Die Hard

Die Hard (entitled Hard to kill in Latin America and Jungla de cristal in Spain) is a 1988 American action film directed by John McTiernan and written by Steve de Souza and Jeb Stuart. It is based on the novel Nothing Lasts Forever (1979) by Roderick Thorp.

Die Hard follows off-duty NYPD officer John McClane (Bruce Willis) as he takes on a group of highly organized criminals led by Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman), who hold up a Los Angeles skyscraper under the guise of a terrorist attack using hostages, including McClane's wife, Holly Gennaro (Bonnie Bedelia), to hold off the police. In 2017, the United States Library of Congress selected Die Hard for preservation in the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

History

Die Hard is based on the novel Nothing Lasts Forever (1979), the sequel to the 1966 novel The Detective also written by Roderick Thorp, which itself had been adapted into a 1968 film of the same name and starred Frank Sinatra. Fox was contractually obligated to offer Sinatra the lead role in Die Hard, but he turned it down, so it was proposed to Arnold Schwarzenegger as a sequel to the 1985 film Commando, but he also rejected the script. The film was successively proposed and rejected by various action movie stars of the time such as Sylvester Stallone, Harrison Ford, Richard Gere, Clint Eastwood, Burt Reynolds, Robert De Niro and Don Johnson before it was proposed to an almost unknown Bruce Willis. and he will accept. The studio didn't have much faith in Willis's action star ability, as at the time he was only known for his TV and film comedy roles such as Moonlighting, Cites blind girls and Murder in Beverly Hills (Sunset) , and charged for the role the enormous amount of 5 million dollars, a very high figure that since the studio was desperate to close the leading role to be able to release the tape as a blockbuster during the summer.

Made on a budget of $28 million, Die Hard grossed more than $140 million worldwide and was praised by critics. The film made Bruce Willis an action star, and was often compared to other action movies featuring a lone hero fighting against overwhelming odds. It received 4 Oscar nominations: Best Editing, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound, and Best Sound Effects.

Plot

The Fox Plaza served as a stage for the Nakatomi Plaza.

John McClane (Bruce Willis) is a New York police officer who visits Los Angeles to reconcile with his ex-wife, Holly Gennaro (Bonnie Bedelia), who is at a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza building, ground floor. 30, owned by a Japanese Joe Takagi. John is taken to Nakatomi Plaza in a limousine driven by a young man named Argyle, whom he gains his trust and they become good friends. John goes up to the 30th floor, where he is greeted by Japanese who lead him to where his wife is.

Soon the Nakatomi Plaza is taken over by 13 terrorists: Carl, Franco, Tony, Theo, Alexander, Marco, Kristoff, Eddie, Uli, Heinrich, Fritz, James and their boss Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman). All of them equipped with machine guns and automatic weapons (Hans with a pistol) at the time when John was washing up in the bathroom. He manages to escape without being seen, wearing pants and a T-shirt, but no shoes. The terrorists show up at the 30th floor party looking for Mr. Takagi to teach Nakatomi Corporations a lesson in what he covets. Hans and a few escorts lead Takagi into the main hall while John, armed with a pistol, follows them. Hans questions Takagi about the code to open the Nakatomi Plaza vault and admits that he uses terrorism as a decoy while he tries to steal the $640 million in the vault. Takagi refuses to give the code and is killed by Hans while McClane watches in hiding. McClane pulls a fire alarm for the terrorists to discover and tries to enlist the help of the police. McClane murders Karl's brother Tony, enraging him. McClane takes his machine gun and portable radio communicator and writes on his shirt, "Now I have a machine gun. Ho Ho Ho!”, to be sent in the elevator to the 30th floor as a message to Hans.

McClane goes up to the roof and tries to tune in to the police for help but he tunes in to the police channel which tells him to use his phone or they will have to report it as a severe offense. Hans realizes that the best way to broadcast is on the roof, so he sends a group of three to take out McClane. He escapes through the elevators but they are paralyzed since Theo disabled the elevators from the lobby to the 30th floor, so he makes it to the ventilation shaft until he manages to reach the main hall, where Hans killed Takagi, although he no longer knows. finds. The police officers, upon hearing the shots, contact Sergeant Al Powell to investigate what is happening in the Nakatomi Plaza since they had requested help for what they believe is a sick joke. McClane makes it out of the vents, and sees Takagi's blood on the carpet. Seeing the officer's car, he begins to break the window to get his attention, but he doesn't realize that one of the terrorists is watching him. Heinrich sends Marco to investigate when he realizes McClane tells him to drop the gun at this moment Heinrich arrives and McClane shoots him, killing him, at the same time he confronts Marco who at the end of the table tells him "If you have to kill someone, don't hesitate", to which McClane says "thanks for the advice". Powell, when inspecting the building, reports that nothing is wrong and that it is most likely all a joke. Upon entering the patrol car, Marco's body falls, immediately afterward they begin to shoot at the patrol car, causing an accident, with the intention of attracting police help.

The cops arrive and McClane contacts Hans. He asks the group not to use their communicator radios until he authorized it, but McClane informs him that he did not put it on the board, he begins to strike up a conversation and inform him that Marco and his other friend are dead. Hans sends to investigate to find out who the other one was, he begins to tell McClane that to be a security guard, to which McClane mocks and tells him that he is the host, Hans tells him he thinks he can beat us cowboy. McClane tells him "Yippi ka yei, motherfucker." Al Powell communicates with McClane by portable radio, but McClane tells him that they also say his neighbors can listen and that they are very dangerous, he asks for his name to which he informs him to call him Roy. When Hans discovers that Heinrich was carrying the detonators, he communicates with Theo, who asks him how he is doing, Hans informs him that three locks have been blown. McClane begins to give information about the terrorists who are there, which angers Hans.

