Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)

John McClane and a Harlem store owner are targeted by German terrorist Simon Gruber in New York City, where he plans to rob the Federal Reserve Building.

Director:

John McTiernan

Writers:

Jonathan Hensleigh, Roderick Thorp (certain original characters)

Stars:

Bruce Willis, Jeremy Irons, Samuel L. Jackson

2 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bruce Willis	...	John McClane
Jeremy Irons	...	Simon Gruber
Samuel L. Jackson	...	Zeus Carver
Graham Greene	...	Joe Lambert
Colleen Camp	...	Connie Kowalski
Larry Bryggman	...	Insp. Walter Cobb
Anthony Peck	...	Ricky Walsh
Nick Wyman	...	Mathias Targo
Sam Phillips	...	Katya
Kevin Chamberlin	...	Charles Weiss
Sharon Washington	...	Officer Jane
Stephen Pearlman	...	Dr. Fred Schiller
Michael Alexander Jackson	...	Dexter
Aldis Hodge	...	Raymond
Mischa Hausserman	...	Mischa

Storyline

John McClane is now almost a full-blown alcoholic and is suspended from the NYPD. But when a bomb goes off in the Bonwit Teller Department Store the police go insane trying to figure out what's going on. Soon, a man named Simon calls and asks for McClane. Simon tells Inspector Walter Cobb that McClane is going to play a game called "Simon Says". He says that McClane is going to do the tasks he assigns him. If not, he'll set off another bomb. With the help of a Harlem electrician, John McClane must race all over New York trying to figure out the frustrating puzzles that the crafty terrorist gives him. But when a bomb goes off in a subway station right by the Federal Reserve (the biggest gold storage in the world) things start to get heated.

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Plot Keywords:

john mcclane character | time bomb | good versus evil | male butt clench | bomb | 

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Taglines:

On a good day he's a great cop. On a bad day he's the best there is.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence and pervasive strong language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German Romanian

Release Date:

19 May 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die Hard: New York

Filming Locations:

72nd Street, Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$90,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$22,162,245, 21 May 1995

Gross USA:

$100,012,499

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$366,101,666

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinergi Pictures Entertainment,Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The racial argument is partially based on The Defiant Ones (1958).

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Goofs

At Yankee Stadium, the pipe in the picture behind Zeus changes size and position, depending on the view of the camera. Also in some shots there is a man standing next to the pipe; in other shots he is not there.

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Quotes

John McClane: [running to get to the payphone in the park] You know this guy Simon we're talking to?
Zeus: Yeah.
John McClane: I threw his little brother off the thirty-second floor of Nakatomi Towers out in L.A. I guess he's a little pissed off about it.
Zeus: Wait a minute. You mean to tell me I'm in this shit 'cause some white cop threw some white asshole's brother off a roof?

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Alternate Versions

In the T.V. version of the film, the sign that McClane is forced to wear in Harlem is changed to read "I hate everyone".

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Connections

Referenced in Joel D. Wynkoop's The Other Side: The Controller (2012)

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Soundtracks

Got It Going On
Written by Ted Silbert and RIC-HARD
Performed by Ted Silbert and RIC-HARD
Silbert Music (ASCAP) and Hic Town Underground (ASCAP)
Produced by Eric Harryman & Ted Silbert

User Reviews

Spectacular

Regardless of what you might think of Bruce Willis, he really does excel in this series of films and John McClane, the all action policeman is the perfect role for him.

This time his sidekick is the guru of the action film, Samuel L. Jackson, the owner of an electrical store, as he goes up against the ever excellent Jeremy irons, who can play a bad guy like few others.

Irons is executing the greatest heist ever, and the shots throughout the film are spectacular. The lack of any half decent script is completely masked by explosions, but what else would you expect?