I'm on record for being one of the few critics of Live Free or Die Hard, a film that was certainly the "action extravaganza" it advertised, but simply doesn't fit with the mythology of John McClane, as much as the creators would deny that fact. The first Die Hard, one of the best action movies ever made, featured an everyman hero trapped in a situation that seemed conceivable in the real world. By the fourth film, John McClane has become as realistic as Spider-Man, performing stunts and taking falls that would kill a man half his age. The lack of any real-world believability in a franchise that revolutionized the genre with its everyman approach really frustrated me in theaters. Having watched the film again on DVD, now in all its unrated glory, I can see what most people fell in love the first time around. Live Free or Die Hard is pure escapism and viewed as such with the suspension of disbelief meter set to kill, it's a very fun ride. Action always does well on DVD and you can expect Live Free or Die Hard to be one of the biggest releases of the season and, lucky for fans, it's also one of the best packages of the year.

Any fan of the Die Hard franchise should pick up Live Free or Die Hard, not only because the movie plays even better at home but because Fox has given it one of the most impressive treatments of the year with perfect technical specs and one of the most enjoyable collections of special features we've seen all year. Other producers of "big summer movie" DVDs should look at the collection of extras on Live Free or Die Hard as the model. They include the standards like a commentary track, but they also feel free to mix up the formula and include things that fans may not be expecting. Almost more importantly (because it's still the movie, not the extras, that really matters), the picture and sound on Live Free or Die Hard are near perfect. From the beginning, Die Hard is booming from every speaker in the room and the mix is continuously impressive throughout the film.

For many Live Free fans, the best special feature on the DVD release is simply going to be that the movie is now unrated. If you followed the controversy over McClane's trademark line that starts with Yippee-Ki-Yay and ends with a word you couldn't hear in the theatrical version, you'll be happy to know that everything has been restored to the way it should have been all along. Overall, you'd be amazed at what a few dirty words and a little more blood can do for a Die Hard movie. It's the way it should have been all along.

Even if you weren't a big fan of the fourth Die Hard movie and like the first three more, or even just the first one, the feature-length documentary about the making of Live Free - Analog Hero in a Digital World - is one of the best of its kind. Every single person involved in making the film from the cast to the editor gets to speak about how they made the movie. It's such a well-made documentary that it gives you a full picture of Live Free from beginning to end and its complimented by a very enjoyable commentary track with star, director, and editor and a fantastic interview of Bruce Willis by co-star Kevin Smith. Smith opens with asking Willis, jokingly, if he made a fourth Die Hard because he ran out of money. It's the kind of light-hearted, enjoyable conversation that fans of Willis or Smith will love.

The list of great special features on Live Free or Die Hard isn't over. The documentary and the technical transfer would be enough to make this one of the best action DVD releases of the year, but they didn't stop there. On top of the Smith interview, fans will find the controversial and great Guyz Nite video. A few guys got together and wrote an ode to "Die Hard" a while back and it became a YouTube hit. At first, Fox balked and made them pull the video. Then they realized that it was actually good publicity and they not only gave their stamp of approval, they asked the band to write a verse about Live Free and recut their video. Now the video and the making-of are included on the Live Free DVD. It's the kind of rare and surprising special feature that makes a DVD critic who sees the same EPKs and talking head bonuses over and over again smile at its originality.

I still say Live Free or Die Hard was a bit overrated in theaters, but it's impossible to overrate the quality of the DVD from Fox. The picture and audio are perfect and the special features give fans exactly what they'll be looking for. It's one of the best releases of the year and a perfect choice this holiday season for not just the Die Hard or action fans in your family but anyone who loves DVD.