Die Hard: 25th Anniversary Collection [Blu-ray]

The Die Hard: 25th Anniversary Collection has basically been released three other times with a few different tweaks since Live Free or Die Hard hit theaters in 2007. What audiences are getting that is different with this set is a bonus disc featuring seven brand new featurettes that retrospectively look back on 25 years of John McClane.

The Movie:

The 25th Anniversary Collection features three hard R-rated flicks, Die Hard, Die Hard 2: Die Harder, Die Hard with a Vengeance, as well as the PG-13 2007 film Live Free or Die Hard. Each of the films vary in picture quality, as they were shot during different time periods and don?t seem to have been particularly cleaned up for Blu-ray. Excepting the special effects in Live Free or Die Hard, these would probably all look similarly fine on DVD. I?d almost rather have grittier picture quality when it comes to a McClane movie, anyway.

It has been much easier to see how the Die Hard films have continued to resonate over the years when this set showed up and I could watch them one after another. Ever the reluctant hero, McClane (Bruce Willis) hasn?t really changed over the years, although the problems and circumstances he faces have changed and the spectrum has grown from one building to a much broader landscape over the years. Fans may always be privy to the same old McClane, but they never have to go on the same adventure.

Partially, this is due to the variety of rich villains and side characters the franchise has traditionally offered, with only a few missteps. Peppering each of the movies are fan favorite performances, from villainous characters played by Alan Rickman or even Maggie Q to side characters that have lived on in pop culture, including Holly Gennero McClane (Bonnie Bedelia), Sgt. Al Powell (Reginald VelJohnson), Trudeau (Fred Thompson), Zeus Carver (Samuel L. Jackson) and Marvin the Janitor (Tom Bower)--the list goes on and on.

When considering the Die Hard movies, normally fond moments and characters pop up, first. However, the Die Hard: 25th Anniversary Collection offers the somewhat unique ability to view each of the four films released in the franchise in order, to really sit up and pay attention to the material, and to hone in on the deft dialogue, the recurring themes, and a few other delicately handled moments that make the entire franchise a cohesive entity. It?s really not just the, ?Yippee ki-yay motherfucker? that holds the franchise together, it?s a lot of careful work by several different directors who believed in the character of McClane and what that character can bring to audiences time and time again. Whether or not fans have favorites among the four movies, I still believe it?s worth it to own all four.

The Disc:

It was a big disappointment that there was not a ton of cohesiveness between discs. The first three movies are set up with the same menu and formatting and the fourth flick in the franchise is literally the regular Blu-ray release just tacked on as part of the set. In fact, the Live Free or Die Hard disc was still sporting previews for The Simpsons Movie, which I actually appreciated, and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, which I would otherwise have forgotten existed.

Each of the discs come with a set of bonus features that have been available with other releases. The first Die Hard film, for instance, comes with commentary and news reels, among others. With some of the other movies, deleted scenes and featurettes are available. With Die Hard with a Vengeance an alternate ending is even available. There?s more, but that?s the gist.

The Bonus Disc is split into two sections. Viewers can choose the ?Decoding Die Hard? path or the Die Hard Trailers path. I actually chose the trailers first, and was happy I did, as I was rewarded with the A Good Day To Die Hard trailer at the end.

?Decoding Die Hard? is a lengthy set of retrospective segments that take a look at the making of the first 4 films in the Die Hard franchise, as well as other retrospective interview footage. There?s a full segment on McClane?s character called ?Modern-Day Hero,? which discusses everything from Willis having firm opinions on his character to the gun click over the ?mother fucker? line in the fourth Die Hard film that kept the rating at PG-13.

Each of the bad guys gets a lengthy segment and each of the sidekicks and most of the side characters are remembered during another segment. ?Punishing Blows? takes a look at the action sequences and how Maggie Q?s big scene in the fourth film is the first time McClane has been evenly matched by a woman during an action sequence, which is worth a watch. Following this is a segment on the ?explosive? effects. The most exciting of these is the discussion of the miniature work that goes on in the first couple of films.

While the retrospective featurettes are certainly worth the watch, the packaging is unremarkable and even features a piece of paper listing the extras on the bonus disc glued to the back. If you?ve been hankering for copies of all of the movies in the franchise, the Die Hard: 25th Anniversary Collection certainly fulfills that niche and even offers some worthwhile extras, but it isn?t anything to write home about and it may be worth holding out until the newest film can be added to the mix.

Starring: Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Samuel L. Jackson, Justin Long, Maggie QDirected by: John McTiernan, Renny Harlin, Len WisemanProduced by: Joel Silver, Lawrence Gordon, John McTiernan, Michael FottrellWritten by: Jeb Stuart, Steven E. de Souza, Doug Richardson, Mark Bomback

View the original article here

The Collection

Like its predecessor, 2009's The Collector, The Collection is a brutal, indulgent bloodbath. Rather than developing its characters or slowly building tension, it slashes forward at a depraved rate, killing off both familiar faces and random people with video game-like aggression. It?s entirely possible the film?s body count actually reaches three digits by the end, all in an effort to up the previous installment in every way possible.

