The Die Hard Trilogy is a complete set of action packed films starring Bruce Willis; the films revolutionized action films during the 90’s making the films a huge international hit. The trilogy consisted of 3 films; (Die Hard, Die Hard 2 Die Harder & Die Hard with a Vengeance) a synthesis of each film I listed below.
Die Hard: Directed by John McTiernan, the film was released in cinemas in 1988 becoming a huge hit with gross profits of £80 million in America alone. The film revolves around a central character by the name of John McClane (Bruce Willis) an NYPD cop who travels to Los Angelis to visit is estranged wife Holly (Bonnie Bedelia). Her Christmas work party is taking place at the company office, Nakatomi Plaza. However, the party soon turns into a disaster when armed men raid the building, holding everyone hostage, whilst McClane is upstairs unaware of what is happening. The armed men led by Hans Gruber are after six hundred and forty million dollars worth of bearer bonds placed in the buildings security vault. Holly’s boss who is unwilling to meet their demands is shot dead, and everyone soon realizes what might happen, including McClane who here’s the shots. McClane must find a way of communicating with the outside world, and sees a police patrol car. He throws a body out of the building, landing on the car, with what seems like a message on the body. The patrol officer LAPD Sgt Al Powell and McClane must work together and the police are soon notified about the situation. The hostages however refuse to give up, and promise to execute hostages if the police enter the building. It is up to McClane to save this life of his wife and the other hostages, and take back control of Nakatomi Plaza. Action packed adventure from start to finish.
Die Hard 2, Die Harder: The second installment was released in 1990 and grossed more than $239 million worldwide. The film once again follows John McClane, one year after the incident at the Nakatomi Plaza. McClane now a LA cop is at the airport on Christmas Eve waiting for his wife after they reconciled their differences. Once in the airport McClane notices a group of men wearing army clothes, looking very suspicious. Deciding to follow them, he ends up in the Baggage handling room, where
he has to fight both men off, killing one, whilst the other escapes. McClane now requests to see the airport police, managed by foolish police Captain Lorenzo. Lorenzo is quick to squash McClane’s suspicions, and has him thrown out of the building. McClane takes matters into his own hand and decides to finger print the dead guy and send it back to Al Powell (The cop from Die Hard). To their surprise the prints are of a man who supposedly dies several years ago, and McClane’s suspicions of something being wrong deepen. The truth is that an army officer plans on taking over the airport, controlling everything from traffic control, lighting etc. His intensions are to allow a plane carrying a Central American general, Esperanza, who is a wanted man. McClane must stop the men, before they reach total havoc over the planes in the sky, one of which is carrying his wife.
Die Hard with a Vengeance: The third instalment in the trilogy, released in1995, grossing well over $361 million worldwide, making it the most financially successful Die Hard Film. The film once again follows John McClane, who this time is accompanied by Zeus (Samuel L Jackson) on a wild chase around the city. Peter Krieg is seeking revenge on McClane for the death of his brother Hans Gruber (Alan Richman) during the climax of the first film. Krieg has plotted several bombs around the city and wants McClane and Zeus to track them down, giving them clues to the whereabouts of each bomb. However, little do they no that the bombs are a diversion and Krieg plans to rob the high security vault in the basement of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. McClane and Zeus must work as a team and try to stop the gang from getting away with hundreds of millions of dollars in gold, whilst also finding the bombs.
My Opinion on the movies: All three movies in this trilogy are just superb; they really changed the way action films were made during the early 90’s. A well thought out plot, with once central character for all three films, made this film so much better to watch. The storyline for each film was unique, and always led to McClane being sent into save the day. However what’s really good about the story is that they change it dramatically in each film, thus making it fresh and new and still very exciting to watch. In my opinion Die hard 2, Die Harder was perhaps the best out of the trilogy, because it used the theme of an airport very well, and dealt with a real scenario of terrorists taking over the airport. Furthermore, the action is more intense in this film, as McClane, more caring for his wife is determined not to loose her. Another great quality is that the film is packed with action from start to finish, and the run time is just perfect, there is not a moment in the film were you feel like walking out or leaving early, because you’ll miss something big.
