Die Hard (1988)
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A New York City police detective becomes entangled in a terrorist takeover of a Los Angeles skyscraper during a Christmas Eve party.
The story
On Christmas Eve, New York City Police Department (NYPD) Detective John McClane arrives in Los Angeles, hoping to reconcile with his estranged wife, Holly, at a party held by her employer, the Nakatomi Corporation. While McClane is in the building, the tower is seized by German ex-radical Hans Gruber and his heavily armed team. Everyone in the tower is taken hostage except for McClane, who slips away. Gruber is posing as a terrorist to steal $640million in untraceable bearer bonds in the building's vault. The terrorists are alerted to McClane's presence, and he must navigate the building to survive while the situation escalates.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
On Christmas Eve, NYPD Detective John McClane travels to Los Angeles to visit his estranged wife, Holly, at the Nakatomi Corporation. While he is in the building, a group of thieves led by Hans Gruber seizes the tower, taking everyone hostage to steal $640million in bearer bonds. McClane, the only one who escapes the initial takeover, must navigate the building to survive and rescue Holly. He encounters various terrorists, manages to acquire weapons, and communicates with the LAPD. The situation escalates as the FBI takes control of the building and demands a helicopter. McClane realizes Gruber intends to blow the roof to kill hostages and fake his team's deaths. He manages to get the hostages off the roof just before the explosion. In the final confrontation, a battered McClane faces Gruber and his remaining henchmen. He manages to wound the henchmen and, in a final struggle, causes Gruber to fall to his death after the villain tries to kill them both. The film ends with McClane and Holly being driven away together by the limo driver, Argyle.
- First release year
- 1988
- Runtime (minutes)
- 132
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- John McTiernan
- Writers
- Jeb Stuart · screenplay; Steven E. de Souza · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Bruce Willis · John McClane; Alan Rickman · Hans Gruber; Alexander Godunov · Karl; Bonnie Bedelia · Holly Gennaro-McClane; Reginald VelJohnson · Al Powell; Paul Gleason · Dwayne T. Robinson; De'voreaux White · Argyle; William Atherton · Richard Thornburg
- Genres
- action
- Themes
- vengeance; masculinity; gender roles
- Tone and mood
- action
- Premise and plot tags
- hostage situation; action; holiday
- Source material / true-story basis
- Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorp
- Franchise connections
- Die Hard
- Content notes
- violence
- Reception
- Initially met with mixed reviews regarding its violence and plot, it has since been critically re-evaluated as one of the greatest action films of all time, noted for its portrayal of a vulnerable protagonist.
- Awards and nominations
- BMI TV/Film Music Award · score · win
- Production trivia
- The role of McClane was turned down by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone.; The term 'Die Hard' became a shorthand for plots featuring overwhelming odds in a restricted environment.; It was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2017.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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