McClane warns the police that the types of terrorists are very dangerous and that entering the building to stop them will cause many casualties, they ignore McClane's words and try to penetrate the Nakatomi Plaza, being defeated by the terrorists since Hans He sets a trap for them at the entrance of the building, Theo realizing that a SWAT tank is sent to fight the terrorists, but it is useless because they destroy it using rocket launchers. McClane, seeing the failures of the police, throws a computer with the C-4 explosives and the detonators that Heinrich had left, causing an explosion and the death of two more terrorists: James and Alexander.

Hours go by and nothing happens a friend of Holly's, Harry Ellis, tired and getting high in front of everyone, tries to negotiate with the terrorists who tells him that he is their savior and that he can hand over the guy who screwed up everything. McClane, who talks to Al about the family, is interrupted by Hans, who reveals his real name to him, who tells him that his friends call him John and that you are not one or the other. Hans tells him that a very special person was with you tonight to what McClane thinks is his wife. He hears Ellis's voice telling him to hand over the detonators and turn himself in. Hans tells him that he told them Ellis tells him that they are good friends and that he was invited to the company party by mistake, that if he did not deliver the detonators they would kill him, McClane informs him to shut up and to tell him that they are not friends since he knows perfectly well the kind of guys that They are these, Ellis, unable to convince Jhon, they kill him (he dies dejectedly while enjoying a glass of very cold Coca Cola), Hans tells him to tell him where his detonators are and that sooner or later he will kill someone who affects him, this informs him to rot.

McClane finds Hans on the roof, who was looking for the detonators and points the gun at him, but since Hans is dressed in a suit he takes him as a party guest, Hans lies to McClane saying that he wanted to escape and that's how he went to the roof. McClane gives a gun without bullets to Hans whom he already figured out, but he keeps acting, and when Hans wants to shoot McClane he realizes his mistake. Carl, Franco, and Fritz arrive before McClane can act, and a shootout ensues on the rooftop. McClane manages to kill Fritz and Franco, but runs out of bullets and is forced to flee leaving the detonators behind. Since several windows were broken during the battle, McClane hurts his feet from walking barefoot and washes them in a bathroom.

The FBI arrives, taking command of the situation and orders the power to be turned off, causing the emergency light to activate on the rooftop and parts of Nakatomi Plaza. The loss of power deactivates the final lock on the vault, as Hans had intended, allowing them access to the money. Hans orders a helicopter to leave there, leaving the hostages and the rest of Nakatomi Plaza intact, but his intention is actually to detonate the explosives on the roof to kill the hostages and simulate the false death of his men and the same. Hans watches a newsreel from Richard Thornburg where the reporter questions the McClane children, discovering that Holly is McClane's wife and taking her hostage to lure out John.

McClane meets Carl and they fight to the death until McClane finally gets rid of him. Hans orders the other hostages to go up to the roof to detonate the explosives. McClane manages to kill Uli and tells the hostages to come down as the roof is going to explode, McClane starts shooting at the helicopters to get them away from the explosion, but they refuse and try to eliminate McClane. The hostages go down and McClane takes a service rope on the roof, the explosives are detonated, destroying the helicopter and saving himself McClane barely manages to reach a few floors above where Hans is.

Theo travels to the parking lot to pick up his pick-up vehicle (which is an ambulance, to be inconspicuous), but there is Argyle crashing his limo into Theo's vehicle and eager to cooperate so McClane knocks Theo out knocking him out. in your car.

McClane finds duct tape from Christmas presents in a living room and uses it to strap a gun he had on to his back. Tired and armed with the machine gun he had obtained from the recently killed terrorists, he heads towards Hans, hoping that he only needs to kill three more terrorists. McClane knocks Kristoff unconscious with his gun and finds Hans in the main room with Eddie and Holly hostage. Hans points his gun at Holly, asking McClane to drop the gun, McClane drops it and is pointed with a submachine gun by Eddie. Hans tells McClane about his intervention and that he is going to be killed. Hans starts laughing, McClane plays along and starts laughing too, Eddie starts laughing too, and Holly has no idea what's going on. McClane laughs to distract them, until Hans gets to the point where his laughter makes him lower his gun. McClane takes advantage of the situation and quickly murders Eddie and Hans with the gun he had on his back, crashing into a window taking Holly by the wrist, where he had a watch on his hand. McClane takes Holly's watch by throwing Hans into the void, killing him.

John and Holly meet Powell and the other cops on the street. Carl, who managed to survive McClane's attack, emerges from the entrance to Nakatomi Plaza shooting. People freak out and take cover, but Powell shoots him dead. Thornburg arrives and tries to interview McClane, but gets punched by Holly for ratting them out to Hans. Then John and Holly tour Los Angeles in the limousine driven by Argyle finishing the movie.

Main cast

The actors Bruce Willis (in 2006), Alan Rickman (2007) and Bonnie Bedelia (1974), respectively.

Because Die Hard was based on the sequel novel to the film The Detective, the studio was contractually bound to cast Frank Sinatra in the title role. The actor, who was 70 years old at the time, refused. Faced with the refusal, the role was offered to performers such as Sylvester Stallone, Richard Gere, Clint Eastwood, Harrison Ford, Burt Reynolds, Nick Nolte, Mel Gibson, Don Johnson, Richard Dean Anderson, Paul Newman, James Caan and Al Pacino. The predominant action archetype at the time was an invincible, muscular man like Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was offered the lead but wanted to to branch out into comedy and turned it down to star in Twins (1988). Ultimately, the cast was Bruce Willis, who was known primarily for his comedic role on the television series Moonlight. He turned down the role due to his contractual obligations to the show, but when his partner Cybill Shepherd became pregnant, production on Moonlighting was shut down for eleven weeks, giving Willis time enough to take on the role.

