Die Hard Trilogy [DVD]

A masterclass in how action films should be made, the Die Hard Quadrilogy contains some of the most exciting scenes ever put to film.It must be hard to see it from its release date point of view now, but back in the late 80's Die Hard was a visceral, thundering and amazingly inventive new approach to the action film, deservedly launching Willis into superstardom on the back of a superbly funny and wry turn as nervous off-duty cop John McClane catapulted against his will into a face-off against brilliantly played terrorists in a series of breathtaking set pieces.Die Hard 2 almost matched the magic, going a little camper with its villains but still shocking with a body count that made the papers and some incredibly stylised and exciting action scenes (if the sadistic air controller moments following Willis' SWAT team shootout dont have you on the edge of your seat, you're watching the wrong movies).Die Hard With a Vengeance tried a twist on the genre, playing it across a city instead of in a locked-down terrorist-held locale with limited success, helped by Samuel L Jackson's surly store manager and both helped and hindered by a too-camp Jeremy Irons playing a lethal game of Simon-Says with McClane in a very personal vendetta. It's a little preachy and some of the set pieces suffer from a lack of tension (surprisingly since this is original Die Hard director McTiernan returning to the series). However, many find this one of the most appealing.Die Hard 4.0 rockets back with a cyberterrorism threat and Willis fighting organised chaos with the help of good comic foil Justin Long as an asthmatic hacker dragged (literally) along for the ride after an exhilerating apartment-block shoot-out. Maggie Q and Timothy Olyphant provide the lethal kicks and glowers as the bad-guy couple with Olyphant especially worth his weight in comic but vicious gold, ably assisted by freerunning henchmen and some breathtaking stunts. An F-35/freeway stunt nearly pushes the believability bar too far, but Willis and co bring it back. A terrific return to form that feels as old-school as promised.Buy it - its the best action ever made.

Just loved thes movies.DIE HARD: is an amazing movie, great story and action throughout made all the more by the late (and sadly missed) Alan Rickman with his voice and style he really stole the movie from Bruce.This is the Best of them all.DIE HARD 2 is again good, not as good as the first one but still a lot better then most other action movies could ever hope to be. This time it happens at an airport.DIE HARD WITH A VENGENCE, this to me was the last of the great Die hards again with "Train" loads of action. This time with Jeremy Irons as the villian with an equally great story that you don't "get" till it unravels, slowly.DIE HARD 4.0, It's not bad, better than "Okay" but not as good as the first 3 but still "WAYYY" better then DIE HARD 5, hence the reason I bought the boxset that doesn't have "5".The action and story in "4" are good. Maybe the action is a little "Over The Top" compared to the earlier ones but it's okay to dismiss logic for a couple of hours and just lose yourself in over the top action, yes, it's good.There are a few boxsets out there for these movies and if you like the 5th installment, then there is a boxset out that has all of them. I didn't like number 5 and decided to just buy this boxset with the first 4 and it is good. there are no extras here, just the movies, but thats fine as I only need the films.If your a fan then this is a great boxset. Enjoy!.

