Die Hard

Die Hard (1988)

Timing: 2:12 (132 min)

7.808/10
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8.045/10
348814

8.2/10
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All about film

Video 19

Photo 152

Actors and characters

Release date

1988-07-15

Country

United States

Production

20th Century Fox, Silver Pictures, Gordon Company

Genre

Action, Thriller

Budget

$28 000 000

Revenue

$140 767 956

Website

https://www.foxmovies.com/movies/die-hard

Director

John McTiernan

Actors

Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Alexander Godunov, Bonnie Bedelia, Reginald VelJohnson, Paul Gleason, De'voreaux White, William Atherton, Hart Bochner, James Shigeta
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Joel Silver, Lawrence Gordon, Beau Marks, Charles Gordon

Operator

Jan de Bont

Composer

Michael Kamen

Artist

William J. Durrell Jr., Craig Edgar

Audition

Jackie Burch

Editing

John F. Link, Frank J. Urioste
All team (208)

• The film is based on Roderick Thorpe's novel "Nothing Lasts Forever" (1979).
• When the film first appeared in Russia, it was known under various titles, including "Indestructible," "Stubborn," and "Die Hard, But with Dignity." The official Russian title of the film – "Die Hard" – became established somewhat later. A literal Russian translation of the film's title is "Resist to the End" or "Be Steadfast."
• Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Burt Reynolds, and Richard Gere all auditioned for the role of John McClane. Bruce Willis was only the fifth candidate.
• The official poster for the film featured no mention of Bruce Willis or his image, only a massive building. Producers deliberately refrained from including the actor’s face to avoid scaring away Bruce Willis’s detractors from watching the film. After it became clear that the film was successful at the box office, posters with the actor’s image also appeared.
• The phrases in German spoken by the terrorists are sometimes grammatically incorrect and nonsensical. In the German version of the film, the terrorists are not originally from Germany, but "somewhere in Europe."
• In the film, one of the cops says that John McClane "could have been a good bartender." Before starting his acting career, Bruce actually worked as a bartender.
• The book the film is based on is a sequel to the novel "Detective," which was also adapted for the screen. Frank Sinatra played the main role in it. Bruce Willis made his debut in 1980 in the film "First Deadly Sin." In one of the film's episodes, Bruce’s character leaves the bar, and at the same moment, Sinatra’s character enters it.
• The film's script was originally written as a sequel to "Commando." However, after Arnold Schwarzenegger refused to star in the sequel, the script underwent significant changes.
• For his role in the film, Bruce Willis received an unheard-of fee for him at the time, amounting to $5 million.
• Actor Anthony Peck, who played the role of the young cop, later appeared in a sequel to the film ("Die Hard 3: Vengeance") as police officer Ricky Walsh.
• Following the film's release, tourists are prohibited from taking any photographs inside the Fox Plaza building, where filming took place.
• The building used for filming was designed by architect William Pereira and became one of his last projects. The architect died in 1985.
• The addresses and phone numbers of the Nakatomi Plaza managers mirror the real addresses and phone numbers of the Fox Plaza managers, where the film was shot.
• In the German version of the film, the terrorists' names were changed from traditionally German to British: Hans became Jack; Karl became Charlie; Heinrich became Henry. The name and goals of the terrorist group were also changed – they became radical Irish activists who had broken away from the main organization and taken hostages not to pursue any goals, but for profit.
• In one of the final scenes of the film, Hans tells McClane that this time "John Wayne won't ride off into the sunset with Grace Kelly." To which McClane replies: "That was Gary Cooper, you bastard." This verbal exchange is a reference to the film 'High Noon'.
• Hans Gruber and other terrorists arrive at the Nakatomi Plaza building in a truck belonging to Pacific Courier. In "Die Hard 3: Vengeance" (1995), the truck can be seen parked near the building during the store explosion at the beginning of the film. The truck belongs to Atlantic Courier. In "Speed" (1994), the side of the plane also bears the inscription "Pacific Courier".
• The phrase "Yipee-ki-yay, motherfucker!" is uttered in all films of the franchise.
• John McTiernan intentionally avoided showing close-ups of Hans Gruber's face when he was firing a weapon, because Alan Rickman would flinch with every shot, which, of course, did not fit the image of a tough and ruthless terrorist.
• It is believed that Bruce Willis's lines in the scene where he removes a shard of glass from his foot were improvised by the actor. However, according to the original script, Bruce only added a little of his own.