The girlfriend of director John McTiernan had the opportunity to meet with a representative from CinemaScore and asked them to discuss Willis as the star. The results showed that selecting Willis would not have a negative impact; his involvement was confirmed two weeks later.The choice was controversial, as Willis had only starred in one other film, the comedy Blind Date (1987).At the time, there was also a clear distinction between film and television actors. Although films like Ghostbusters (1984) had shown that TV stars could lead a blockbuster movie, other TV actors like Shelley Long and Bill Cosby had failed in their recent attempts to make the transition..

Willis was paid $5 million for his leading role, earning him a salary comparable to more established and successful film actors such as Dustin Hoffman, Warren Beatty and Robert Redford. 20th Century Fox President Leonard Goldberg, justified the figure by saying that Die Hard needed an actor of Willis's potential, and producer Lawrence Gordon said that his personality was essential to convey the idea that the hero could actually fail. reported that other Fox sources stated that the studio was desperate for a star after being turned down by so many popular actors. Willis mentioned, "They paid me what they thought I was worth for the movie and for them." He described his character. as different from others portrayed by Stallone or Schwarzenegger, with the comment that "although he's a hero, he's just a normal guy. He's a regular guy who's been thrown into extraordinary circumstances." Willis drew on his working-class upbringing in southern New Jersey for the character, including "that attitude and disrespect for authority, that dark sense of humor, the reluctant hero".

Alan Rickman was already in his early 40s when he made his screen debut as the antagonist Hans Gruber. He was chosen by Joel Silver, who had seen him act in a Broadway version of the play Dangerous Liaisons, playing the villain Viscount de Valmont. On the other hand, the actress was selected Bonnie Bedelia at the request of Willis after seeing her in the biopic Heart Like a Wheel (1983). Reginald VelJohnson appeared as Al Powell, his first major film role, at the suggestion of casting director Jackie Burch, with whom had previously worked. Robert Duvall, Gene Hackman, and Laurence Fishburne were considered for the character. Harry Ellis is played by Hart Bochner, an acquaintance of Silver's; The role of him was shot in chronological order over three weeks. McTiernan had wanted the character to be suave like actor Cary Grant, but Bochner envisioned his motivations as coming from cocaine use and insecurity. The director initially hated the performance until he noticed that Gordon and Silver were amused by Bochner's antics, so the leading cast was formed as follows:

• Bruce Willis like John McClane: A detective from the NYPD.
• Alan Rickman as Hans Gruber: The ruthless leader of the terrorists.
• Alexander Godunov as Karl: Second command of Gruber.
• Bonnie Bedelia as Holly Gennero-McClane: high-ranking executive of Nakatomi and ex-wife of John.
• Reginald VelJohnson as Al Powell: Sergeant, LAPD.
• Paul Gleason as Dwayne T. Robinson: Deputy Director of the LAPD.
• De'voreaux White as Argyle: John's limo driver.
• William Atherton as Richard Thornburg: Unscrupulous TV reporter.
• Clarence Gilyard as Theo: Gruber technology specialist.
• Hart Bochner like Harry Ellis: Nakatomi's sordid executive.
• James Shigeta as Joseph Yoshinobu Takagi: Executive Director of Nakatomi.

In addition to the main cast, Die Hard featured other actors, such as Bruno Doyon —Franco—, Andreas Wisniewski —Tony—, Joey Plewa —Alexander—, Lorenzo Caccialanza —Marco—, Gerard Bonn —Kristoff—, Dennis Hayden —Eddie—, Al Leong —Uli—, Gary Roberts —Heinrich—, Hans Buhringer —Fritz— and Wilhelm von Homburg —James— representing Gruber's henchmen. Robert Davi and Grand L. Bush appear as FBI Special Agents Big and Little Johnson, respectively. Tracy Reiner stars as Thornburg's assistant, while Taylor Fry and Noah Land make minor appearances as McClane's children Lucy and John Jr.

Production

Development and script

Director John McTiernan in 2014

Development on Die Hard began in 1987, when screenwriter Jeb Stuart was in dire financial straits. His script, purchased by Columbia Pictures, had been abandoned and a contract with Walt Disney Pictures did not bring him sufficient income. Stuart had six weeks between contract jobs, so his agent Jeremy Zimmer contacted Lloyd Levin, the head of development at the Gordon Company, a production arm of 20th Century Fox. Levin asked Stuart to work on a adaptation of the novel Nothing Lasts Forever (1978), written by former police officer Roderick Thorp. The latter had been inspired to write Nothing Lasts Forever by a dream he had after watching the disaster movie The Towering Inferno (1974); in the dream, armed assailants chase a man through a building. Fox had already adapted the predecessor book, The Detective (1966), for the 1968 film starring Frank Sinatra as the NYPD Detective Joe Leland, and bought the rights to the sequel before Nothing Lasts Forever was written.

