A Certain Point of View: Writing, Film and Stuff

(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 menu options wit

(C) 1981 MGM Studios. Clash of the Titans (1981) Directed by Desmond Davis Written by Beverley Cross Starring: Harry Hamlin, Judi Bowker, Maggie Smith, Claire Bloom, Laurence Olivier, Sian Phillips Ammon : Oh impetuous... foolish... Ah dear, the young. Why do they never listen? When will they ever learn? Clash of the Titans is a 1981 mashup of the Greek myth about Perseus with some elements borrowed from other mythologies , Produced by Ray Harryhausen, the special effects genius who popularized stop-motion animation with such films as Mighty Joe Young, The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad and Jason and the Argonauts, Clash of the Titans was the last hurrah for Harryhausen and the effects technique known in the film industry as Dynamation. After the movie’s release Harryhausen retired from filmmaking and stop motion animation gave way to newer techniques, including go-motion and, later, computer generated imagery (CGI). Screenwriter Beverley Cross ( Jason and the

(C) 2005 Warner Bros. Pictures If someone stands in the way of true justice, you simply walk up behind them and stab them in the heart. Director Christopher Nolan’s “Batman Begins”  is essentially the “origins” installment of the saga, doing to the Caped Crusader what Richard Donner’s Superman: The Movie did for the Man of Steel over 30 years ago. Starring Christian Bale (“Empire of the Sun,”  “Terminator Salvation”) in the dual role of billionaire Bruce Wayne/Batman, Nolan’s reimagining of the beginning of the Dark Knight saga borrows heavily from Bob Kane’s original 1930s comic book story and Frank Miller’s 1980s graphic novels. The movie, co-written by Nolan and David S. Goyer (“Dark City,” “Blade’) begins with a flashback that takes the viewer back to when Bruce Wayne was eight years old and living in Wayne Manor with his parents Thomas (Linus Roache) and Martha (Sara Stewart). While playing with his friend Rachel Dawes, Bruce falls into a well and not only b