Die Hard (1988)

John McClane, officer of the NYPD, tries to save his wife Holly Gennaro and several others that were 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 Rated Movies #121 | 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

NYPD cop John McClane goes on a Christmas vacation to visit his wife Holly in Los Angeles where she works for the Nakatomi Corporation. While they are at the Nakatomi headquarters for a Christmas party, a group of bank robbers led by Hans Gruber take control of the building and hold everyone hostage, with the exception of John, while they plan to perform a lucrative heist. Unable to escape and with no immediate police response, John is forced to take matters into his own hands.

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Plot Keywords:

christmas eve | christmas | terrorist | hostage | party | 

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Taglines:

40 Stories Of Sheer Adventure!

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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:

20 July 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Stirb langsam

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles International Airport - 1 World Way, 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 Stereo (35 mm prints) (4 channels)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bruce Willis and Demi Moore tied the knot at the Golden Nugget hotel in Las Vegas during this shoot, Moore having recently broken her engagement to actor Emilio Estevez. Little Richard presided over the ceremony and former Brat Pack member Ally Sheedy was a bridesmaid.

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Goofs

The FBI sends two helicopters to Nakatomi, but just before the John-on-the-roof sequences, the second helicopter disappears and is never seen again.

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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

Spoofed in Alone for Christmas (2013)

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Soundtracks

Christmas in Hollis
Written by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels and Jason Mizell
Performed by Run-D.M.C.
Courtesy of Profile Records, Inc.

User Reviews

Yippee-ki-yay

Bruce Willis gives a amazing performance in perhaps one of the best movies of the 1980s. This is an action/adventure movie for the ages. There are a lot of great scenes, including the scene where Bruce Willis leaps off the rooftop and crashes trough the window. I never thought it would be so good when I first saw it, but I was wrong. Don't miss one of Willis' best films of all time.