Levin gave Stuart creative freedom as long as he kept the Christmas setting in Los Angeles; he felt the concept would provide an interesting aesthetic. The film was pitched as "Rambo in an Office Building", a reference to the hit Rambo film series. Producers Lawrence Gordon and Joel Silver hired to director John McTiernan, in part due to his work with them on the action film Predator (1987). McTiernan agreed to direct on the condition that the film contain "some joy". and did not simply contain "mean and nasty acts" recurring in other terrorist films. Stuart began working 18-hour days at his office at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, which left him exhausted and "nervous". argument with his wife, he went for a drive and saw a box in his lane; unable to avoid it, he was forced to drive and found it empty. According to Stuart, he pulled over to the side of the freeway, his "heart pounding." From this, Stuart conceived a central story theme of a man who should have apologized to his wife before a catastrophe. He returned home to reconcile with his wife, writing 35 pages that night. To shape the McClanes' relationship, Stuart also drew on his partners' marital problems, including divorces and his spouse's return to his last name. single.

Jeb Stuart wrote his initial draft at his Walt Disney Studios office in Burbank, California.

John McClane was originally called John Ford, but 20th Century Fox felt this was disrespectful to the late director of the same name. Stuart chose McClane as a "good strong Scottish name", based on his own Celtic heritage. He described the character as a flawed hero who learns a lesson in the worst possible situation and becomes a better person, though not a different one. Having no experience writing action films, Stuart drew on his writing experience. of suspense, focusing on making the audience care about McClane, Holly, and their reconciliation. As Stuart was presenting his story to the executives, Gordon interrupted him, told him to complete a draft, and left the meeting. Stuart finished the first draft of him just under six weeks later.

Stuart credits Levin with helping him understand Nothing Lasts Forever. He faithfully adapted many sequences, including a load of C-4 thrown down an elevator shaft and the central character, Joe Leland, jumping from the roof. However, the novel is told entirely from Leland's perspective, and events in which he is not present are not detailed. Its tone is also more cynical and nihilistic: Leland visits his drug-addicted daughter in the Klaxon Building, and she falls to her death from the building along with the villain Anton Gruber, who uses naive guerrillas to rob the building due to Klaxon's support of a dictatorial government. This made his motivations less clear and Leland more conflicted about killing them, especially the women. Leland's character is written as a seasoned old man and senior security consultant. Stuart rejected the novel's tone as "too sad" and believed an older action hero—Leland was in his late 60s— it did not make sense. Likewise, Stuart created new material for scenes in which McClane is not present, expanding on or introducing characters: he gave Powell a wife and children, allowing him to bond more closely with McClane; and Argyle, who disappears early in the novel, is present throughout the script, supporting McClane by playing rap music on the terrorists' radios. Among the original characters in the script is the unscrupulous journalist Richard Thornburg.

A fan of Western actor John Wayne, Stuart was inspired to carry a Western theme throughout the script, including cowboy slang. He befriended a construction superintendent at the Fox Plaza under construction in Los Angeles, which allowed him access to the building to get ideas on how to design the characters and scenes. He delivered the finished script in June 1987; the next day he was given the green light, in part because 20th Century Fox needed a blockbuster for 1988.

Script rewrite

Steven E. de Souza rewrote Stuart's script, as he had experience mixing action and comedy. He approached the story as if Gruber were the lead, saying: "If [Gruber] hadn't planned and organized robbery, [McClane] would have simply gone to the party and either made up with his wife or not. Sometimes you should think about looking at your film from the point of view of the villain who is really driving the narrative." De Souza used blueprints of Fox Plaza to help him design the story, as well as character locations within the building. The script continued to undergo changes up to and during filming. Several subplots and character traits other than McClane were created over the first few weeks of filming because Willis was still on Moonlighting; he would record the show for up to ten hours and then work on Die Hard at night.McTiernan gave Willis time off to rest and tasked de Souza with adding the new scenes. These included scenes with Holly's housekeeper, an introductory scene for Thornburg, and more moments between Powell and his fellow officers, as well as Holly confronting Gruber after Takagi's death.

The movie actor Roy Rogers, who said the phrase that inspired McClane's.

Silver wanted a scene between McClane and Gruber before the film's denouement, but de Souza couldn't think of a plausible scenario until he heard Rickman in an American accent. He realized that this would allow Gruber to disguise himself when he meets McClane, and the earlier scene of Takagi's murder was reworked to hide Gruber's identity from McClane. Due to the addition of the meeting scene between Gruber and McClane, a different one in which the protagonist kills Theo was removed. In Stuart's original script, Die Hard took place over three days., but McTiernan was inspired by Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream to take place over a single night. He did not want to use the terrorists as villains, as he considered them "too petty", and he avoided focusing on the terrorists' politics in favor of turning them into money-driven thieves; he felt this would make it more suitable for summer entertaining.

McClane's character was not fully realized until almost halfway through production. McTiernan and Willis had determined that McClane is a man who doesn't like himself very much, but does the best he can in a bad situation. McClane's line, "Yipee-ki-yay, motherfucker", he drew on old cowboy slang, including that of Roy Rogers—"Yippee-ki-yah, kids"—to emphasize his all-American character.

Shooting

The skyscraper Fox Plaza served as a stage for the Nakatomi Plaza.

Filming began in November 1987 and wrapped in early March 1988, with an approximate budget of $25–35 million. Filming took place almost entirely in the Fox skyscraper Plaza and its surrounding area in Century City, on Avenue of the Stars. Designer Jackson De Govia chose the location late in production. A mostly vacant building was needed, a situation offered by the Fox Plaza under construction, which was insured with two main conditions: no daytime filming and no blast damage.

