Die Hard: With a Vengeance

"Think fast. Look alive. Die hard."

1995 2h 8m EN

👍

7.3

SOLID

★7.3TMDB · 6,881

ActionThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

New York detective John McClane is back and kicking bad-guy butt in the third installment of this action-packed series, which finds him teaming with civilian Zeus Carver to prevent the loss of innocent lives. McClane thought he'd seen it all, until a genius named Simon engages McClane, his new "partner" -- and his beloved city -- in a deadly game that demands their concentration.

“Think fast. Look alive. Die hard.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Bruce Willis
John McClane
Jeremy Irons
Simon
Samuel L. Jackson
Zeus Carver
Larry Bryggman
Chief Walter Cobb
Graham Greene
Joe Lambert
Anthony Peck
Ricky Walsh
Nicholas Wyman
Mathias Targo
Kevin Chamberlin
Charles Weiss

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John McTiernan
Writers: Jonathan Hensleigh, David Cooney, Warren Drummond
Languages: English, German, Romanian
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $90M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 4.1× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

31 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, German, Romanian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Die Hard Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

359+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John McTiernan, shot by Peter Menzies Jr.. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Michael Kamen. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John McTiernan directs. Peter Menzies Jr. behind the camera. Michael Kamen scores. John Wright cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, German, Romanian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Mid-budget at $90M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
2Made its money back 4.1× over at the box office.
331 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, German, Romanian.
5Part of the "Die Hard Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
6359+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
7Directed by John McTiernan, shot by Peter Menzies Jr.. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
8Original score by Michael Kamen. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
9Editor John Wright shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
10Bruce Willis and Jeremy Irons and Samuel L. Jackson carry the top of the cast.
11Marketing tagline: "Think fast. Look alive. Die hard.".
12IMDB entry: tt0112864 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
13Classified under 29 themes, including "new york city", "taxi", "gold", "helicopter".
14Released under 22 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Peter Menzies Jr.
Original score: Michael Kamen
Editing: John Wright
Production design: Jackson De Govia
Makeup / hair: Verne Caruso
VFX supervisor: John E. Sullivan
Sound: Mark Mangini
Stunt coordinator: Terry Leonard
Runtime: 128 min · 2h 8m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $90,000,000
Box office: $366,101,666
Return: 407% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Die Hard: With a Vengeance (1995)

Part of

Die Hard Collection

An action film series centered around the character of John McClane, a New York City police detective who finds himself fighting a group of terrorists in each film.

Also by

John McTiernan

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

talisencrw2016-08-13
★ 9/10
With this having been the first DH film I ever watched (and the only one so far I have seen upon its original theatrical release), I hold a quiet sense of satisfaction that over time it seems to have become generally people's favourite of the series, next to the original. It is much more original than its predecessor, and has much higher-caliber supporting players in Jeremy Irons and Samuel L. Jackson--not to mention the best director the franchise has ever had. This was great to see once again, and I STILL have nightmares with that wicked Katya (played by composer Sam Phillips) slicing my head off...
Wuchak2019-03-20
★ 8/10
Big, dumb, fun action flick with Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson in New York City RELEASED IN 1995 and directed by John McTiernan, "Die Hard with a Vengeance" is the third of (currently) five installments in the Die Hard series. In this one, suspended New York City cop John McClane (Bruce Willis) rejoins the force to tangle with a mad-but-genius German bomber named “Simon” (Jeremy Irons) while teaming up with a good Samaritan from Harlem (Samuel L. Jackson). This franchise fills the bill if you're in the mood for big, dumb, fun action thrills. Don't get me wrong because a lot of work goes into making these kinds of films and it takes talent & genius to pull them off. I mean "dumb" in the sense that the focus is on unbelievable action rather than deeper themes beyond "genuinely good people may be flawed, cocky and somewhat profane, but they're courageous and never give up in the face of evil." The Die Hard flicks are the natural progeny of over-the-top films like 1977's "The Gauntlet" where the action scenes are so overdone they're cartoony, but entertaining. There's a thin line that filmmakers must tread with these kinds of blockbusters because they can easily fall into overKILL, like 2001's "The Mummy Returns." "Die Hard with a Vengeance" evades that ditch because it offers entertaining protagonists & antagonists, amusing scenes, worthy bits of character development and a compelling comic booky story. While all five Die Hard movies are of the same action expertise, I prefer the sequels because the original film took place almost entirely in and around a skyscraper. I favor the wider location scope of the others, including this one, which was the best up to this point. It starts out a little shaky because Simon’s shenanigans are so contrived they’re unbelievable, but if you can persevere the story builds momentum and there are surprises. Even John and Zeus’ conflict-habituated relationship has a story arc with Zeus being bluntly confronted with his reverse racism. The sometimes contrary camaraderie of John and Zeus is great. THE MOVIE RUNS 2 hours, 8 minutes and was shot in New York City; Berkeley County, South Carolina; and Jessup, Maryland (ending). ADDITIONAL CAST: Graham Greene and Colleen Camp are on hand as cops while sharp Sam Phillips appears as an icy Euro-villainess. GRADE: A-/B+
CinemaSerf2023-08-27
★ 7/10
Bruce Willis returns as "McClane", this time being used as a plaything by a telephone terrorist named simply "Simon". Unsure as to why this man has alighted on him, he is now sent on a series of missions around the city - fail and a devastating bomb could go off. Along the way, he manages to recruit the assistance of Samuel L. Jackson ("Zeus") and together they they must stop more carnage - and thwart the perpetrator's ultimate intentions. It is a little repetitive at times, but there is plenty of on-screen chemistry between Jackson and Willis; their challenges are a little more cerebral and amusing and the plot builds well until quite an exciting, if just a little too far-fetched, denouement with a baddie whose voice we ought instantly to have recognised on the phone. This is just a simple, straightforward action adventure with no romance of familial nonsense to clutter it up and I quite enjoyed it.