A Certain Point of View: Writing, Film and Stuff

“Stand by Me” is a moving coming-of-age comedy drama directed by Rob Reiner. Adapted from Stephen King’s novella The Body by screenwriter-producer Bruce A. Evans and Raynold Gideon, this 1986 comedy drama follows the misadventures of four pre-teen boys (Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman and Jerry O’Connell) who hike through the woods outside the small town of Castle Rock, Oregon to look for a missing teen’s corpse. Like director Robert Mulligan’s “Summer of ‘42” and other coming-of-age movies, “Stand by Me” is not a plot-driven movie. It’s a character piece that focuses on Gordie (Wheaton), Chris (Phoenix), Teddy (Feldman) and Vern (O’Connell) during a weekend-long trek in the Oregon woods to find a dead kid’s body before a band of teenage hoodlums led by Ace Merrill (Kiefer Sutherland) does. On the surface, “Stand by Me” is one of those “small” films that are better suited for after school television specials than the silver screen. But King’s well-written novella is...

Die Hard (1988) Directed by John McTiernan Written by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza Based on the novel Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorp Starring: Bruce Willis, Bonnie Bedelia, Alan Rickman, Reginald VelJohnson, William Atherton, Alexander Godunov, Paul Gleason Hans Gruber : [addressing the hostages] I wanted this to be professional, efficient, adult, cooperative. Not a lot to ask. Alas, your Mr. Takagi did not see it that way... so he won't be joining us for the rest of his life. We can go any way you want it. You can walk out of here or be carried out. But have no illusions. We are in charge. So, decide now, each of you. And please remember: we have left nothing to chance. Although action films have been around since Edwin S. Porter’s The Great Train Robbery (1903), the genre became dominant in the 1980s with the success of summer blockbuster like Raiders of the Lost Ark, 48 Hrs, First Blood, and Lone Wolf McQuade. Though these films have different ...

(C) 2007 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment In November 2007, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment released a four-disc set titled Die Hard Collection. Issued simultaneously with the DVD and Blu-ray (BD)  premiere of that year’s   Live Free or Die Hard ,  Fox’s first BD box set consists of the first four movies of the Die Hard franchise that launched actor Bruce Willis into action hero super-stardom. (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment has released subsequent compilation sets, including the five-film 25th Anniversary collection with 2013’s A Good Day to Die Hard. ) What’s In the Box? The 2007 Die Hard Collection collects four BDs, one for each of the Die Hard films, in a slightly thicker-than-average multi-disc plastic jewel case. The discs themselves are first-generation Blu-rays with a storage capacity of 500 gigabytes and 1080p high definition video resolution. The set also offers lossless audio and smart menu technology that allows viewers to access me...