Die Hard (1988)

John McClane, officer of the NYPD, tries to save wife Holly Gennaro and several others, taken hostage by German terrorist Hans Gruber during a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles.

Director:

John McTiernan

Writers:

Roderick Thorp (novel), Jeb Stuart (screenplay),

Stars:

Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Bedelia

Top 250 #104 | Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bruce Willis	...	Officer John McClane
Bonnie Bedelia	...	Holly Gennaro McClane
Reginald VelJohnson	...	Sgt. Al Powell (as Reginald Veljohnson)
Paul Gleason	...	Deputy Police Chief Dwayne T. Robinson
William Atherton	...	Richard Thornburg
Hart Bochner	...	Harry Ellis
James Shigeta	...	Joseph Yoshinobu Takagi
Alan Rickman	...	Hans Gruber
Alexander Godunov	...	Karl
Bruno Doyon	...	Franco
De'voreaux White	...	Argyle
Andreas Wisniewski	...	Tony
Clarence Gilyard Jr.	...	Theo
Joey Plewa	...	Alexander
Lorenzo Caccialanza	...	Marco

Storyline

New York City Detective John McClane has just arrived in Los Angeles to spend Christmas with his wife. Unfortunatly, it is not going to be a Merry Christmas for everyone. A group of terrorists, led by Hans Gruber is holding everyone in the Nakatomi Plaza building hostage. With no way of anyone getting in or out, it's up to McClane to stop them all. All 12!

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Plot Keywords:

Terrorist | Hostage | Christmas | Christmas Party | Vault | 

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Taglines:

High above the city of L.A. a team of terrorists has seized a building, taken hostages and declared war. One man has managed to escape. An off-duty cop hiding somewhere inside. He's alone, tired... and the only chance anyone has got.

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Genres:

Action | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English German Italian

Release Date:

15 July 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Duro de matar

Filming Locations:

29th-35th Floors, Fox Plaza - 2121 Avenue of the Stars, Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$28,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$81,350,242 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Gordon Company, Silver Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

131 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In Nakatomi building's caveau is supposed to be kept, amongst other pieces of art, the Edgar Degas' painting "Ecole de dance" (1873) (as shown when the "terrorists" finally break the last lock). Actually, it's in Corcoran Museum of Arts in Washington DC.

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Goofs

When Theo updates Hans on the police activity, he reports that "the four assholes [are] coming in the rear in standard two-by-two cover formation." The SWAT team members are not in '2x2 cover', they're all running together single file (more or less).

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Quotes

[first lines]
Businessman: You don't like flying, do you?
John McClane: What gives you that idea?
Businessman: You wanna know the secret to surviving air travel? After you get where you're going, take off your shoes and your socks then walk around on the rug bare foot and make fists with your toes.
John McClane: Fists with your toes?
Businessman: I know, I know, it sounds crazy. Trust me, I've been doing it for nine years. Yes sir, better than a shower and a hot cup of coffee.
John McClane: Okay.
[the businessman sees John's gun]
John McClane: It's okay, I'm a cop. Trust me, I've been ...

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Connections

Referenced in EuroTrip (2004)
The two Vandersexxxx goons were named "Hans" and "Gruber". Of course, "Hans Gruber" was the villian in Die Hard.

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Soundtracks

"Winter Wonderland"
Written by Felix Bernard and Richard B. Smith (as Dick Smith)

User Reviews

John McClane terminates all other action heroes

Prepare yourselves for one of the most action packed thrill rides starring one of the best action stars in Hollywood. Bruce Willis is stirring up trouble for the bad guys in "Die Hard." In the first of three awesome films, he stars as Lt. John McClane, a New York police officer, who has been invited to the wrong Christmas party.

This is an action film for future actors and directors to watch and use as a model because it describes what an action film should contain. I have seen many action films in my life, but this ranks at the top of my list because it has all the right components. Action packed sequences, explosions, special effects and most of all superb performances with excellent dialogue.

"Die Hard" is a movie I will not soon forget because the story is so well crafted. Though there are no twists or curves thrown at the audience, the audience can be assured they will be treated to two hours of non-stop action from beginning to end.

"Die Hard" did not only produce great action and explosions but future stars as well. I am talking about Clarence Gilyard Jr. who now stars in Walker, Texas Ranger and Reginald VelJohnson who starred in the series Family Matters. These two actors were pivotal to this film in their respective roles.

Two other names to keep in mind while thinking of key performers are Bonnie Bedelia and Alan Rickman. I was blown away when I saw the impact they had on this film. It is as if they came in and said 'Okay boys, watch out I'm taking over." They certainly did that; however, nobody could have done better than the impact performer himself Bruce Willis.

On a scale of 1-10; "Die Hard" is given a 100 by yours truly. My only regret would be that the movie ended. I wish there was more to see in this film. I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE "DIE HARD" AGAIN.