Cinematographer Jan de Bont said the building's layout was distinct, making it a character unto itself, and that there were clear views of the building from a distance, allowing for McClane's tailored shots.. The surrounding city could be seen from inside the building, displaying realism. De Bont frequently used handheld cameras to film the characters up close, creating a more cinematic "intimacy". Very little of the film was storyboarded beforehand because De Bont believed that this rendered his work superfluous. Instead, he and McTiernan would talk in detail about that day's filming and the feeling or sensation they wanted to convey. De Bont was more concerned with creating a dramatic shot than an attractive one. He cited the film's use of real flares that generated unpredictable smoke that sometimes obscured the image.

Willis's first day on set was November 2, 1987. He came straight from filming Moonlighting to shoot one of its most pivotal scenes, where McClane jumps off a rooftop as it explodes behind him. Willis found it difficult to act in Die Hard because it differed from previous experiences in that he was often alone, not having any personal encounters with others. He did not spend much time with the rest of the cast. cast between takes, opting to spend it with his new wife, Demi Moore. In contrast to their on-screen dynamic, Bedelia and VelJohnson spent most of their time between scenes with Rickman.

The ending of the film was undecided when shooting began. In the finished film, Theo retrieves an ambulance from the truck the terrorists arrived in to use as a getaway vehicle, but as this was a late addition, the truck the terrorists had been filmed arriving in was too small to contain an ambulance. Another scene, showing the terrorists synchronizing their TAG Heuer watches, also showed the truck to be empty; this part had to be removed, leading to other necessary changes. As scripted, McClane realizes that the American hostage he finds is Gruber, due to the distinctive TAG Heuer surveillance he observed on the other terrorists; the clocks were no longer an established plot point, he needed the introduction of a heroic scene for Argyle, who manages to stop Theo's escape. De'voreaux actually punched Gilyard during the scene, which was added in the last ten days of filming.

There was flexibility with some roles, depending on the performances of the actors, meaning some characters were kept in the film longer and others were killed off earlier. The actors were also given some room to improvise, like Theo's line, "My God, the quarterback is toast!", Bochner's "Hans, boubie, I'm your white knight," or the part where henchman Uli steals a chocolate bar during the mugging. of a SWAT team. McTiernan drew on the stylistic influence of French nouvelle vague cinema when editing the film. He recruited Frank J. Urioste and John F. Link to edit scenes together while they were in the middle of the move, contrary to the conventional editing style in use at the time.

Music

Before hiring composer Michael Kamen, McTiernan knew he wanted to include Ludwig van Beethoven's 9th Symphony after hearing it in A Clockwork Orange (1971). Kamen objected to "tarnishing" the piece in a film action and offered to misuse the music of German composer Richard Wagner. Once McTiernan explained how the Ninth Symphony had been used in A Clockwork Orange to highlight ultraviolence, Kamen understood. better than McTiernan's intentions. In return, Kamen insisted that they also release the use of the song "Singin'" for the song. in the Rain ». He mixed the melodies of the Symphony No. 9 ,« Winter Wonderland »and« Singin & # 39; in the Rain" in its score, primarily to underscore the villains. The samples from the Ninth Symphony are played in slightly lower keys to make them sound more menacing. The soundtrack also references "Let It Snow ! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!"

At first, Kamen watched a mostly sketchy version of Die Hard and was unimpressed. He declared that a "phenomenal bad guy" made McClane seem less important. On the other hand, Kamen despised film scores, believing that they could not stand alone in front of the film. His original score incorporated pizzicato and bow strings, brass, woodwinds, and rattles during the moments of threat in order to counter its festive significance. There are other uses of classical diegetic music in the film; the performers at the party play the Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, by Johann Sebastian Bach.

McTiernan didn't like a piece created for the final scene where Karl tries to kill McClane, and decided to use a temporary clue that was already in place; an unused piece of score by James Horner for Aliens: The Return (1986). Cues from the action film Man on Fire (1987) are also used. Die Hard also includes "Christmas in Hollis", by the rap band Run-DMC, which would become a Christmas classic, in part due to its use in the film. The soundtrack was released on CD in 2002 by the Varèse Sarabande record company.

Themes

A painting made in 1812 by Joseph-Ferdinand Lancrenon showing Odysseus, with the help of Telémaco, preparing to slaughter his wife's suitors. Alexander Boon compared the story with John McClane's search to rescue his wife.

Die Hard has been described by critics such as Richard Brody and Chris Hewitt as a story about obtaining redemption through violence. McClane arrives in Los Angeles to save her marriage, but makes the same mistakes that drove Holly away; Brody and Hewitt suggest that it is only after McClane defeats the terrorists through violence that their marriage is seemingly reconciled. Similarly, Powell is haunted after accidentally shooting a child and finds redemption by pulling out his gun to shoot to Karl. Several male characters who are driven by anger or ego suffer for it, including FBI agents Karl, Ellis, and McClane, who nearly lose Holly by showing off after shooting Gruber. Critic Matt Zoller Seitz noted that the more even-tempered characters—often African-Americans—fare better. McClane self-identifies as a Catholic, a religion that requires penance to earn redemption. Brody said McClane endures physical punishment, including cutting his feet with glass shards to create a bloody "stigmata." By making these sacrifices, he saves the family from him. In this sense, McClane can be seen as a modern, working-class, Christ-like figure.

