DIE HARD, UHD ■ Christmas in July
Bruce Willis might not consider DIE HARD a Christmas movie but, for many, it’s the Christmas movie. And, really, why shouldn’t it be counted with the collection of other traditional Christmas classics? Dig beneath the surface of a fantastically entertaining action flick and DIE HARD is a movie about family.
John McClane (Willis), estranged from his wife Holly (Bonnie Bedelia), is, after all, seeking to repair his fractured family during the silly season. Beyond the familial fare, DIE HARD is one of the rare textbook examples of a perfect action movie. Director John McTiernan expertly mixes holiday heart and humour with compelling characters, quotable one-liners and inventive action set pieces.
Unlike its more recent sequels, DIE HARD achieves all of this within the confines of what amounts to a single location (for the most part) without ever becoming boring. Listening to the director’s commentary (with some surprisingly fascinating insights from production designer Jackson DeGovia), there’s a fascinating behind-the-scenes story, too. DIE HARD is a movie that the then fledgling McTiernan turned down multiple times before finally accepting the gig, albeit with some strict stipulations.
He wanted a heist movie, not a terrorist flick, so that he could prioritise entertainment over seriousness. McTiernan’s opinion that terrorist movies have to be serious is even more relevant 30 years after DIE HARD’s release. In a heist movie, McTiernan argues, there’s not only room for fun but the audience can get behind the villains, too (to a certain extent).
This is underscored by Alan Rickman’s Hans Gruber: a role the late actor sunk his teeth into and his first American movie, to boot. It’s understandable why it was the beginning of a fantastic career for the late, great Rickman. The 4K transfer, too, adds to the experience, even if it does make it even easier to spot some of the continuity errors (particularly McClane’s partially self-cleaning white singlet).
DIE HARD in 4K is another example of how older movies with an emphasis on practical effects can wow new and old audiences alike decades after their initial release. The lack of special features on the regular UHD version of DIE HARD is somewhat disappointing (limited to a collection of commentaries), but for fans, that shouldn’t act as a deterrent to add yet another version of this iconic action movie to their growing UHD library.