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:

McClane is back

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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

In the limo, Ricky Walsh calls Mathias Targo "MaTHias Targo" which is incorrect. The actual English pronunciation for his name is like saying "Matt".

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Goofs

When Zeus enters Yankee Stadium, the Stadium was empty and the grounds crew was out taking care of the field. In reality, Zeus would not be allowed inside the stadium. You are only allowed inside baseball stadiums several hours prior to a game.

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Quotes

Charles Weiss: [coming into Walter's office] A nut who knows a lot about bombs. We found this in a playground. Professional. Very cool stuff. You know...
[thuds the bomb on Cobb's desk]
Charles Weiss: Boom!
Inspector Cobb: You think you should slam it around like that, Charlie?
Charles Weiss: It's unmixed. You can't hurt it. This stuff is cutting edge. It's a binary liquid.
Inspector Cobb: A what?
Charles Weiss: Like epoxi. Two liquids.
[puts a dab of the clear liquid on Cobb's desk]
Charles Weiss: Now, either one by itself,
[hits it with his shoe]
[...]

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Alternate Versions

BBC1 in the UK on the 3rd January 2008 screened an unedited and uncensored version. All the previous edits taken from UK versions before submission to the BBFC have been restored.

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Connections

Referenced in End of Days (1999)

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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

The best of the three!

Die Hard With A Vengence is a near-perfect summer movie. This franchise effort is a gleeful no-brainer with nonstop action. It gives some additional perverse pleasure, as we get to watch smartypants Bruce Willis get smacked around for 112 minutes. In this third outing with John McClane, we are faced with yet another mad bomber on the loose. Jeremy Irons plays Simon, a nasty piece of Eurotrash who has a score to settle with Detective McClane. Simon's bombing game comes complete with crafty riddles, which must be solved in a specified time or everything goes boom. McClane has no choice but to play. Along the way, he picks up an unlikely accomplice named Zeus (Samuel L. Jackson), a Harlem shopkeeper. Together they tear all over New York trying to head off disaster. Sure, it's all perfectly preposterous, but DIE HARD 3 has been directed with breathless intensity by John McTiernan, who certainly has a way with wrecking things. Was he very destructive as a child? Loved the spectacular subway crash, John. That hair-raising taxi ride through Central Park wasn't bad, either. Don't forget to fasten your seat belts for this ride.