Die Hard

1988
R
2h 12m

IMDb RATING

8.2/10

965K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

Play trailer1:28

One-Person Army Action Action Holiday Thriller

A New York City police officer tries to save his estranged wife and several others taken hostage by terrorists during a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles.A New York City police officer tries to save his estranged wife and several others taken hostage by terrorists during a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles.A New York City police officer tries to save his estranged wife and several others taken hostage by terrorists during a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

8.2/10

965K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

189

131

See production info at IMDbPro

Top rated movie #117

Nominated for 4 Oscars
- 8 wins & 8 nominations total

Videos14

Trailer 1:28

Trailer: 30th Anniversary Christmas Edition

Trailer 0:31

Die Hard Trilogy

Holiday Movie or Not?

Clip 1:33

Alphabet of Movies | A to Z

Clip 3:51

Watch Like a Pro: Giancarlo Esposito's Ultimate Villain Watchlist

Photos202

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
The fictional Nakatomi Plaza is the headquarters of 20th Century Studios, so the studio could use one of its own buildings and didn't have to hold back on stunts and action sequences. While Jeb Stuart was writing the screenplay, he did a tour of the building, and immediately incorporated some of the locations and objects he found there into his script as set pieces (such as the cart that McClane and Karl end up riding during their fight). The company charged itself rent for the use of the then-unfinished building. Some of the middle floors were occupied by legal and administrative departments, so only empty floors were used for filming. Still, the filming of scenes that involved gunfire had to be postponed until after hours because some of the employees from the active floors started to complain about the noise.

Goofs
Several times during transmissions with the two-way radios, characters interrupt each other, which would be impossible given the type of radios they were using.

Quotes
John McClane: [huddled in an air vent, recalls his wife's invitation] "Come out to the coast, we'll get together, have a few laughs..."

Crazy credits
In the widescreen version, the 20th Century Fox logo is stretched.

Alternate versions
The Ultimate edition DVD contains the following deleted/extended scenes:
Extended power shutdown sequence.
Extended opening flight scene.
Brief dialogue in the first Hans/McClane confrontation.
Extended scene where Robinson/Powell brief the FBI on the tower situation.
Brief dialogue when Hans interrogates Takagi.
Brief dialogue after Theo says "You didn't bring me along for my charming personality".
Extended/alternate dialogue in McClane/Powell conversation after McClane uses the plastic explosives.
Brief scene of FBI agents getting stuck in thorn bushes as they make their way towards the building.
At the end, McClane says "You got a warranty for this (Holly's watch, a gift from Nakatomi Corporation)?" to which Holly laughs.
Argyle's dialogue as Powell's police cruiser flies by in the background.
Brief Ellis dialogue reacting to the terrorist intrusion.
City engineer briefly coughs before pulling out the power cord.
Brief dialogue in Hans/Karl argument about "neutralizing" McClane.
Additional Holly dialogue after seeing Karl's reaction to McClane's escape.

Connections
Edited into Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)

Soundtracks
Singin' in the Rain
Written by Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown

User reviews1.2K

Review

Featured review

Wham Bam Action Classic

Die Hard (1988)

*** (out of 4)

Enjoyable and tense thriller about a group of terrorists (led by Alan Rickman) who overtake a L.A. skyscraper and the only thing keeping them from getting away with their crime is a New York police officer (Bruce Willis) there on vacation. There's a lot of very good things about this movie but I've always thought that the majority of the credit has to go to star Willis. He might not have been a A-list star at the time this was released but it's easy to see why he became one afterwards. I think what's so great about him and the character he plays is that we can believe he's just your typical guy you'd see walking around on the streets with you. That every-day-man quality that Willis has works so well here because of the odds stacked against his character you can't help but just sit back and enjoy this one person taking out a professional organization. The hilarious one-liners, the smart remarks and the way Willis makes himself know to the terrorists is just classic and we get so many great showdowns that you can't help enjoy all of them. It certainly doesn't hurt that you've got a strong supporting cast with Rickman being a villain you just love to hate. The coldness RIckman brings to the part is the perfect contrast to Willis' cop and it works perfectly. Reginald VelJohnson, William Atherton, Bonnie Bedelia and Paul Gleason also add great support for Willis to play off of. The action scenes are certainly some of the best you're going to see and what holds them together so well is the direction by John McTiernan. He perfectly blends the humor, tension and the action but he also gives the film a wonderful pace that keeps it moving at a fast rate. DIE HARD might be far-fetched in what one man is able to do but this really doesn't take away from any of the fun.