Popcorn 🍿 filmFirst 3 brilliant4 film not so good 😕

Die Hard (5/5)Die Hard is not 'your typical action film'. No way. And anyone who would view it as such really ought to stick with Twilight and Narnia.In the Sixties, author Roderick Thorp wrote a novel, The Detective, which was turned into a movie, starring Frank Sinatra in the title role of Joe Leland. A sequel, Nothing Lasts Forever, was written, in which Joe becomes trapped in the Claxxon Oil Corporation skyscraper after it is taken over by German terrorists and he has to rescue his daughter and grandchildren. Two decades later, the skyscraper becomes Nakatomi, the daughter becomes the wife, Leland becomes John McClane and the title becomes Die Hard.To say that Die Hard sets new standards for action movies is like calling Bill Gates modestly wealthy. The movie was so innovative and groundbreaking that dozens of rip-offs followed - Passenger 57, Under Siege, Cliffhanger, Sudden Death, et al. Hostage/terrorist movies were all the rage in the early Nineties.Very few came close, because Die Hard had so many strong points, not least of which was Alan Rickman's cold performance, as Hans Gruber - also the name of the villain in Our Man Flint - the classically educated, smartly dressed terrorist leader. This is not some hammy guy in a chain-mail shirt with a Freddy Mercury mustache. Gruber would have been well at home on Wall Street.His plan is to break into the vault on the 30th floor of the Nakatomi Plaza and take away $640million in negotiable bearer bonds. When he and his 12 European henchmen round up the office workers, who are enjoying a Christmas Eve party, one man slips away unnoticed. He is John McClane, a New York cop who has come to LA to settle down with his estranged wife, Holly (Bonnie Bedelia). The odds are against him. But that's just the way he likes it.The terrorists even have names. And we remember them. Most action movies these days have unidentified heavies, played by stunt men, who are lined up and knocked over.In his battle to save his Holly, McClane is scorched, torched, beaten and blown up. He jumps off the roof and falls through air ducts. He uncovers deception and double-cross and picks broken glass out of his bare feet. No help comes from the naive and incompetent police, who are unable to get inside, and even less from the FBI.McClane is not a supercop. He is an ordinary guy, who doesn't want a fight. When he is shot, he bleeds. He hurts. All he has are his pants, his vest, his gun - which runs out of ammo. This is the first realistic connection the audience has. When you don't want to be in McClane's position, it makes for much excitement.John McTiernan, who's only previous mainstream movie was Predator, uses awesome anamorphic Panavision photography and technical skills to give the film a truly polished and sophisticated look - it was nominated for four technical Academy Awards. He also allows for enough time for decent character development, most of which comes between McClane and a cop (Reginald Veljohnson) he makes friends with on a CB radio.Die Hard manages to be heart-pounding and teeth-gritting every single time. It's lost some of it's respect in recent years as action films, post-1999, have tried endlessly to imitate The Matrix and use digital effects in place of real stunts (I'm pointing a big finger at Die Hard 4.0, which doesn't exist to me), which is a really big loss and signaled the beginning of the end of the true, tough guy action film.Die Hard 2: Die Harder (3/5)The first, and worst, sequel to Die Hard (until Die Hard 4, if you count that as a real Die Hard film...which I don't), is terrorized by the same plot as the original. While waiting for his wife's plane to arrive at Dulles Airport (on Xmas Eve), McClane notices a few suspicious exchanges between a group of men amidst the busy yuletide passengers.Before you know he is neck deep in trouble with an army of mercenaries, led by Colonel Stewart (William Sadler), who are hell-bent on setting free a corrupt South American General/Drug Baron (Franco Nero). There are more bad guys than before. And more suspension of disbelief is required.There are so many plot holes and illogical moments that the film almost drowns in its own absurdity. But there is enough action and stunts to cancel it out and distract our attention. Though they not presented in a breathtaking or memorable way. It's all too generic and a bit mean-spirited. No audience nowadays would be satisfied with it so prepare yourself for 80's violence with lots of superfluous F-Bombs.William Sadler and Franco Nero lack the callous efficiency of Alan Rickman. And a hero can only be measured by his nemesis. But most of the time McClane is just capping off nameless Mercs. How boring. Tho this should not be blamed on Sadler, he has a threatening and intense presence and as he has proven himself in movies like