For the most part, this bigger is better philosophy actually works. The Collection offers more characters actually capable of fighting back against the antagonist. It offers more bizarre and grandiose booby traps and a new heightened sense of tension from the general public who are aware of and want the villain caught. These positive changes strike the right balance between continuity and original intrigue for the sequel. Unfortunately, the new location does not. In fact, it?s the singular reason why round one works and round two only sort of works.

The original Collector is set inside a house. It offers a small number of characters including Arkin O?Brien (Josh Stewart) and lets them play a cat and mouse game with a sick, merciless serial killer. By the end of the film, viewers really get a chance to know the house and all of the little secrets it hides. It?s like Clue in that way. The newest installment, however, takes place inside a once abandoned hotel so massive, dark and mysterious it gives HH Holmes? World?s Fair business and Sarah Winchester?s mansion runs for their money.

Our old friend Arkin is back alongside a team of highly trained mercenaries paid by the rich father (Christopher McDonald) of a girl (Emma Fitzpatrick) our antagonist kidnapped, but because of the rapid increase in booby trapped space, it?s impossible to predict what might happen next or even have opinions on what actions the characters should take. It?s roughly the equivalent of being a little kid and told you can wander through the candy store versus being told you can roam throughout the entire mall. More freedom might sound better in theory, but in practicality, it really isn?t.

Fortunately, co-writer/ director Marcus Dunstan really does know what he?s doing when it comes to conceiving and subsequently delivering on scary premises. Several of the larger scenes including numerous extras are smartly choreographed to seem frenzied without disorienting the audience. The basic concept of a man slaughtering a number of people and saving one to add to his collection is just as horrifying now as it was during the first installment, and proper care is put into including plenty of weird, macabre shit like body part rooms, bear traps and loose spiders.

With good acting from the lead characters, a good concept and some edge of your seat, cover your eyes moments, The Collection has enough to please hardcore horror fans and casual moviegoers looking for a fright. Given the mistake it made with the location, however, it still has to be looked at as a bit of a missed opportunity. Sometimes savage chaos is better when it?s carefully ordered.

View the original article here

Francis Ford Coppola 5-Film Collection [Blu-ray]

A Francis Ford Coppola Blu-ray set with nary a Godfather film? Not an issue, since two films in the five-disc set are masterpieces that justify the purchase price for this pristine collection.

The Movie:

Lionsgate cheats, slightly, with its Coppola kit, as two of the five movies in the collection are varying cuts of the director?s Vietnam-era stunner Apocalypse Now. But it?s justified, as both the 1979 edit and the director?s 2001 cut have ardent followers, and both can now be analyzed in exquisite Blu-ray.

As a completist, and an elitist, I lean toward Coppola?s original cut. Gallons of ink have been spilt regarding the hardships Coppola endured on behalf of the filming of Apocalypse Now, a stinging commentary on the after-effects the Vietnam conflict had on wrung-out, patriotic soldiers. Heck, a full-length documentary, Heart of Darkness, details every painful step Coppola took to bring Apocalypse to the screen. (Where is that documentary? How is it not a supplement here? More on that in the next section.) The fact that Coppola had the fortitude to plunge back into Apocalypse to add nearly 45 additional minutes for the Redux cut makes it worth a look, but it pads a film that needed no enhancements.

Apocalypse Now and the first two Godfather films are considered Coppola?s crowning achievements. Give me The Conversation over all three, though. Perhaps its because I?m a Gene Hackman junkie, but the director?s haunting conspiracy thriller about a sound engineer and surveillance expert who grows steadily obsessed with a snippet of dialogue he records in a crowded square. Hackman?s mesmerizing, while Coppola plugs in to the fear and paranoia of an invisible ?Big Brother? that colors so many 1970s dramas. It?s a flawless character study, and ? in my honest opinion ? Coppola?s best film. It?s also relevant to note here that Coppola's The Conversation lost the Oscar for Best Picture in 1974 ... to Coppola's The Godfather Part II. Remarkable. What the hell did I do this year?

Fans can be happy grabbing the set for those two films, alone. But buyers will also get two additional, lesser films from Coppola?s oeuvre, and the supplements that come with them. If Apocalypse marks the end of the director?s ?Golden Age,? the 1982 musical One from the Heart starts the period in Coppola?s career where he started digging deeper into his own cinematic passions, while systematically alienating his audiences. The Las Vegas-set romance between Hank (Frederic Forrest) and Frannie (Teri Garr) was meant as an upbeat antidote to the somber Apocalypse. However, the director was unfocused, both on and off the set, and the film?s ballooning production budget nearly sank his self-propelled studio, American Zoetrope.

Coppola?s an artist. There?s no denying that. His pictures are experimental, and his later output became far less mainstream (while always remaining interesting). The 1980s and ?90s were marked by riveting productions of The Outsiders, The Cotton Club, Tucker: The Man and His Dream and Bram Stoker?s Dracula. But he continued to explore inward, and the last film in the set -- Tetro -- is an example of the wandering Coppola and his unfinished works. Released in 2009, the story of two brothers torn apart by creative differences was a symbol of the director?s current state. The narrative revolves around an unfinished screenplay, and the director?s reputation for consistently tinkering with his art led to an unfinished, half-hearted film. As part of this set, it shows the progression of Coppola?s creative voice, but I?d be surprised if you revisited Tetro more than once.

