Die Hard Review

Die Hard

Release Date: 6th October 1988 - Australia


Production Companies

20th Century Fox

Gordon Company

Lawrence Gordon Productions

Silver Pictures

Distribution

20th Century Fox Australia

Genre: Action

Rating: M (Not Suitable for

Young Children)

Runtime: 126 minutes

Budget: $28,000,000

Box Office Gross: $143,651,650 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary

A band of international terrorists, led by Hans Gruber, staged a coup on an office building and took several hostages. Only one person is in their way: John McClane, a detective from New York who was visiting Holly, his estranged wife, for the holidays. Will McClane go out by himself

by taking down all the

crooks, including Hans

and rescuing Holly and

others from their clutches?

Cast

Bruce Willis - John McClane

Alan Rickman - Hans Gruber

Alexander Godunov - Karl

Bonnie Bedelia - Holly Gennaro-McClane

Reginald VelJohnson - Sgt. Al Powell

Paul Gleason - Dwayne T. Robinson

De'voreaux White - Argyle

William Atherton - Richard Thornburg

Hart Bochner - Harry Ellis

James Shigeta - Joseph Yoshinobu Takagi
Bruno Doyon - Franco
Andreas Wisniewski - Tony
Clarence Gilyard Jr. - Theo
Joey Plewa - Alexander
Lorenzo Caccialanza - Marco
Gerard Bonn - Kristoff
Dennis Haydn - Eddie
Al Leong - Uli
Gary Roberts - Heinrich
Hans Buhringer - Fritz
Wilhelm von Homburg - James
Robert Davi - FBI Special Agent Big Johnson
Grand L. Bush - FBI Agent Little Johnson
Matt Landers - Capt. Mitchell
Carmine Zozzora - Rivers
Dustyn Taylor - Ginny
George Christy - Dr. Hasseldorf
David Ursin - Harvey Johnson
Mary Ellen Trainor - Gail Wallens
Taylor Fry - Lucy McClane
Noah Land - John McClane Jr.
Betty Carvalho - Paulina

Crew
Director - John McTiernan

Based on the Novel "Nothing Lasts Forever" -
Roderick Thorp

Screenplay - Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza
Associate Producer/Unit Production Manager/
Second Unit Director - Beau Marks
Associate Producer - Lloyd Levin (Uncredited)
Executive Producer - Charles Gordon

Producers - Lawrence Gordon and Joel Silver
Casting Director - Jackie Burch

Production Designer - Jackson DeGovia

Art Director - John R. Jensen

Set Decorator - Phillip Leonard
Costume Designer - Marilyn Vance

Makeup Supervisor - Scott Eddo

Director of Photography - Jan De Bont

First Assistant Director - Benjamin Rosenberg

Second Assistant Director - Terry Miller
Stunt Coordinator - Charlie Picerni
Special Effects Coordinator - Al Di Sarro

Special Effects Foreman - William Alridge

Special Effects Foreman: Boss - Thaine Morris

Visual Effects Producer - Richard Edlund

Visual Effects Art Director: Boss - Brent Boates
Model Shop Supervisor: Boss - Mark Stetson

Chief Model Maker: Boss - Pat McClung

Director of Photography: Boss - Bill Neil

Chief Matte Artist: Boss - Matthew Yuricich

Film Editors - Frank J. Urioste and John F. Link

Assistant Editors - Derek Brechin,

Bryan H. Carroll, Gregory M. Gerlich and

Kelly Irvine (Uncredited)

Second Assistant Editors - Jeff Gullo and

Edward Malone

Sound Effects - Stephen Hunter Flick

Supervising Sound Editor (Uncredited)/

Sound Effects - Richard Shorr

Sound Effects Editors - Catherine Shorr

and David E. Stone

Re-Recording Mixers - Don J. Bassman,

Kevin F. Cleary and Richard Overton

Foley Editors - Ron Bartlett and

Rick Mitchell

Foley Artists - Vanessa Theme Ament

and Robin Harlan

Music - Michael Kamen


Awards

1989 Academy Awards
Best Sound - Don J. Bassman, Kevin F. Cleary,
Richard Overton and Al Overton Jr. (Nominated)
Best Film Editing - Frank J. Urioste and

John F. Link (Nominated)
Best Sound Editing - Stephen Hunter Flick
and Richard Shorr (Nominated)
Best Visual Effects - Richard Edlund, Al Di Sarro,
Brent Boates and Thaine Morris (Nominated)

Review

DIE HARD was simply an action-packed thrill ride with elements such as explosions and shootouts you would want an action film to have. This movie redefined the action genre and started a formula where other features like Under Siege and Speed began to imitate its original story concept and have shared its impact on many different results. It creates tough competition for rivals such as Lethal Weapon and James Bond. Some people considered DIE HARD a Christmas movie because it was set during the festive holiday when the film had nothing to do with the holiday. Director John McTiernan knows how to make an action flick with a sense of scale and put on a spectacle. The premise has lost much of its originality over the years.

The movie contains the incredible acting of Bruce Willis and Alan Rickman, who played John McClane and Hans Gruber. One is a wisecracking hero cop, and the other is a psychopath. Back then, Willis was not yet as famous as the action star he has become now, so the thought of him in an action film was inconceivable. The brutal action sequences keep you on the edge of your seat.

I have only seen a few Die Hard movies, like the third and the latest addition, Live Free or Die Hard, but the original was something I had never seen before. It's a great and memorable film for action movie fans.

Star rating: (4/5) Good Movie

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