Alexander Boon compared McClane violently claiming his wife to the Greek figure Odysseus slaughtering his wife's suitors. McClane is rewarded for his masculinity, despite displaying negative masculine traits.Jeffrey Brown mentioned that McClane's shirt emphasizes his masculine physicality; this outfit is worn by other action characters like John Rambo and women who display masculine traits like Rachel McLish (Aces: Iron Eagle III) and Linda Hamilton (Terminator 2: Judgment Day). Powell and Argyle are not physically equal to McClane, but they prioritize relationships and, when called upon to perform, succeed. McClane possesses an imposing physique, but is clumsy and reliant on improvisation, and he only succeeds through relationships with his allies. The connection between McClane and Powell is particularly critical to the former's success. The couple share a non-romantic intimacy that allows McClane to confess his failings as a husband in a way he didn't with Holly, allowing McClane to grow as a person. Gruber fails because he is isolated, self-interested and sacrifices his team for his own survival.

Peter Parshall observed that McClane and Gruber are reflections of each other. Brody contrasted McClane, an all-American stereotype compared to Western stars such as Roy Rogers, John Wayne and Gary Cooper, with Gruber, a European villain of classical education who refers to the United States as a "bankrupt" culture. Elizabeth Abele wrote that, compared to the superheroes of the previous decade in films such as Superman (1978) and In Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), McClane is portrayed as physical yet realistically masculine, conveying the idea of a "real man" who possesses intrinsic and independent strength. According to Justin Chang and Mark Olsen, this can be seen as a response to Reaganism, the political positions of United States President Ronald Reagan that promote the values of the American dream, self-reliance, initiative, and technological advancement.

Willis recounted that given the choice, McClane would pass on the responsibility of dealing with the terrorists to someone else, but is forced to act like a reluctant hero. When the character is introduced, he is wearing his wedding ring; Scott Tobias wrote that this serves as a symbol of his betrothal. Holly is presented as the opposite; she uses her maiden name and is not wearing a ring. Instead, her employers gift her a Rolex watch, which serves as a symbol of her commitment to her work and her division in her marriage. When McClane opens the clock at the end of the film to free Holly from Gruber's grasp, the fact of their separation is broken and they seem to have reconciled. On the other hand, Parshall described the negative portrayals of the female characters. They appear sexualized in pin-up posters, suggest drinking while pregnant, or are away from their families on Christmas Eve at a work function. Holly assumes a position of authority after the death of her boss, but Gruber delegates that power to her and uses it in traditionally feminine ways to care for her colleagues. Takagi is replaced in Holly's life with a different "dominant male", McClane. Darin Payne wrote that Die Hard reflects the contemporary decline of men as the main breadwinner in the household as more Women enter the workforce and blue-collar jobs in foreign countries are lost. In response, an American cowboy saves the day, rescuing his captured wife from a foreign-owned tower.

Die Hard has anti-government, bureaucratic, and corporate elements. A terrorist claims McClane can't hurt him because there are rules for cops, rules he tries to exploit. McClane replies "so my captain keeps telling me", suggesting that he operates outside of bureaucratically approved procedures.Brody mentioned that the police often present a bigger obstacle than the terrorists; according to him, they believe they are in control of events, unaware that the terrorists have already anticipated all their actions. The police chief is portrayed as incompetent and the FBI is shown to be indifferent to the lives of hostages as long as they kill to terrorists. McClane is an everyman who fights terrorists dressed as elite big-city workers. As the character Ellis states, the only difference between corporate employees and terrorists is that he uses a pen and Gruber he uses a gun. The police, the FBI, and an intrusive journalist are punished for getting in McClane's way. Parshall noted that the Christmas setting can be seen as an attack on traditional social values. The corporation throws a party on Christmas Eve, keeping employees away from their families, and villains cynically appropriate Christmas iconographies; by defeating them, McClane upholds tradition and stands up for society.

Along with the group of mainly German terrorists, the Nakatomi Plaza is owned by a Japanese corporation and the hostages are Americans. Brody identified this as a reflection of local anxiety about foreign powers at a time when the Japanese technology companies threatened to dominate the American technology industry. The United States' old enemies—Germany and Japan—are portrayed as having abandoned their integrity in the pursuit of financial gain. Dave Kehr said the film embodies a resentful "worker rage" of the 1980s against feminists, yuppies, the media, law enforcement, and foreign citizens. Brody noted that the film can also be considered progressive in its portrayal of its African-American characters, as the cast members VelJohnson, Gilyard and White appear in prominent and important roles. The A.V. Club noted that, unlike many other films of the 1980s, Die Hard is not an allegory for the Vietnam War. However, he scoffs at the idea when an FBI agent comments that his helicopter raid reminds him of war; His classmate replies that he was in high school at the time.Even so, Empire magazine believed the film referenced Vietnam by showing an ill-equipped local facing off against highly regarded foreign invaders. equipped; this time the United States wins. Drew Ayers described the complex design of Nakatomi Plaza as analogous to the hidden jungles of Vietnam.

Launch

Context and premiere

Movie industry executives expected the summer of 1988 to be dominated by action and comedy films, although a broader range of genres were released that year. More films were aimed at adult audiences rather than teenagers, a reflection of the increasing age of average audiences. Sequels Crocodile Dundee 2 and Rambo III were predicted to command the May box office and break box office records for opening weekend. Industry executives also had high expectations for the comedies Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and Coming to America. Expectations for Die Hard were low compared to their action movie competition: Red Heat, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, and The Dead Pool, with Clint Eastwood. The New York Times noted that Die Hard and the comedies Big Top Pee-wee and Bull Durham would be scrutinized accordingly. around the industry in search of success or failure. Die Hard received questions over Willis's salary and the fiasco earlier that year of his previous film, Sunset, which called into question his abilities as a leading man. Lawrence Gordon agreed that not using a major action star like Sylvester Stallone or Eastwood meant audience interest in Die Hard was less than it might have been. The higher salaries paid to these stars were based on the built-in audience they could attract opening week, with good word of mouth supporting the film thereafter, but Willis did not have a built-in audience.

