Die Hard 'til Midnight

Die Hard happens on Christmas Eve, and if you throw this on at 10:15PM on Christmas Eve, as I did, you'll have a very memorable start to your Christmas at midnight.

Die Hard is one of my favorite action flicks, and I rewatch it at least every few Christmases. I've never thought it needed any changing, but I'll say that the "24" treatment here might actually IMPROVE an already perfect movie.

The original film does get started rather luxiouriously for an action film, just one of many ways this subverted the tropes of the genre when it came out in 1988. Here, the use of split screens to compress time and the way the score is chosen quickly adds a sense of building tension at the beginning of the film. We don't know exactly what we're building TOWARDS, but the setup virtually flies by.

The use of time and location stamps on the film works really well to add a feeling of precision to the movie, which wonderfully highlights Hans Gruber's intricate planning. This isn't just a gimmick edit, it works thematically with the movie.

All the visual and audio edits are made perfectly, and I have to say I didn't mind that the gunshots and explosions were louder than the conversation...because they ARE. It wasn't nearly so wildly imbalanced as all the times I saw this on TV in the '90s. I did note that the video source is pretty soft nowadays though, so a 1080 or HD version would be welcome.

Honestly, I'd probably recommend this as a replacement for the original masterpiece EXCEPT... for a couple time stamps at the end. There are two that play right in the center of the screen over the two biggest dramatic character moments in the film. I could deal with the first one, but the second one really bugged me. What's more important, the facial expression of the main actor, or knowing that this happened at exactly 12:30 PM? I think the stamp really needs to be shifted to be at the bottom of the screen, or don't use it. It becomes intrusive, which had been avoided all film.

Great edit though, I actually would have liked even MORE 24-style editing it worked so well. Some one-by-one split-screen additions to that clock sound when flipping to a new scene would have been great. But this is already a superb way to rewatch the film, if not replace it.

Sinbad delivers on his promise! More suspense and more urgency, without over-using the split-screen or the clock. They're not gimmicks, they really enhance the experience. The film even could have had a few more split-screens in the final act. For added drama and to speed up moments that feel long-winded for a 2018 audience.

Video transitions are outstanding. The sparsely inserted clock and variety of split-screen enhances the viewing experience. On a projection screen the 720p resolution is soft but consistent.

As noted by Scribbler, the source audio has overly loud effects compared to the dialog. The edit does not mitigate that so I adjusted the volume frequently. The audio transitions work impressively well during split-screen.

Could the film improve even more? For my taste: yes. But this is already a compelling improvement on the original. For everyone who saw this in the '80s, watch this and enjoy an improved blast from the past. For everyone else, watch this edit and enjoy while marveling at the hairdos and sweaters of the' 80s.

I initially saw this during the Christmas period, a short while before the edit was "officially" released. It was great fun to watch it then during "prime" season, but although I'm one of those who consider Die Hard to be a classic Christmas movie, to me it's also a film that can be enjoyed all the year round.

The premise is quite simple, and in a lot of ways doesn't involve any huge changes to the film; but then again, I believe that was the editor's intention. As I believe Sinbad has stated, Diehard is one of his favourite films, and his main goal was simply to put a different spin on things and not make any drastic changes to the narrative. I believe he has succeeded in this. It still very much feels like the Die Hard you know, only with a more real-time feel. The side-by-side scenes flow wonderfully well, successfully creating a pacing more akin to the 24 TV series. I believe the editor struck the balance just right, putting in enough of these changes to create a different experience, but not so many that the new transitions come across as intrusive. The classic 24 ticking clock is also masterfully and sparingly used, adding an extra element of expectation and anticipation during key moments in the film.

Quality was top-notch, my only qualms being with things that are inherent in the source blu-ray, and therefore no fault of the editors.

Visual editing was flawless, as far as I could tell. Although the premise is simple, I imagine that getting it to work in practice was pretty challenging at times. Titles and added "24" style fonts also blended well.

Audio is nearly as excellent, especially considering what the editor has needed to achieve. The balance between audio on the scenes running side-by-side is a hard thing to perfect, and for the most part is spot on. There are times where audio from one scene can overpower another slightly, but I believe the editor has done the best he can to refine this. Action scenes are sooooo much louder than the rest of the film, but this, once again is a problem inherent in the source material. However, I believe that if the editor wanted to spend more time on it, he could probably make the decibel leap between scenes a little less shell shocking.

The narrative is fine in the original film, and remains unhindered in this version. Scenes run side-by-side, but the editor has wisely picked moments in the film where it is not vital for the viewer to be paying attention to both simultaneously.

Enjoyment is down a point, but it's chiefly subjective. I can't say that I LOVE Die Hard, but I do think it's a good film. For me, the original is 8/10, and I've added an extra point because I really enjoyed what the new "24" spin added. The only thing remaining being that I felt that the film could do with a tiny bit more streamlining. 12 minutes have already been removed, almost purely due to the nature of the edit (many of the scenes now running side by side), but despite there being a more "accelerated" and "real-time" feel, the film still doesn't feel quite as tight to me as it could be. If I would change anything, I would literally just do a handful of minor trims here and there, because for me there are sections of the movie that drag ever so slightly. Then again... I may have just forgotten to take my "B+" hat off ;)

In conclusion, a great edit of a good film. Unique, refreshing and clearly done with a high respect for the source material. It's great to finally see it on IFDB, and I hope to see it garner more attention once we hit December.