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 | motor car | 

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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:

Ray's Candy Store, 113 Avenue A, 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

When McClane boards the elevator at the Federal Reserve with Karl and the rest of Simon's men, during the casual conversation Karl is having with McClane, Karl refers to the elevator as the "lift". This would potentially betray Karl, who is trained in infiltration, and disguised as a Federal Reserve guard, as being European, and therefore a potential imposter, since "lift" is the European term for elevator.

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Goofs

When McClane and Zeus are talking while handcuffed to the pole, the blood on McClane's face changes between shots.

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Quotes

Zeus: [after stealing the Business Man's car] That guy was pissed.
John McClane: He'll feel better when he looks in the back seat.
Zeus: Shit! That was *my* gold bar!

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Alternate Versions

On the Region 1 disc (not the Special Edition), part of the dialogue is cut from the conversation between McClane and Zeus when they are breaking into the Yugo. Cut from the scene is Zeus accusing McClane of being a racist again when he asks if he can jump start the car.

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Connections

Featured in A Night to Die for (1995)

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Soundtracks

Off Minor
Written by Thelonious Monk
Performed by Thelonious Monk
Embassy Music Corp. / Music Sales Corp. (BMI)
CD Title: "Thelonious Monk / Joe Turner in Paris"
Courtesy of RCA Victor/Disques VOGUE

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?