Directed by:
John McTiernanCinematography:
Jan de BontComposer:
Michael KamenCast:
Bruce Willis, Bonnie Bedelia, Alan Rickman, Paul Gleason, Reginald VelJohnson, Alexander Godunov, William Atherton, Hart Bochner, James Shigeta (more)VOD (5)
Plots(1)
Bruce Willis plays McClane, a tough cop trapped inside a Los Angeles skyscraper where terrorists have taken his estranged wife and her colleagues hostage. Armed with only a revolver and his own cunning, McClane launches an all-out assault, mowing the terrorists down one by one. (Home Box Office)
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Reviews (10)
A classic of the action genre. It’s brilliant, but it’s undeniable it was the first. Even Bruce Willis as the main hero was something new at that time and basically defined a new era of modern action heroes. From that moment on, there was no longer a 100-ton machine with machine guns in both hands eliminating hundreds of villains without a scratch. Now he had to be a cool likeable character who often paid for his recklessness with a drop of blood. John McTiernan, the director, was probably under the influence of some drugs because later (especially now), he would make one trash after another and he will probably never be able to return to the quality of his first films, neither in terms of form nor content (a genre pioneer).
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I was not a very big fan of the action genre in my youth, so I didn’t fully appreciate this piece, even though I enjoyed it in the cinema. Now, after a 20-year hiatus, finally with adequate picture quality (Blu-ray), I can safely say, yes, this is one of the best, if not the best action film of all time, quoted and ripped off to this day. Everything came together here under the most auspicious stars. Most of all, an absolutely top-notch script that imaginatively works on several levels, rich with great twists and turns, at times with pleasantly self-deprecating humour (Willis's and Rickman's wisecracks), apt critical observations (the tabloid media's pursuit of sensationalist reporting) and even emotions. Willis's McClane is not the prototype of a true action hero, he's more of a guy next door in appearance and sense of humour and irony, the kind you could easily go for a beer with, and that makes him believable. Rickman's villain, Hans Gruber, is in turn a brilliant figure to watch with his stoic calmness and elegant casualness that hides relentlessness and coldness underneath. The technical aspects, including the few special effects, haven't aged much (legitimate Oscar nominations) and so the only really small complaint I would have is the fact that, especially on the sharp Blu-ray image, you can clearly see when Willis is Willis and when he's being replaced by a stunt double (and there are quite a few of those scenes). But that's really just a minor quibble that doesn't diminish the quality and importance of this immortal gem.
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The best action movie ever. An avalanche of catchphrases, inventive set-pieces and witty interactions between the characters that we immediately find our way to. Compared to John Woo's equally crammed shakes, Die Hard has the benefit of being more physically painful, more motivationally compelling and, despite the necessary overkill, more believable. Bruce Willis in the role of a lifetime to which he has devoted his soul. A delight.
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I didn't think I would like it after all these years, but the opposite is true. This is simply an excellent film, and I couldn't believe my girlfriend and I chose to watch it instead of something romantic, yet we both had a great time. We have to do this again sometime. And then the second part. And if there isn't a sequel, we'll just watch the first one again and it will be Die Hard 2.
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The film has an ingenious script, whose basic storyline axis has been done a thousand times, but which has never quite lived up to its quality. Then there’s McTiernan's inventive direction that has drive that is so uncompromising that he actually set the bar so high that no one (including himself) has ever surpassed it. There’s also the Christmas Eve atmosphere when it all went to shit, and Bruce Willis in the role of a lifetime as a tired and determined cop who spouts plenty of catchphrases. All of the aforementioned are the cornerstones of not only this film but of the action genre as a whole, which has never been better on screen since Die Hard. Two hours of ecstasy in the most luxurious packaging that only a dull ignoramus can't love!
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