Die Hard
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| Die Hard | |
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| Directed by | John McTiernan |
| Produced by | Lawrence Gordon Joel Silver Charles Gordon Beau Marks |
| Written by | Novel: Roderick Thorp Screenplay: Jeb Stuart Steven E. de Souza |
| Starring | Bruce Willis Alan Rickman Bonnie Bedelia Alexander Godunov Reginald VelJohnson Paul Gleason |
| Music by | Michael Kamen Chris Boardman (uncredited) |
| Cinematography | Jan de Bont |
| Editing by | John F. Link Frank J. Urioste |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Release date(s) | July 15, 1988 |
| Running time | 131 minutes |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English German |
| Budget | $30,000,000 (est.) |
| Gross revenue | Domestic: $83,008,852 Worldwide: $138,708,852 |
| Followed by | Die Hard 2 |
| IMDb • Allmovie | |
Die Hard is an Academy Award nominated 1988 American action film. It was written by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza, stars Bruce Willis, Bonnie Bedelia, Alan Rickman, Paul Gleason, Reginald VelJohnson and William Atherton, and was directed by John McTiernan. A critical and commercial success, Die Hard propelled Willis' film career and established Rickman as a popular portrayer of villains in American film. The film also started the Die Hard series.
The movie is based on a 1979 novel by Roderick Thorp titled Nothing Lasts Forever, itself a sequel to the book The Detective, which was previously made into a 1968 movie starring Frank Sinatra.
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[edit] Plot
John McClane, a detective with the New York City Police Department, arrives in Los Angeles to attempt a Christmas reunion with his estranged wife Holly, who is attending a party thrown by her employer, Takagi, at the high-rise Nakatomi Plaza. While McClane refreshes himself from the flight in Holly's corporate room, he and Holly have an argument over the use of her maiden name, Gennero, but Holly is soon called away. As the party continues, a group of terrorists led by Hans Gruber seize the building and hold the partygoers as hostages, under the pretense of releasing various terrorist operatives from prison for the hostages' safe release. McClane, able to disappear unnoticed into the building's maintenance areas, learns that Gruber is actually after $640 million in bearer bonds stored in the building's vault using the hostage situation as a cover. McClane is unable to stop Gruber from shooting Takagi at point blank range when he refuses to hand over the safe's combination.
McClane's attempts to alert the local police by pulling the fire alarm are noticed, and he becomes a target by some of Gruber's other men. McClane is able to kill them, securing one of their radios and a quantity of C4 explosives and detonators from the dead terrorists. Though Gruber and his men can hear him over the radio, McClane anonymously contacts the Los Angeles Police Department, who send Officier Al Powell to check the building. Though Powell finds nothing amiss, McClane is able to get his attention by dropping one of the corpses on Powell's patrol vehicle. Powell recognizes by McClane's language that he is a cop though McClane keeps his anonymity, and learns enough about the situation to report to headquarters; Powell's report causes the situation to quickly escalate, and the SWAT team soon arrives to try to storm the building. McClane attempts to get Powell to stop the SWAT team, knowing they are walking into a trap, but Powell cannot convince his superiors to stop it; the team is repelled by terrorists with guns and the following SWAT tank is disabled by a rocket launcher. To stop the carnage, McClane drops the C4 down the elevator shaft to destroy the floor the terrorists are firing from. As Gruber's men attempt to find and subdue McClane, Gruber then addresses over the radio to McClane that he knows who he is and demands that McClane return the detonators or else he would shoot one of the hostages. McClane refuses, and Gruber follows on his promise by killing the man who had sold out McClanes identity to him, much to the horror of the police force who heard everything on radio. McClane continues to keep moving through the building to try to learn Gruber's plans, unknowingly meeting him face-to-face; Gruber gains McClane's trust by passing himself off as one of the building employees, but when Gruber's men return to meet him, McClane is forced to flee, dropping the detonators as he leaves.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation arrives and takes control of the situation, demanding that they shut off the building power while they attempt to raid the building from the top floors. Gruber planned for the FBI's predictability; disconnecting the power would open the final electromagnetic lock on the vault, while he has used the detonators to rig the helipad on the building's roof knowing the FBI will attempt a sneak gunship attack on the building. The terrorists, after learning that Gruber's initial demands have been met, force the hostages to the roof to be transferred to the FBI helicopter, but McClane is able to get everyone inside safely before the helipad explodes, the helicopter caught in the explosion. Though the rest of the hostages are able to escape, McClane learns that Gruber has discovered from a investigative newscast from reporter Richard Thornburg, that Holly is McClane's wife, and is personally holding her hostage to prevent McClane from interfering in his getaway. McClane, down to his last two bullets, is able to lull Gruber into a trap, dispatching the last terrorist and mortally wounding Gruber. Gruber, releasing his grip on Holly, falls back through a window, but manages to hang on to Holly's wristwatch, his weight dragging her out the window as well; McClane is able to unstrap the watch and lets Gruber fall to his death. Meanwhile, Theo, Gruber's technological assistant, is detained by McClane's limo driver, Argyle, after collecting the bonds.
