| | | Bruce Willis is John McClane. No Mask. No Cape. No Problem.
Features: DVD, Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 2.35:1, English, Spanish, Subtitled
"The best of the best is back and better than ever" (WNYW-TV) in the latest installment of the pulse-pounding, thrill-a-minute Die Hard action films. New York City detective John McClane (Bruce Willis) delivers old-school justice to a new breed of terrorists when a massive computer attack on the U.S. infrastructure threatens to shut down the entire country over Independence Day weekend.
"...deeply satisfying, full of old-school buddy banter and the kind of action sequences that make you burst out laughing at their sheer audacity." Dana Stevens, Slate
"...terrific entertainment...a combination of minimalist performances...and maximalist stunts that make you laugh, as you gape, at their thunderous extravagance." Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal
"A slick and efficient piece of action entertainment, fast moving with energetic stunt work and nice thriller moves." Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
"Easily the best in the series since the first one." Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor
"...effective, rousing entertainment, which boasts plenty of old-school, at times jaw-dropping stunt work done the manly way." Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald
Editor's Note
After a twelve-year hiatus, Bruce Willis is back as New York City detective John McClane, who still plays by his own set of rules. Following DIE HARD (1988), DIE HARDER (1990), and DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE (1995), the fourth installment in the popular action series stars DEADWOOD's Timothy Olyphant as Thomas Gabriel, an evil mastermind who is determined to bring down the entire infrastructure of the United States on Independence Day, sending the country into anarchy and chaos. Joining him on his mission of destruction is the elegant Mai, played by Maggie Q from MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III. McClane becomes involved when he gets caught in the crossfire while transporting prisoner Matt Farrell (Justin Long, most well known as the mac in a series of computer commercials), a hacker extraordinaire who is the perfect complement to the old-school McClane, who eschews cell phones, computers, and doing anything the easy way. But when Gabriel kidnaps McClane's daughter, Lucy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead, from the DEATH PROOF section of GRINDHOUSE), it gets personal. Full of the sarcastic humor, exciting action sequences -- including flying cars -- and fun characters that have defined the series, LIVE FREE OR DIE HARDER is an excellent addition, directed by Len Wiseman (UNDERWORLD and UNDERWORLD: EVOLUTION). The plot was based on a magazine article, "A Farewell to Arms," written by John Carlin, that appeared in a 1997 issue of WIRED magazine. The movie also features Kevin Smith as a computer geek -- er, expert -- known as Warlock, who still lives in his mother's basement. Yippee-ki-yay indeed.
| Features | Audio: English DTS HD 5.1 Surround Sound, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound | | Audio: French, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound | | Dubbed: French, Spanish | | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection | | Subtitles: English, Spanish | | This Is A Blu-Ray DVD Made For Blue-Laser Format Players Which Produce Higher Quality Picture & Sound |
| Entertainment Reviews
 | Live Free or Die Hard (Unrated) - DVD Review By: Jarad I. Wilk - Cinema Blend DVD Reviews Published on: 11/25/2007 9:03 PM | | Live Free or Die Hard is just another chapter of the Die Hard series. There is really nothing new at this point, except for the PG-13 rating. Even without the R-rating, McClane is still being thrown into crazy situations against terrorists armed with machine guns and explosives, yet somehow beats the crap out of all of them for a final showdown with the mastermind. It's a formula that has successfully worked for three previous installments. ...read the full review |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Foxvideo |
| Release Date: 3/31/2009 |
| Running Time: 130 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 2007 | | Catalog ID: 2247636 | | UPC: 00024543476368 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English, French Dubbed, Spanish Dubbed | | Available Subtitles: English, Spanish | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Widescreen 2.35:1 |
| Cast & Crew
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| | Professional Reviews | Entertainment Weekly
"LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD gets a bit of the old mojo back by tapping into fears that are, by nature, too virtual to see." -- Grade: B 07/13/2007 p.49Total Film
3 stars out of 5 -- "Long is likeable; Maggie Q is sleek and sexy as a kung fu-kicking black-leather widow; Kevin Smith is good fun..." 07/01/2007 p.46 Empire
3 stars out of 5 -- "The appealing essence is still Willis' wisecracking, extraordinarily tough 'ordinary guy'....His relish for a cat-and-mouse engagement is undiminished." 09/01/2007 p.56 Ultimate DVD
4 stars out of 5 -- "[D]irector Wiseman confidently reinvigorates the franchise, with a blockbuster movie that feels huge..." 04/01/2008 p.65 ReelViews 7 of 10
When it comes to pure, turn-off-the-brain action, Live Free or Die Hard delivers and it's at least a little less burdensome in doing so than any of the summer of 2007's other to-date blockbusters. While it would be nice to trumpet that John McClane has returned in triumph, that would be a lie. Twelve years is a long time between sequels and, while it can be said that absence makes the heart grow fonder, this length of absence encourages forgetfulness. Bringing back John after all those years might have made sense if the script was great, but this is pyrotechnics 101 with a side order of computer-geek-speak. Strangely enough, Live Free or Die Hard may work better for an audience that doesn't know much about the series is than it will for Die Hard die hards, who will be wondering who that impersonator is and what he did with the real John McClane...The fourth installment arrives with a weight of expectations that Atlas would have trouble shouldering and, when the dust settles in September, it's unlikely that Live Free or Die Hard will be one of this year's big success stories. - James Berardinelli
Reel.com 10 of 10
"A Timex watch in a digital age," sneers villainous Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant, Deadwood's sheriff no more) of New York cop John McClane (Bruce Willis) in Live Free or Die Hard, the exhilarating fourth installment in the Die Hard series, the first since 1995's Die Hard: With a Vengeance. Willis was barely 40 then, he's past 50 now, but the only thing he has lost is the rest of his hair. And Gabriel is right, McClane is a relic from an analog world, but he also forgets the Timex advertising slogan: It takes a licking but keeps on ticking, and so--gloriously--does McClane...Sequels can be such a crap shoot, as this summer's disasters Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End and Evan Almighty have only too horribly demonstrated. But Willis, in gambling that he could successfully revisit the character that made him a true action hero, rolls nothing but sevens. Live Free or Die Hard's plot may be built on a flimsy house of cards that will not bear close inspection, but that character, John McClane, provides the movie with a solid foundation. This is action at its most entertaining and proof that there is a lot of life left in this franchise. - Pam Grady
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