The Disc:

It?s a good thing the movies in the Coppola set are mostly worth owning, because the extras compiled by Lionsgate and Zoetrope aren?t worth the effort. This isn?t one of those exhausting collector?s edition packages that dig every bit of behind-the-scenes clips in hopes of pleasing the rabid film fanatic. Features that are included on the discs were present on previous home-video releases of the films, and the quality of the footage is grainy and disappointing.

In terms of visual transfers, the two cuts of Apocalypse Now look the best. There?s no age in their screenshots, and the prints have been scrubbed clean (while maintaining the integrity of the composition). The Conversation isn?t as lucky. Composition seems to fade in and out from scene to scene, and the browns and blacks that drove ?70s cinematography prove to be a problem to the Blu-ray conversion. The sound on The Conversation is fittingly brilliant, though.

Because Tetro is more modern, it looks better than Heart, which actually suffers from a dreadfully scratchy transfer. Vegas screams and pops off the screen in this unusually colorful film, but the presentation is weak, and damages the film?s impact.

The thing about Apocalypse Now is that fans likely grabbed the film?s DVD set that hit shelves backing 2010. Be glad if you did, for it boasts a full disc of extras ? Heart of Darkness included ? that aren?t found here. The Apocalypse duo has a commentary track from Coppola, and a BD feature that allows you to download additional software on a separate device and follow along with a different app, which is too much work.

The Conversation Blu-ray is the best in the set, packing in multiple audio commentary tracks, screen tests for Cindy Williams and Harrison Ford, script dictations and interviews with Coppola from the set, ?No Cigar? (a student short film by Coppola), ?Harry Cauls? San Francisco: Then and Now,? theatrical trailers and more.

The most interesting feature on the Heart Blu-ray has to be ?The Dream Studio,? a clip shot during the film?s tumultuous production that documented Coppola?s war with Paramount as he tried to establish American Zoetrope. Fans of the director?s experimental approach to storytelling also will enjoy ?The Electric Cinema,? which pries into his creative process. Vintage fetaurettes also dig into the making of the film, musician Tom Waits? contributions to the musical?s score, rehearsals, deleted scenes and the ?This One?s From the Heart? music video. Like each disc on this set, it?s a mixed bag of memorable regalia and disposable art. Still, for the price, the entire set is completely worth grabbing, if only to have films like The Conversation and One from the Heart on Blu-ray, finally, after all of these years.

Starring: Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, Raul Julia, Teri GarrDirected by: Francis Ford CoppolaProduced by: Francis Ford Coppola, Fred Roos, Gray FredericksonWritten by: John Milius, Francis Ford Coppola, Armyan Bernstein

View the original article here

EXCLUSIVE: Jean Harlow 100th Anniversary Collection DVD Clip

Oct 27, 2011 by Brian Gallagher

We have an exclusive clip from the upcoming boxed set Jean Harlow 100th Anniversary Collection, which will be available through Warner Archive on October 25. Click on the video player below to watch legendary actress Jean Harlow in Reckless, one of the seven movies available on this boxed set.

For our inaugural box set collection, we shine the spotlight on the Platinum Bombshell herself, Jean Harlow. A true trend-setter, the first "Platinum Blonde" provided the template for an archetype that stretches from one century into the next - to Marilyn to Madonna to Gwen Stefani and beyond. True film buffs owe it to themselves to celebrate, discover, or rediscover her achievements as an actor. Join us in paying tribute with this special collection, celebrating her centennial year with seven of her films, three newly remastered. None ever before available on DVD. Lovingly packaged in a striking, glamour filled slipcase filled with special features.

Bombshell (1933) Remastered - Glamour queen Lola (Harlow) is quitting the movie biz - something her manipulative press agent (Lee Tracy) can't allow!The Girl from Missouri (1934) Remastered - Eadie's not easy! A plucky bachelorette (Harlow) intends to bag a New York millionaire...without abandoning her virtue.Reckless (1935) Remastered - Harlow goes dramatic as a Broadway star accused of murder after the death of her high-living, high society hubby. With William Powell, the last real-life love of Harlow's short life.Riffraff (1935) She works in a cannery. He's a fisherman. But their playful romance is fated to give way to a tragedy surrounding union activism. She's Harlow, he's Spencer Tracy.Suzy (1936) Harlow, Cary Grant, and Franchot Tone are involved in a World War I triangle of romance and spy intrigue.Personal Property (1937) Debt-ridden socialite Harlow puts on a show of wealth to impress a suitor who's also making a pretense of fortune. Robert Taylor is the butler who sees through the ruses.Saratoga (1937) In Harlow's final film she plays the daughter of a horse breeder who is engaged to a millionaire, but drawn to a bookie played by Clark Gable.

View the original article here