McClane and Holly leave the building together, and meet Officer Powell; Powell, who had not fired a gun since he accidentally shot a child years ago, manages to shoot one of the terrorists that is still alive before he could harm McClane and Holly from behind. When Thornburg attempts to interview the two as they are leaving the scene, Holly punches him in the face. McClane and Holly take off in Argyle's limo as the building is secured by the police.
[edit] Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Bruce Willis | Detective John McClane |
| Alan Rickman | Hans Gruber |
| Bonnie Bedelia | Holly Gennero McClane |
| Reginald VelJohnson | Sgt. Al Powell |
| Alexander Godunov | Karl |
| Paul Gleason | Deputy Police Chief Dwayne T. Robinson |
| William Atherton | Richard Thornburg |
| De'voreaux White | Argyle |
| Hart Bochner | Harry Ellis |
| James Shigeta | Joe Takagi |
| Dennis Hayden | Eddie |
| Clarence Gilyard Jr. | Theo |
| Bruno Doyon | Franco |
| Taylor Fry | Lucy McClane |
| Hans Buhringer | Fritz |
| Gerard Bonn | Kristoff |
| Gary Roberts | Heinrich |
| Al Leong | Uli |
| Lorenzo Caccialanza | Marco |
| Joey Plewa | Alexander |
| Wilhelm von Homburg | James |
| Andreas Wisniewski | Tony |
| Robert Davi | Special Agent Johnson |
| Grand L. Bush | Agent Johnson |
| David Patrick Kelly | S.W.A.T. Team Member |
[edit] Production
Fox Plaza in Los Angeles was used for exterior shots of the Nakatomi building. Die Hard follows its source material — Roderick Thorp's novel Nothing Lasts Forever — closely, much of the film's memorable scenes, characters, and dialogue taken directly from the novel. Nothing Lasts Forever, a sequel to Thorp's earlier novel The Detective, was written with the intention of being adapted into a film sequel to the film adaptation of The Detective, which starred Frank Sinatra. When Sinatra turned down the offer to star in the sequel, the story was altered to be a stand-alone film with no connections to The Detective. Other changes included the older hero of the novel becoming younger, the hero's daughter becoming his wife, and the American Klaxon Oil Corporation becoming the Japanese Nakatomi Corporation. The novel's tone is darker and more serious than the film's, and the politically-motivated fighters of the novel became thieves pretending to be terrorists in the film. Director John McTiernan states on the DVD commentary that these changes were made because he wanted to bring "joy" to the story.
In the German dub, the names and backgrounds of the German-born terrorists were changed into English forms (mostly into their British equivalents, though two were turned Italian): Hans became Jack, Karl became Charlie, Heinrich turned into Henry (in the scene where John is writing down the names of the terrorists, a voiceover in the German version says "I'm gonna call you Hans and Karl, just like the two evil giants in the fairy tale" while referring to them as Jack and Charlie later). The new background depicts them as some internationally organized terrorists having gone freelance and for profit rather than ideals [1]. This was because German terrorism (especially by the Rote Armee Fraktion) was still considered a sensitive issue by the German government in the 1980s.
According to commentary from the movie's DVD release, Alan Rickman's surprise when Gruber is dropped from the building is genuine: the director chose to release Rickman a full second before he expected it in order to get genuine surprise, a move which angered Rickman. The text commentary track also reveals that the shooting script did not originally feature the meeting between McClane and Gruber pretending to be a hostage; it was only written in when it was discovered that Rickman could do an American accent.
Die Hard's title has been changed for different market releases to an extent rarely seen. It was renamed Big Building Fight in Thailand. In Spain, it was renamed La Jungla de Cristal (The Glass Jungle). In Latin America it was renamed Duro de Matar (Hard to Kill), since "Die Hard", does not translate well. In Russia the film was named Крепкий Орешек (A Hard Nut to Crack) (word-for-word — Hard Nutlet). In Poland it was named Szklana Pułapka (The Glass Trap). In Portugal it was named Assalto ao Arranha-Céus (Assault to the Skyscraper). In Greece it was named Πολύ σκληρός για να πεθάνει (Too tough to die). In Norway it was named Operasjon Skyskraper, which translates into "Operation Skyscraper". It was later changed to its original name. In France and in Italy, it was named The Crystal Trap (respectively Piège de Cristal in French, Trappola di Cristallo in Italian). In Yugoslavia, instead, the film was named Umri Muški (Die like a Man). In Romania, it was renamed Greu de ucis (Hard To Kill, like the Latin American title). In Finland, the film was named Vain kuolleen ruumiini yli (Only over my dead body). In Germany, the title was Stirb langsam (Die Slowly). The Hungarian title was Drágán add az életed (Give your life expensive). In Estonia, the title was translated to Visa Hing (Sturdy Soul). In Israel, the title was translated to מת לחיות (Dying to Live). In Czech Republic, the title was translated to Smrtonosná Past (Lethal Trap). In Taiwan it became "終極警探" (Ultimate Detective) and "虎胆龙威"(Tiger's bravery and Dragon's might) in Hong Kong and mainland China.