Trespass and Demon Knight. Too bad his character here is so badly written and underdeveloped. I'm sorry but blowing up 250 people off-screen to show how evil you are just won't cut it.This movie without a doubt certified Renny Harlin as an action director. It was a tough, and huge, movie to pull off. Only he just did it off with no particular charm, it's very workman-like. Though he does a wonderful job of capturing the look and feel of an East Coast winter. The wide-open snowfields and ice-covered runways will definitely make you feel chilly and gives it a more Xmas-y look than the first film.Although this is another problem. The first Die Hard worked entirely within the space of Nakatomi Plaza. It was claustrophobic and almost plausible. The scale and scope of Die Hard 2 is too big for its own good. The staples of reality are ripped out with ignorance and over-confidence. The bulk of the film is nothing but one dumb action scene after another. It doesn't make for coherent viewing.Die Hard 2 is a definite lag in between both of McTiernan's very strong outings. By today's standards it seems dated and very 90's. Which is a shame considering the original and 'With A Vengeance' are, in a way, 'timeless'. It's movies like this that inspired 'Last Action Hero'.Die Hard with a Vengeance (5/5)Summer 1995, what a time to be an impressionable 14-year-old. I pity kids these days who are bombarded with CGI PG-13 garbage when I had Die Hard 3, Waterworld, and Under Siege 2 to warp my young mind. It was an eventful summer, but Die Hard with a Vengeance was THE big release for me.Set five years after the lackluster Die Harder, McClane is now back with the NYPD, only he's been suspended for being a miserable, smelly drunk - making him even more of an underdog hero. Basically, he's got no dignity left, but Hans Gruber's brother Simon still intends to cast him down even further.A department store in Manhattan goes boom, proving that Simon has the firepower and the moxie to deliver his threats. If McClane can jump through humiliating hoops for him in a high-stakes game of 'Simon Says' the day will end with no further explosions, but the tasks Simon sets for him are virtually impossible, making McClane suspicious that the revenge plot is just a ruse for something bigger.In the course of his ritual humiliation McClane meets Zeus (Samuel L. Jackson in his 3rd of many movies with Willis), a Harlem handyman who he strikes a tenuous but eventually warm friendship with. Together they tear through New York, a wide-open playground filled with outrageous set-pieces in pursuit of Simon.John McTiernan (a REAL Die Hard director) stages some ruthless action scenes, perfectly edited, perfectly shot, and with some clever touches you might not notice if you switch your brain off. Die Hard 3 is a template for how proper, R-rated action films should be made. One thing I particularly like is that McTiernan keeps all of the action shot from a pedestrian point of view. There's virtually no establishing shots of New York, a city already overdone with helicopter flyover shots to transition two scenes together. Peter Menzies' wonderful anamorphic Panavision photography, with its naturalized color pallet and wide angles is a million miles away from how action movies are shot these days. Future filmmakers need to study how older, better movies were made and John McTiernan's Die Hard movies are the best examples.Also returning for the third time is Michael Kamen, delivering a fun, exciting score that is made even more enjoyable thanks to his completely wonderful rendition of 'When Johnny Comes Marching Home'. Wisecracks, humor, swearing, blood squibs, a great villain, and a smart story - this IS a summer action movie, and the last true Die Hard film.And keep a lookout for an appropriate Loaded Weapon reference.Die Hard 4.0 (1/5)A Die Hard 4 was discussed and thrown around for years. There was a point when Tears of the Sun was supposed to be Die Hard 4, with John McClane crashing a plane in the jungle and leading the survivors to safety through a war-zone. In my opinion, the series ended perfectly with the brilliant Die Hard With A Vengeance. After so many false starts it had been 12 years since we last saw John McClane. He was in his late 30s then, now he's in his early 50s. A lot has happened to Hollywood action films in that space of time. By that I mean they have lost their nerve and all of their edge.Too often our summer movies are nothing but PG-13 crap, designed for the kiddies. Die Hard has always been a hardcore action series, it is a slap in the face and an insult to fans that this unnecessary fourth installment be aimed at an audience that was only 1-year old when the DHWAV was released and an audience that is STILL not old enough to see any of those movies in the first place.But asides from that, LFODH has it's own problems that not even an R-rating