• Carl's weapon is a Steyr AUG.
• Hans Gruber was named after a character from "A High Wind in Jamaica" (1966).
• The Spanish title of the film is "Jungle of Crystal", the Polish title is "Glass Trap". The Hungarian title is "Give Your Life for More", the sequel's title is "Your Life is Even More Valuable", and the third film's title is "Life is Always Precious".
• Bruce Willis personally recommended Bonnie Bedelia for the role of his wife.
• Helsinki Syndrome is a reference to Stockholm syndrome. It is unknown why the filmmakers decided to change the name.
• Originally, it was planned that the Nakatomi building would be controlled by a supercomputer.
• The Nakatomi Building is actually the headquarters of 20th Century Fox studio.
• John McTiernan repeatedly declined offers to direct this film.
• Much of the script is improvisation by the actors and crew, as many scenes were devised directly during filming.
• Rehearsals were not held for the scene where the characters of Bruce Willis and Alan Rickman meet, in order to achieve a more convincing effect of spontaneity.
• Concurrently with filming "Die Hard", Bruce Willis was starring in "Moonlighting". Willis usually filmed for the television series during the day, and the filming for McTiernan's film took place in the evening and at night.
• The scene where Gruber and McClane meet was added to the script after it was discovered that Alan Rickman could convincingly imitate an American accent.
• Initially, the film was translated by illegal publishers under the title “Die Hard, But with Dignity.” In A. Gavrilov’s translation, the film appeared under the title “Indestructible.” When the film was released in Soviet cinemas in 1991, it was shown under the now-established title “Die Hard.”
• In Roderick Thorpe’s book, the protagonist saves his daughter from criminals. In the film, it’s his wife.
• When McClane enters the lobby of Nakatomi Plaza, he examines with great interest a technological novelty of the time—an information terminal equipped with a touch screen.
• During the filming of the scene in which Hans Gruber falls from the roof of the building, actor Alan Rickman actually fell from a height of 6 meters.
• The scene where McClane falls into the elevator shaft was the result of a failed stunt. Initially, the stuntman was supposed to grab the first ventilation opening. However, the filmmakers left the shot in, editing it with a shot of McClane grabbing the next ventilation opening, believing it would look more exciting.
• The music playing during the scene where Powell kills Karl is an unused track from James Horner’s soundtrack to “Aliens” (1986).
• The two surviving terrorists never showed whether they had any weapons at all, nor did they make any attempt to intimidate the hostages.
• When John arrives at the Nakatomi building at the beginning of the film and tries to find his wife among the employees using the computer, the touchscreen displays her last name as “Gennaro” before being pressed, and then as “Gennero”.
• Filming took place from November 2, 1987, to March 4, 1988.
• John McTiernan deliberately avoided showing close-ups of Hans Gruber's face when he fired a weapon, because Alan Rickman flinched with every shot, which, of course, did not fit the image of a tough and ruthless terrorist.
• The main weapon of Gruber's group was the HK MP5A3 submachine gun, but modified HK94 self-loading carbines were used in its place.
• Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Burt Reynolds, and Richard Gere all auditioned for the role of John McClane. Bruce Willis was only the fifth candidate on the list.
• In the film, one of the cops says that John McClane "could be a good bartender." Before starting his acting career, Bruce actually worked as a bartender.
• The film's script was originally written as a sequel to "Commando." However, after Arnold Schwarzenegger refused to star in the continuation, the script underwent significant changes.
• In one of the final scenes of the film, Hans tells McClane that this time "John Wayne won't ride off into the sunset with Grace Kelly." To which McClane replies: "That was Gary Cooper, you bastard." This verbal exchange is a reference to the film "High Noon."
• Hans Gruber and the other terrorists arrive at the Nakatomi Plaza building in a truck belonging to Pacific Courier. In "Die Hard with a Vengeance" (1995), during the explosion of the store at the very beginning of the film, a truck can be seen parked near the building. The truck belongs to Atlantic Courier. In "Speed" (1994), "Pacific Courier" is also written on the side of the plane.
• Concurrently with filming "Die Hard," Bruce Willis was starring in "Moonlighting." Willis typically filmed for the television series during the day, while filming for McTiernan's film took place in the evenings and at night.
• When John arrives at the Nakatomi building at the beginning of the film and tries to find his wife among the employees using a computer, the surname on the touch panel is displayed as "Gennaro" before being pressed, and then as "Gennero".