Die Hard

"40 stories of sheer adventure!"

1988 2h 12m EN

🙌

7.8

BANGER

★7.8TMDB · 12,721

ActionThriller

Synopsis

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High above the city of L.A. a team of terrorists has seized a building, taken hostages, and declared war. One man has manages to escape... An off-duty cop hiding somewhere inside. He's alone, tired... and the only chance anyone has got.

“40 stories of sheer adventure!”

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Cast

Bruce Willis
John McClane
Alan Rickman
Hans Gruber
Alexander Godunov
Karl
Bonnie Bedelia
Holly Gennaro McClane
Reginald VelJohnson
Al Powell
Paul Gleason
Dwayne Robinson
De'voreaux White
Argyle
William Atherton
Richard Thornburg

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John McTiernan
Writers: Steven E. de Souza, Jeb Stuart
Languages: English, German, Italian
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

Made its money back 5.0× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, German, Italian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John McTiernan, shot by Jan de Bont. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 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#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor John F. Link shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John McTiernan directs. Jan de Bont behind the camera. Michael Kamen scores. John F. Link cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, German, Italian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 5.0× over at the box office.
238 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, German, Italian.
4Part of the "Die Hard Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5278+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
6Directed by John McTiernan, shot by Jan de Bont. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Michael Kamen. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor John F. Link shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Bruce Willis and Alan Rickman and Alexander Godunov carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "40 stories of sheer adventure!".
11IMDB entry: tt0095016 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
1212,721 TMDB user ratings logged — serious cultural footprint.
13Classified under 23 themes, including "husband wife relationship", "based on novel or book", "s.w.a.t.", "fbi".
14Released under 11 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Jan de Bont
Original score: Michael Kamen
Editing: John F. Link
Production design: Jackson De Govia
Makeup / hair: Josée Normand
Sound: Richard Overton
Stunt coordinator: Charlie Picerni
Runtime: 132 min · 2h 12m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $28,000,000
Box office: $140,767,956
Return: 503% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Die Hard (1988)

Awards

Japan Academy Prize for Outstanding Foreign Language Film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

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

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

doktorkraesch2015-02-16
★ 10/10
This is one of the definitive 80s Action Films. There is no nonsense whatsoever, the plot moves along with such a pace that the viewer is not disturbed by implausabilities. Bruce Willis plays the likeable "regular guy", who is forced bare-foot into unleashing mayhem and destruction, to perfection. His brilliant opposite is Alan Rickman, playing the German villain Hans Gruber in such a way that you almost root for him to get away with his heist. Also, he thankfully dispatches the office sleazeball, Ellis, in a wonderful scene. The bad guys in Die Hard are more likeable than their counterparts in other movies. They are allowed to be funny and charming, which is good because we as viewers spend a lot of time with them, so it's good that they are not complete douchebags. John McLane gets to do what many adolescent boys wanted to try: to drop something off the ledge of a skyscraper or down an elevator shaft, and see what happens. But he uses an office chair armed with a PC monitor and a block of C4 and watches as it drops, then explodes, wiping out an entire floor! Everything here is bigger and louder than other Action movies from it's time. McLane drops bad guys and one-liners left and right, things and people explode, culminating in a grand finale that is as well paced and executed as any action sequence that came after it. This film started it's own sub-genre, after it came not only it's own sequels, but a load of films that were described as "Die hard on a..." or "Die Hard in a..." Most prominent examples were perhaps "Speed" and "Under Siege". This is entertaining as hell, it's a must-watch!
talisencrw2016-08-13
★ 10/10
Just watched this inexplicably for the first time, after having seen and adoring its first two sequels. As a teenager when this hit theatres, I never really felt the urge or inclination to see this at the time. Action films weren't big for me back then. Now as a father of a teenager myself, it's interesting seeing what's now considered 'a classic' for the first time. This easily deserves its lofty status as one of the finest action movies ever made, especially of the 80's. Alan Rickman, now deceased, played with distinction one of the finest cinematic villains ever. This film--closely followed by 'Pulp Fiction'--is the most important work Bruce Willis ever made. I enthusiastically hope that should someday Willis either leave this plain or decide not to make any more DH films that they simply put the franchise to rest. He was born to play this character. Anyone else in his shoes could never fit the iconic bill.
Gimly2018-09-13
★ 8/10
What can I even say about Die Hard? This is one of the most highly praised action movies of all time, and it has actually earned that praise. Final rating:★★★★ - Very strong appeal. A personal favourite.