from an extras disc. I was watching the sixth and final disc for over an hour, which in my eyes is excellent. Added to this there is a booklet specially made for the collector’s edition detailing how the films were made. The booklet comes complete with pictures but in all honesty takes about ten minutes to flick through. Overall I cannot recommend the Die Hard Trilogy enough. Presented in 5.1 Dolby surround sound it sounds amazing, and all three of them look fantastic too! All three are genuinely exciting, keeping you on the edge of your seat right until the last moment. All in all these are an absolute classic and seriously worth the money! Well done 20th Century Fox for producing such a good box set.
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Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Action/Adventure - Director: Peter Jackson - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring:Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Liv Tyler, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Andy Serkis
Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
![Die Hard Trilogy (6 Disc Collector's Edition) [DVD] [1988]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78499637.jpg "Die Hard Trilogy (6 Disc Collector's Edition) [DVD] [1988]")
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