Country Premiere date United States 12 July 1988 (Avco Cinemas de Westwood, California) 15 July 1988 (limited size) 20 July 1988 Puerto Rico 25 August 1988 Philippines 7 September 1988 27 September 1988 (Dávao) South Africa 16 September 1988 France 21 September 1988 South Korea Taiwan 24 September 1988 Belgium Switzerland 28 September 1988 Italy 29 September 1988 Spain Sweden 30 September 1988 Australia 6 October 1988 Finland New Zealand 7 October 1988 Israel 14 October 1988 Hong Kong 19 October 1988 Singapore 22 October 1988 Brazil 27 October 1988 Cyprus Greece Netherlands 3 November 1988 Western Germany 10 November 1988 Austria 11 November 1988 Thailand 12 November 1988

Country Premiere date Norway 17 November 1988 Jamaica 23 November 1988 United Kingdom 27 November 1988 (London Film Festival) 3 February 1989 Malaysia 1 December 1988 Argentina 15 December 1988 Mexico Portugal 16 December 1988 Panama Uruguay 25 December 1988 Denmark 26 December 1988 Bolivia 1 January 1989 Chile 27 January 1989 Venezuela 1 February 1989 Peru 2 February 1989 Japan 4 February 1989 Egypt 13 February 1989 Ireland 17 February 1989 Colombia 20 April 1989 India 3 November 1989 Hungary 14 December 1989 Turkey 26 January 1990 Czechoslovakia 20 June 1991 Romania 4 June 1993

Marketing

Willis featured prominently in its first marketing campaign, but underwent several changes as the film's release date approached. Willis had earned a reputation as an "arrogant" actor concerned with his own fame; his refusal to address this, or discuss his personal life to the media, had reinforced this perception. For his part, Willis said he wanted the media to focus on his performance. There were reports that moviegoers would complain about Willis's appearance in trailers for Die Hard, and that a representative of an unnamed theater chain had pulled the trailer in response. Investigation by various film studios revealed that the public had a negative opinion of Willis and little or no interest in seeing him in Die Hard. David Ansen of Newsweek called Willis "the most unpopular actor to ever get $5 million to make a movie".

As 20th Century Fox's confidence in Willis's appeal faltered, the film's posters were changed to focus on Nakatomi Plaza, with Willis's name in small print. included in the film's first full-page newspaper advertisement in mid-July. 20th Century Fox executive Tom Sherak denied the attempt to hide Willis, saying their strategy had changed when they realized the The building was as much a character as the actor. Defying expectations, the film's trailers were well received by audiences, and the week after its release, advertising began to feature Willis more prominently. out of his distaste for interviews, Willis appeared on various daytime shows to promote the film. Explaining why he was more involved in promoting Die Hard, Willis stated, "I'm so excited about this movie [...] to me, it represents why I wanted to be an actor."

Home Format

The film was released on VHS in January 1989, with a local price of US$89.98. It became a popular rental, debuting as the third most rented film on the early February charts, and rose to number one the following week. It spent six of its first seven weeks at number one until it was succeeded by A Fish Called Wanda in late March. In 1997, it was estimated that he had earned $36 million from rentals.

Die Hard was released on DVD in late 1999 as part of a set with its sequels Die Hard 2 (1990) and Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995). It was also released separately as a special edition DVD in 2001, including commentary by McTiernan, De Govia, and Edlund, deleted scenes, trailers, and behind-the-scenes footage. On the other hand, for Blu-ray format it arrived in 2007. Die Hard: The Nakatomi Plaza Collection was released in 2015; is a package of all five films in the series on a Blu-ray Disc inside a Nakatomi Plaza-shaped container. For the 30th anniversary in 2018, the film was released on an Ultra HD Blu-ray with 4K resolution. The set also includes a standard Blu-ray and a digital download; additionally, a limited edition steel case version was released.

Reception

Ticket office

Die Hard opened in limited release in 21 theaters on July 15, 1988, earning $601,851, an average of $28,659 per theater. The film had its general release in North America on July 22, earning approximately $7,100,000 from 1,276 theaters — an average of $5,568 per theater — finishing as the #3 film for that weekend. By the time Die Hard had finished its run, it had earned $83,000,000 in North America and another $140,700,000 in the foreign market.

Criticism

Among others, English film critic Mark Kermode has expressed admiration for the film, calling it an exciting set of "Cowboys and Indians in The Towering Inferno". However, Roger Ebert gave it a less than flattering review, giving it a mere two stars and criticizing the stupidity of the deputy chief character, claiming that "by himself, he successfully undercuts the last half of the movie".

Contemporary analysis by review websites Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic provided a positive review. The film earned a 92% approval rating from 53 reviews — an average score of 8.3 out of 10 — on Rotten Tomatoes, which said that "its many imitators (and sequels) have never come close to matching the tension of the definitive film classic." vacation action". Metacritic provided a score of 70 out of 100 from 13 reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

German version

In the German dub, the names and backgrounds of the German terrorists were changed to English (mainly to their British equivalents, with the exception of Marco and Franco, who retained their Italian and French nationalities, respectively): Hans became Jack, Karl in Charlie and Heinrich in Henry. In the scene where John is writing down the names of the terrorists, a voiceover in the German version says "I'm going to call them Hans and Karl, just like the two evil giants in the fairy tale", referring to them as Jack and Charlie later. The new records describe them as internationally organized terrorists who have become self-employed for their benefit.

