Die Hard Blu-ray

Die Hard

 (1988)

Action | Crime | Thriller

Bruce Willis stars as New York City detective John McClane, newly arrived in Los Angeles to spend the Christmas holiday with his estranged wife. But as McClane waits for his wife's office party to break up, terrorists take control of the building. While the terrorist leader, Hans Gruber rounds up hostages, McClane slips away unnoticed. Armed with only a service revolver and his cunning, McClane launches his own one-man war. A crackling thriller from beginning to end, Die Hard explodes with hear-stopping suspense.

For more details about Die Hard on Blu-ray, see the Die Hard Blu-ray Review

Starring: Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Bedelia, Alexander Godunov, Reginald VelJohnson
Director: John McTiernan

Die Hard Blu-ray, Video Quality

 

With an MPEG-4 encode and an aspect ratio of 2.40:1, Die Hard delivers high-quality 1080p on this BD. The definition is by no means reference quality; however, the resolution is an enormous step up from the NTSC versions we have all been watching for the past 20 years, on DVD or when the networks invariably show Die Hard around Christmas. Textures on clothing and highlights or sheen on skin tones is especially improved compared to DVD versions. The definition is so much better that some of the makeup and blood is revealed to have a fake appearance. Maybe the producer should have spent more money on fake blood and less on the explosions, which appeared to be very convincing.

A major achievement for this BD release is that it shows depth of picture. The relatively few outdoor shots are a good indicator of how the picture benefits from transfer to 1080p resolution. Of course the most dramatic shots deliver the front-to-back definition of scenes involving people or objects that appear close in the foreground, giving way to a long distance view in the background. Although it is a special effect, nowhere is this near versus far definition shown better than when Gruber is hanging out of a window, 32 stories above the ground. The parking lot, street lights and landscaping below, while soft, have much stronger resolution than NTSC versions. And Gruber's facial expression and dark suit mark the fantastic definition of the Blu-ray. resolution, black level and contrast presented in this Blu-ray disc.

Die Hard Blu-ray, Audio Quality

 

As one would expect from Fox, Die Hard is encoded in lossless 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. Our earlier review of the Die Hard Collection set pointed out that the first film originally played in Dolby Stereo (Dolby Surround) with some 4.1 70 mm showings at select theaters. That review stated, "the film has been remixed into 5.1 and the results are just fair. Dialogue is clear for the most part, but there are scenes where the soundtrack sounds unnaturally harsh and bright, which can be torture for the ears since there’s a LOT of breaking glass. Those of you with Re-Eq on their surround processors will definitely want to engage it. Bass response is also somewhat lacking, the scenes with explosions lack the punch you’d expect, even when considering the film’s age. However, surround envelopment is decent."

Different systems yield different results, and while this reviewer agrees that the mix is bright and forward, it works. The brightness delivers a more immediate visceral response and breaking glass should sound harsh. When cacophonous sounds appear euphonious, then it's time to worry, but that's not the case here. The bass and explosions are somewhat shelved, but overall, the audio is more than adequate, delivers a seemless surround field and lacks distortion. The roof explosion and earlier explosion caused by McClane arming a chair with C4 explosives and pushing it down an elevator shaft both sound convincing at high levels, with significant LFE content. It is not the greatest sound definition, but it is surprisingly enjoyable companion to the picture. As pointed out in the previous review, the film has an additional English soundtrack encoded in DD 2.0 surround at 224 kbps, and also includes tracks in DD 5.1 at 448 kbps in French and Spanish.

Die Hard Blu-ray, News and Updates

• Fox Specs Die Hard and Fantastic Four - August 30, 2007

Die Hard Blu-ray, Forum Discussions

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