[edit] Music
Beethoven's 9th Symphony is featured prominently in Kamen's score throughout the film, in many guises and variations. Thematic variations on "Singin' in the Rain" are also featured as the theme for the character Theo. Basing his score around thematic variations on well-known pieces is a conceit that Kamen would repeat in Die Hard 2 (which featured Jean Sibelius's Finlandia) and Die Hard With A Vengeance (which featured variations on the Civil War marching tune, "When Johnny Comes Marching Home"). Due to the film's Christmas setting, the score also features sleigh bells in some cues, most notably when the main title appears and during the climactic fight where Gruber falls.
Near the beginning of the film, limousine driver Argyle plays the rap song Christmas In Hollis, performed by Run-D.M.C. and first released in 1987.
The final 4 minutes were tracked with music from two other Twentieth Century Fox features - these were 'temp tracks' which the studio ultimately decided to leave in the picture. The poignant music heard when McClane and Powell see each other for the first time is from John Scott's score for Man On Fire (1987). When Karl appears with his rifle, a cut from the 1986 sci-fi action movie Aliens composed by James Horner is heard. This music can be found on the Aliens soundtrack as the first few minutes of the cue "Resolution and Hyperspace" - much of it was not used in the final cut of Aliens, and was replaced instead with an edited version of the track "Bishop's Countdown".
In February of 2002, A Limited Edition Score for Die Hard, composed by Michael Kamen, was released.
[edit] Reception
When Die Hard was released, it was considered one of the best action films of its era(on Rotten Tomatoes, the film currently holds a 96% "fresh" rating). This is probably in part due to the fact that there are few artificial plot points in the story. The film features Willis as a sympathetic hero with typical human weaknesses, unlike the Übermensch heroes exemplified by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone. It is noted for including humor as a complement to the action and dramatic elements of the story. It is said to have reinvented the action genre and set the stage for '90s action/thriller movies such as Under Siege, Sudden Death, Cliffhanger, Passenger 57 and Speed. "Die Hard on a _____" became a common way to describe the plot of many of the action films that came in its wake. For example, 1994's Speed was called "Die Hard on a bus"[2], 1996's The Rock was dubbed "Die Hard on an island". The movie was also responsible for creating an "action star" archetype that is a far more fallible and human hero than the muscle-bound Arnold Schwarzenegger/Sylvester Stallone type of years previous.[3]
It was highly acclaimed by critics[4] and spawned three popular sequels: Die Hard 2 (1990), Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995) and Live Free or Die Hard (2007), all featuring Willis as McClane. Die Hard was listed at #39 on the AFI's 100 Years... 100 Thrills list of the most thrilling American movies of all time in 2001. In 2003, Hans Gruber was listed at #46 on the AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains special. However, Roger Ebert gave it a less than flattering review, giving it a mere 2 stars and criticizing the stupidity of the characters and the satirical view the film takes on authority figures.
Die Hard had a budget of $28 million. Released in 1,276 theaters, it grossed $7.1 million in its opening weekend. The film earned $83 million domestically and $138.7 million worldwide. The movie was nominated for Best Sound Effects Editing, Best Film Editing, Best Sound and Best Visual Effects. John McClane's infamous line "Yippee ki ay, motherfucker" was voted as #96 of "The 100 Greatest Movie Lines" by Premiere magazine in 2007. In the June 22, 2007 issue of Entertainment Weekly, it was named the best action movie of all time.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ "Schnittberichte - Stirb Langsam". Retrieved on 2007-10-12.
- ^ Die Hard
- ^ The Movies of the Eighties (1990) by Ron Base and David Haslam.
- ^ RottenTomatoes Aggregated Film Reviews
- ^ ""Die Hard" tops magazine list of best action films". Reuters.
[edit] External links
- Die Hard at the Internet Movie Database
- Die Hard at Rotten Tomatoes
- Script
- [http://www.maxim.com/The9mostblatantdiehardripoffs/articles/1/9811.aspx?src=dx23:mtd Movies Influenced By Die Hard
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