August 01, 2018
'Die Hard'
Yippee ki-yay motherf*cker! The Ringer's Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Jason Concepcion, and Sean Fennessey go shoeless to a holiday party interrupted by terrorists to celebrate the 30th anniversary of 1988's classic action film 'Die Hard,' starring Bruce Willis and directed by John McTiernan.
Cast
Bruce Willis as John McClane
Alan Rickman as Hans Gruber
Bonnie Bedelia as Holly Gennaro McClane
Reginald VelJohnson as Sgt. Al Powell
Alexander Godunov as Karl
William Atherton as Richard Thornburg
Paul Gleason as Deputy Chief Dwayne T. Robinson
Hart Bochner as Harry Ellis
James Shigeta as Joseph Takagi
Directed by: John McTiernan
Written by: Jeb Stuart, Steven E. de Souza
Cinematography by: Jan de Bont
Music by: Michael Kamen
Notes
- This was a 30th anniversary episode. 'Die Hard' was released on July 15, 1988 – the same weekend as 'Midnight Run'.
- Bruce Willis was still shooting 'Moonlighting' for ABC while filming 'Die Hard'. He would fly to the set on weekends.
- Willis's $5 million salary was considered outrageous at the time for an unproven movie star. The studio tried to hide his involvement in early marketing.
- The film is based on Roderick Thorp's novel 'Nothing Lasts Forever', which was itself a sequel to 'The Detective' – giving Frank Sinatra right of first refusal for the role.
- Bill considers 'Die Hard' one of the four most influential movies ever made, alongside 'Pulp Fiction', 'Jaws', and 'Raiders of the Lost Ark', in terms of spawning imitators.
- The stuntman who played the terrorist falling from the building was dropped earlier than expected, and his terrified reaction in the film is real.
- Bruce Willis reportedly suffered permanent partial hearing loss in his left ear from firing the gun in the confined spaces during filming.
Categories
Roger Ebert's review
Quote from Rog's review:
“The movie's weakest link is the deputy police chief, who establishes himself early on as a grade-A jerk, and never redeems himself.”
According to Bill: "Rog didn't like the cop part. He thought the whole cop-FBI agents interplay ruined the movie".
Most re-watchable scene
- The "Now I have a machine gun, ho ho ho" sequence where McClane sends Karl's brother's body down in the elevator.
- Bill picks the rooftop scene where McClane ties the fire hose around himself and jumps off the roof.
- Chris picks the glass walking scene – McClane pulling glass out of his feet while talking to Al Powell on the radio.
- Sean picks the air duct crawl – "Come out to the coast, we'll get together, have a few laughs."
What aged the best?
- Alan Rickman's performance as Hans Gruber – considered one of the greatest movie villains of all time.
- The entire 'Die Hard' formula: one location, one hero, a ticking clock. Spawned its own subgenre of "'Die Hard' on a ___" movies.
- The blue-collar, everyman action hero – Bruce Willis was a massive departure from the Schwarzenegger/Stallone muscleman era.
- The Nakatomi Plaza setting – the building is practically a character in the film.
What aged the worst?
- The cocaine subplot with Ellis – feels very 1988.
- The media/reporter subplot with William Atherton's character feels heavy-handed.
- The depiction of the FBI agents ("Big Johnson and Little Johnson") is cartoonish.
- The limo driver Argyle stuck in the garage listening to Run-DMC feels like padding.
Casting what-ifs
- Frank Sinatra had contractual right of first refusal because the movie is based on a sequel to 'The Detective' (1968), which Sinatra starred in. He was 73 at the time.
- Arnold Schwarzenegger was offered the role but turned it down.
- Sylvester Stallone, Burt Reynolds, Richard Gere, Harrison Ford, and Mel Gibson all passed.
- The role was offered to every major action star of the era before landing on Bruce Willis, who was primarily known as a TV comedy actor from 'Moonlighting'.
Best "heat check" performance
- Hart Bochner as Ellis – "Hans, bubby, I'm your white knight." He improvised a lot of his scenes and stole every moment he was in.
- Alexander Godunov as Karl – a ballet dancer turned actor who brought genuine physicality and menace to the role.
Best "that guy"
- Reginald VelJohnson as Sgt. Al Powell – became the quintessential "guy at the other end of the radio" in action movies.
- William Atherton as reporter Richard Thornburg – so good at playing slimy characters that people reportedly accosted him on the street.
- Paul Gleason as Deputy Chief Robinson – the same year he played the principal in 'The Breakfast Club', another iconic authority-figure role.
Apex Mountain
- Bruce Willis – went from TV actor to the biggest action star in the world. Got paid $5 million, which was controversial for a non-proven movie star.
- Alan Rickman – his first film role, and immediately became one of the most iconic villains in cinema history.
- John McTiernan – directed 'Predator' the year before and 'The Hunt for Red October' two years later, but 'Die Hard' is the crown jewel.
- Nakatomi Plaza (actually Fox Plaza) – the most famous building in action movie history.
Picking nits
- How does McClane survive the explosion on the roof with just a fire hose tied around his waist?
- The glass scene: after walking on broken glass, McClane is running around remarkably well for the rest of the movie.
- Why don't the terrorists just leave Karl's vendetta alone and focus on the heist?
- The LAPD response time and incompetence is staggering even by movie standards.
(Probably) unanswerable questions
- Is 'Die Hard' a Christmas movie? The hosts spend significant time on this debate. Bill says yes, it's a Christmas movie because it takes place at Christmas and uses Christmas thematically.
- Would Hans Gruber's plan have actually worked if McClane wasn't there?
- What was Theo's plan for watching the Lakers game after the heist?
- Why does Holly go back to using "Gennaro" – is the marriage really that bad?
Who won the movie?
- The movie won – 'Die Hard' grossed $83 million domestically (on a $28 million budget), launched a massive franchise, and redefined the action genre.
- Bruce Willis won – went from $5 million gamble to one of the biggest movie stars of the next two decades.
- Alan Rickman won – went from stage actor to movie star overnight.
- The audience won – we got one of the most rewatchable movies of all time.