John McClane’s character is brilliant, he strong, powerful and in a no nonsense action hero, add to that the humour he brings it makes it a joy to watch. Bruce Willis is a great actor with many great performances such as Tiers of the Sun and the Green Mile, but I will always remember him for the performances he made in these films, simply brilliant. His use of one liners and famous quotes has made him an iconic character.
Die Hard Trilogy, Special Edition Box Set 6 discs
- Cast: Bruce Willis, Bonnie Bedelia, Reginald VelJohnson, Alan Rickman, Alexander Godunov, Robert Davi, William Atherton, William Sadler, John Amos, Dennis Franz, Fred Dalton Thompson, Jeremy Irons, Samuel L. Jackson, Graham Greene. - Director: John McTiernan, Renny Harlin - Certificate: 18 - Year of films release: Die Hard (1988), Die Hard 2, Die Harder (1990), Die Hard 3, With a Vengeance (1995) - Screen: Widescreen 2.35:1 anamorphic - Languages: English, Dolby Digital 5.1 - Subtitles: English - Run Time: 6 hours and 19 minutes approx - Region: Region 2 DVD
Special Features with DVD Box Set: Die Hard 1: - Audio commentary with director John McTiernan and production designer Jackson DeGovia - Second scene specific commentary with visual effects producer Richard Edlund - Text commentary - learn about the making of the film from these detailed comments from cast and crew - Special branching version - view the film with a deleted scene re-inserted - The Cutting Room - Scene-editing workshop: choose shots from different scenes within the film and re-edit to create your own unique scene - Audio mixing: manipulate the dialogue, music and sound effects - Multi-camera shooting - 'Why Letterbox?' featurette - Glossary including definitions of filmaking and editing terms - Outtakes with various audio streams - a mixture of short, deleted scenes, outtakes/alternate takes - Deleted Scenes: 'Turning off the Power' - The newcasts - original footage of news reports which appear in film, including extended and alternate takes - Magazine articles - Featurette with cast and crew interviews and behind-the-scenes footage - Theatrical trailers - Entire shooting script - Interactive slide show with 94 publicity and behind-the-scenes stills Die Hard 2: - Audio commentary by Renny Harlin - Making of - Featurette - Deleted scenes - Renny Harlin interview - Villain's Profile featurette - Behind the scenes storyboards featurette - Side by side comparisons - Visual effects sequences - 4 trailers Die Hard 3: - Audio commentary - Behind the scenes featurette - 'A Night To Die For/McClane Is Back' featurette - Die Hard 3 featurette - 4 behind the scenes featurettes - Alternative ending - Interview with Bruce Willis - Villain's profile featurette - 7 visual effects sequence - Theatrical trailers - Easter egg gag reel
What’s really good about the DVD box set are the exceptional number of bonus material the buyer gets along with the three great quality movies already included. The inclusion of storyboards and visual concept allows us to see just how the idea of the film was created and how the character of John McClane was created. We see behind the scene’s footage of each film, which again give us an aspect of involvement in the film. We get to here how the director envisioned the film, and whether the films have lived up to his expectations, this is done through running commentary during certain scenes. The extra deleted scenes included in the DVD features really make an extra benefit in the DVD. For example, we get an insight into the alternate ending of Die Hard with a Vengeance. The idea by director John McTiernan was fir Simon to escape with the millions of dollars in gold. A few months later McClane would track down Simon to another country, rings him and asks him if he wants to play a game called “McClane says…” A Russian roulette game involving a Chinese rocket launcher with the sights removed meaning you couldn’t tell which end was which. McClane would ask a series of question to Simon, and would end with Simon getting the unanswerable question wrong and him being blown up. This in my opinion would have been a very interesting ending, compared to the one that they used, however the writers felt that this would hinder McClane’s character and make him seem darker and un companionable. McClane is supposed to be a nice guy, and this bad side would ruin the whole meaning of his character. Furthermore, the DVD features also include other deleted scene’s which were not used in any of the three films. We also get a character profile of each cast member, giving a brief introduction of who they are, past performances in films, and the role they play in that particular film.
All in all this is a really good buy for any Die Hard fan. Besides the general three films, the DVD extras will blow your mind away, and for this reason I recommend the purchase of this DVD to anyone and everyone. A five out of five rating from me.
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