could fix. First of all...Len Wiseman! Why the hell did Fox give this precious franchise to a man who has only directed two awful Underworld movies? Did they learn nothing from AVP when they gave hack Paul Anderson control? We all know what garbage that ended up being. Ironically surnamed Wiseman's style of direction just does NOT suit Die Hard. Gone is the naturalized cinematography of McTiernan and even Harlin. In it's place is a horrid low brightness/high contrast look that has been popular in this post-Michael Bay world. It makes the action and locations quite blurred and incoherent and it sticks out like a sore thumb compared to the other movies. And what's with that silly font in the opening credits? DH2 and DHWAV didn't even have opening credits. Bruce Willis is the only alumni here. Not even any of the original producers are involved. This is not a Die Hard film. Aesthetically and spiritually, this is something completely different, and vastly inferior.McClane, still a NYPD Detective, despite the ending of DHWAV (hints at alcoholism and being a suspect in the Federal Reserve raid) is sent to pick up computer wiz-kid Matt Farrell (Justin Long, who doesn't appear to be aging) to help the NSA figure out why computer networks across the country are malfunctioning. Right away nameless baddies are onto them but McClane offs them no sweat. But not all of them, he foolishly leaves the main henchmen alive for some reason (to make more movie).It turns out that shockingly unscary 'terrorist' Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Elephant) is behind the computer villainy and is out for revenge against the government for firing him after all the hard work he put in for them (just like Travis Dane in Under Siege 2). He's got the brains and the manpower to take the entire US network in to his vice-like grip and send the country back to the stone age. No one can find him since all of his equipment is packed onto a large moving vehicle to keep the signal's transparent and untraceable (just like Travis Dane in Under Siege 2).Oh God...why did they not get someone else to play this character? Timothy Elephant clearly has no clue how to play a baddie. His idea of sounding threatening is to to move his lips around while talking but never actually opening his mouth. Ooooh...gee don't hurt me! And why Kevin Smith? This really was a step too far. This man doesn't belong in a Die Hard film, plain and simple. All this was was a wink at the audience and another excuse for him to plug Star Wars for the 86 millionth time. Wrong, just wrong!The action scenes are mildly entertaining, but they are shot and cut with the usual post-Michael Bay confusion. You never really feel like your part of it or feel McClane's danger. And I am sick of Willis and Co. promoting this as 'old-school' with 'real stunts'. You can clearly tell that the majority of it is still crappy CGI. And the cop car/helicopter explosion is just too far-fetched, regardless of how much you can suspend your disbelief. Did a five-year-old write this? That kind of stunt may work fine when you're playing with your Matchbox cars but not in a Die Hard movie.The lack of swearing didn't bother me too much. You can tell that they did have a lot of cussing in the original cut but were forced to loop some ADR over the top of it after studio pressure. The Blu-ray features the theatrical cut, even though there was a fake 'Unrated Harder Yipe-kay-ay Version You've Never Before Seen' released to DVD.Marco Beltrami's score is also a total letdown. After his autopilot hack-job of Terminator 3, why did they let him have control of someone else's themes? The late Michael Kamen did some great stuff on the Die Hard movies but Beltrami only uses his fourth most reoccurring cue and ditches the rest, save for a cue from Die Hard 2.To me, Die Hard finished in 1995. This film, which was only made to spark some life into a flopping career, is just a tame action film starring Bruce Willis. It's not Die Hard. This one definitely will NOT 'blow you through the back wall of the theatre'.Oh...and Mr. Writer, if you paid any attention to the other movies you'd know that McClane's son is called John Jnr, not Jack. It seems like you don't know Jack actually.The picture quality varies between the movies.Die Hard (3/5) - anamorphic Panavision, still looks good, but needs a brand new remaster.Die Hard 2 (3/5) - anamorphic Panavision, looks a bit better than the first, still needs a brand new remaster.Die Hard 3 (4/5) - anamorphic Panavision, a MASSIVE improvement over the EE nightmare DVD.Die Hard 4 (3/5) - Super35, looks great in terms of picture quality but the ugly cinematography ruins it.All four are presented in 2.35:1 1080p and feature DTS HD-MA soundtracks (the first 2 also need remastered sound). Most, but not all, of the extras from the Special Edition DVDs have been ported over.