Die Hard

Die Hard
Official Logo
Directed by	John McTiernan
Screenplay by	Jeb Stuart Steven E. de Souza
Based on	Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorp
Produced by	Lawrence Gordon Joel Silver
Starring	Bruce Willis Alan Rickman Alexander Godunov Bonnie Bedelia
Cinematography	Jan de Bont
Edited by	Frank J. Urioste John F. Link
Music by	Michael Kamen
Production companies	20th Century Fox Gordon Company Silver Pictures
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release dates	July 12, 1988 (1988-07-12) (Avco Theater) July 15, 1988 (1988-07-15) (United States)
Running time	132 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$25–35 million
Box office	$139.8–141.5 million

Die Hard is a 1988 American action movie directed by John McTiernan and written by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza, based on the 1979 novel Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorp. It stars Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Alexander Godunov, and Bonnie Bedelia, with Reginald VelJohnson, William Atherton, Paul Gleason, and Hart Bochner in supporting roles. Die Hard follows a New York City police detective, John McClane (Willis), who becomes entangled in a terrorist takeover of a Los Angeles skyscraper while visiting his estranged wife during a Christmas Eve party.

Stuart was hired by 20th Century Fox to adapt Thorp's novel in 1987. His first draft was greenlit immediately, as the studio was eager for a summer blockbuster the following year. The role of McClane was turned down by a host of the decade's most popular actors, including Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone. Known mainly for work on television, Willis was paid $5 million for his involvement, placing him among Hollywood's highest-paid actors. The deal was seen as a poor investment by industry professionals and attracted significant controversy towards the film prior to its release. Filming took place between November 1987 and March 1988, on a $25–35 million budget and almost entirely on location in and around Fox Plaza in Los Angeles.

Expectations for Die Hard were low; some marketing materials omitted Willis's image, ostensibly because the publicity team determined that the setting was as important as McClane. Upon its release in July 1988, initial reviews were mixed: criticism focused on its violence, plot, and Willis's performance, while McTiernan's direction and Rickman's charismatic portrayal of the villain Hans Gruber were praised. Defying predictions, Die Hard grossed approximately $140 million, becoming the year's tenth-highest-grossing film and the highest-grossing action film. Receiving four nominations at the 61st Academy Awards, it elevated Willis to leading-man status and made Rickman a celebrity.

Plot

The movie is set on Christmas Eve at the Nakatomi building in Los Angeles, California. NYPD officer John McClane (Bruce Willis) is flying in from New York to meet his wife Holly during the Nakatomi’s annual Christmas party. While there, they get into an argument over Holly's choice to use her maiden name instead of her married name. Shortly afterwards, a group of German robbers posing as terrorists led by Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) invade the building and take all the people hostages. They want the bearer bonds in the building’s vault and ask the CEO, Joseph Takagi, for the access code to the first barrier. When he says no, Gruber shoots and kills him.

McClane witnesses Gruber killing Takagi and tries to get help. He pulls a fire alarm, but the criminals find out and reverse the alarm. Gruber then sends a man named Tony to find whoever pulled the alarm. In the ensuring battle, McClane snaps Tony's neck and takes his machine gun. He then puts the dead man in an elevator and pushes buttons so that it stops on the floor where the partygoers are being held. Upon finding Tony, Gruber sends more men to find him. After killing two more of Gruber's men, McClane finds and takes some detonators.

On the rooftop, McClane radios for help. The dispatchers send a patrol car in. Just as the police officer is about to leave, McClane drops the body of a dead criminal on his patrol car. The LAPD arrive. They send in a tank and four SWAT team members, but Gruber's men beat back both attacks. When Gruber ignores McClane's request to stop attacking, McClane takes some C4 explosives and blows up part of the building.

Holly's co-worker Harry then tries to talk to the criminals. He tries to get McClane to give up the detonators, but when he refuses, Gruber shoots and kills Harry. Shortly afterwards, McClane finds Gruber, who was trying to check the explosives. Gruber fakes an American accent, throwing McClane off. As they talk, Gruber's men show up and shoot out the glass. McClane injures his feet severely as he tries to walk across the floor and loses the detonators in the process.

The FBI arrives and orders the building's power to be cut. Gruber informs the FBI that he wants two helicopters and he will escort the hostages to the top of the building. The power outage opens up the final locks on the building's vault, where Gruber scoops up the bonds. The FBI plans to send gunships to kill the criminals, but Gruber had lined the top of the building with explosives and plans to blow it up to cover his escape.

A reporter named Richard Thornberg manages to interview McClane's children. Gruber, seeing this on TV, realizes that Holly is McClane's wife and takes her hostage. McClane finds the explosives and realizes what Gruber is up to. However, Gruber's man Karl finds him and they engage in a vicious hand-to-hand combat. McClane leaves Karl for dead and rushes up to the top of the building. He and forces the hostages to go back down into the building. The FBI fires at him. Gruber blows up the top of the building. McClane ties a fire hose around his waist and jumps off the building.

McClane finally meets Gruber one last time. He tricks him by throwing his gun down and then using another gun to shoot Gruber. Gruber falls out of the building, nearly taking Holly with him. McClane unties her watch and Gruber falls to his death. Afterwards, they go home in a limo.

Other websites

• Die Hard on IMDb