Distributed by

20th Century Fox

Cert:

Cat.no: 01666DVD

Running time: 127 minutes

Year: 1988

Pressing: 1999

Region(s): 2, PAL

Chapters: 30 plus extras

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1

Languages: English, Spanish

Subtitles: English for the hearing impaired, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Potuguese, Polish, Czech, Danish, Hungarian, Icelandic and Spanish.

Widescreen: 2.35:1

16:9-Enhanced: Yes

Macrovision: Yes

Disc Format: DVD 9

Price: £19.99

Extras: Original Theatrical Trailer, Filmographies/Biographies, Featurette.

Director:

John McTiernan

Producers:

Lawrence Gordon and Joel Silver

Screenplay:

Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza

Music:

Michael Kamen

Cast:

John McClane: Bruce Willis
Holly Gennero McClane: Bonnie Bedelia
Hans Gruber: Alan Rickman
Karl: Alexander Godunov
Sgt. Al Powell: Reginald VelJohnson
Dwayne T. Robinson: Paul Gleason
Arglye: De'voreaux White
Thornburg: William Atherton

John McClane (Bruce Willis) is going home for Christmas to spend the time with estranged wife and his kids. He arrives in Los Angeles and decides to visit her workplace, the Nakatomi Plaza.

But during his visit, a group of terrorists seize control of the building. Led by Hans Gruber, the terrorists plan to steal $640 million which is in a vault inside the building.

McClane manages to escape them. His only outside contact is via a walkie talkie to LA cop Al Powell (Reginald VelJohnson). He then has to use= whatever he can to to stop the gang and save his wife.

Die Hard is one of the best action films of the last 15 years and is still great after 13 years. But, unlike many films in the genre, it has a good script and great acting as well as spectacular action scenes.

Bruce Willis really gets into character as the unlucky McClane and Alan Rickman plays the best villian in the series. Most of the other performances are good too.

The film is presented in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio and looks fantastic. The picture is full of detail and there are hardly any scratches, sparkle, grain or digital artifacting.

The sound is Dolby Digital 5.1 and is exactly what is needed for a film like this. When there is gunfire, it fills the room. When there are rumbling explosions, the room rumbles too. One of the best sound mixes I have ever heard.

Extras:

Chapters/Trailer: There are 30 chapters covering the whole 127 minutes which is excellent thus providing easy access to all the best bits in the film. A trailer is included.

Languages and Subtitles: There are two languages on the disc and they are English Dolby Digital 5.1 and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1. There are also subtitles in English, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Portuguese, Polish, Czech, Danish, Hungarian, Icelandic and Spanish.

Featurette: A 5 and a half minute featurette is on the disc. It is quite enjoyable and does contain an amusing scene where a stunt requires several takes to get right. Could have been longer though.

Cast Biographies/Filmographies: There is information for Bruce Willis, Bonnie Bedelia, Alan Rickman, Reginald VelJohnson and the late Alexander Godunov.

Menu: The menu is a photographic montage with shots of Willis, Bedelia and Rickman. There are animated smoke and sound effects when a selection is made.

Overall, this is a fantastic film that is essential for any home cinema setup. The only problem with this disc is that it is a little light on extra features. There could have been a longer featurette (an 18 minute version was classified by the BBFC at the time of the film's release) and a commentary track from McTiernan or Willis would have been nice.

Despite this, Fox still gives Die Hard the treatment it deserves and is a worthy addition to any collection.

FILM CONTENT PICTURE QUALITY SOUND QUALITY EXTRAS
OVERALL

Review copyright © Adam Duncan, 2001.