Acknowledgments

The film was nominated for four Academy Awards: Best Sound Editing, Best Editing, Best Sound (Don J. Bassman, Kevin F. Cleary, Richard Overton, and Al Overton, Jr.), and Best Visual Effects. by Michael Kamen earned him a BMI Award for Best Music in a TV Program/Movie in 1989.

Oscar Awards

BMI Awards

Edgar Allan Poe Awards

National Film Registry National Film Preservation Board

OFTA Film Hall of Fame Online Film & Television Association

Video Premiere Award DVD Exclusive Awards

Legacy

The film spawned four sequels: Die Hard 2 (1990), Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995), Live Free or Die Hard (2007) and A Good Day to Die Hard (2013). In July 2007, Bruce Willis donated a T-shirt used in the film to the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution. The film's title and its story of a lone hero fighting a multitude of opponents in an isolated environment are also included. became a common descriptor for the following action movies: "Die Hard in a/an..." became an easy and simple way to define the plot of many action movies that appeared more late. For example, the 1992 film Under Siege was known as "Die Hard on a Ship", the 1992 film Passenger 57 was dubbed " Die Hard on a Plane", the 1994 film Speed was called "Die Hard on a Bus", and the 1996 film The Rock was dubbed "Die Hard on an island".

In 2001, Die Hard was ranked #39 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Thriller Movies, a list of the most heart-pounding American movies. In 2003, Hans Gruber was ranked #46 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains category. Additionally, the film received other nominations for AFI's 100 Years... categories between 1998 and 2007., including the AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies category (1998), John McClane in the AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains category, McClane's line " Yippie-ki-yay, motherfucker!" in the AFI's 100 Years...100 Phrases category, and the film was again nominated for the AFI's category 10th Anniversary Edition. 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition)

In 2006, Gruber was ranked the 17th best movie character by Empire magazine. John McClane was ranked #12 on that same list. >Entertainment Weekly of June 22, 2007, Die Hard was named the greatest action film of all time. McClane's catchphrase "Yippie-ki-yay, motherfucker!" was voted #96 on "The 100 Best Christmas Movies of All Time". In 2017, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress. States and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.

Adaptations and Sequels

Cinema and comics

Jeremy Irons in 2011. He played Hans Gruber's brother, Simon, in Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995).

The success of Die Hard spawned four sequels, beginning with Die Hard 2 (1990), which was rushed into production to capitalize on the popularity of the original film. Stuart and McTiernan did not return for the film; Renny Harlin replaced McTiernan. Die Hard 2 is the last film in the series to feature De Souza, Bedelia, VelJohnson, Atherton, Silver and Gordon; the latter two fell out, delaying the production of a third film: Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995). This sequel also took longer to develop due to the difficulty of writing a script for a original set not yet used by one of the many imitators of Die Hard. McTiernan returned to direct Die Hard with a Vengeance; his only other film in the series, the plot of him pits McClane against Hans Gruber's brother, Simon (played by Jeremy Irons).

The film Live Free or Die Hard was released in 2007, where McClane teams up with a hacker (Justin Long) to fight cyber terrorists led by Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant). The film became controversial for being aimed at a younger audience, which required that much of the violence and profanity prevalent in the rest of the series be excluded. Even so, it was both financially and critically successful. film in the series, A Good Day to Die Hard (2013), unites McClane with his son Jack for an adventure in Moscow, Russia. The film was considered a financial success, despite fan reviews and negative reception crippling the franchise. A Good Day to Die Hard is considered the weakest entry in the series, and Willis has expressed interest in making a sixth and final film.

Die Hard remains the most acclaimed film in the franchise based on reviews compiled by Rotten Tomatoes. the 1980s that Die Hard had averted, and McClane became an invincible killing machine that survived damage that would have killed his original incarnation. Radio station NPR called Die Hard as a "really great" film whose legacy has been tarnished by lackluster sequels. According to The Guardian, the evolution of the action genre can be traced by the differences in each sequel to Die Hard, as McClane evolves from human to superhuman. On the other hand, a prequel and a comic book sequel have been released; Die Hard: Year One, which is set in 1976 and follows McClane as a rookie officer; and A Million Ways to Die Hard, set 30 years after Die Hard, features a retired McClane on the hunt for a serial killer.

Other media

Die Hard merchandise includes clothing, Funko Pops dolls, coloring and activity books, tableware, sweaters and Christmas decorations, as well as an illustrated book retelling the film. In 1989 a third-person shooter called Die Hard was released for the Commodore 64 and Windows platforms. Different versions of Martian Killer were released for the TurboGrafx-16 and Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The TurboGrafx-16 edition begins with McClane fighting various terrorists in a jungle; the NES version features a "foot meter" that slows McClane's movements after repeatedly stepping on broken glass.

In 1996, Die Hard Trilogy, a video game for the PlayStation that adapted the first three films of the franchise, was released. In 1997, the Japanese arcade game, Dynamite Deka, it was redesigned and released in the west as Die Hard Arcade. Players must choose between McClane or supporting character Chris Thompsen to fight in Nakatomi Plaza, defeat terrorists led by the White Fang, and rescue the president's daughter. Two first-person shooter video games were released in 2002, Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza, which recreates the events of the film, and Die Hard: Vendetta, where McClane confronts Gruber's son, Piet.

Die Hard: The Ultimate Visual History, a book chronicling the development of the saga, was released in 2018 to mark the film's 30th anniversary. In 2019 Die Hard was released: The Nakatomi Heistun, a board game based on Die Hard; USAopoly was in charge of developing it.