Just noticed the review formatting has returned, thank god for that
Just noticed the review formatting has returned, thank god for that
Member since:29.08.2002
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As far as Action films go one of the all time greats has to be the original Die Hard. It was with this in mind and the arrival of Die Hard 4 next year that I decided to re watch the original today. It's the film that set Bruce Willis on his way to superstardom as the New York Police Officer John McClane. It also seems to have provided modern directors with what can simply be described as an Action movie by numbers set up. It's been 18 years since Willis hit our screens in this movie and it still seems as good today as the first time I seen it.
When his wife moved to L.A. to pursue a new job John McClane decided to stay in New York in the hope that she wouldn't enjoy it and come back. Some 6 months later he flies in for Christmas and surprises Holly at her company Christmas party. It becomes a short lived reunion as a group of terrorists lead by Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) take over the building. McClane escapes from the Christmas
party before he can be taken hostage and does all he can to disrupt Hans plans. But can McClane rescue the hostages and get back to his wife?
The film came around in 1988 from John McTiernan the man who around the same time also brought about the Predator concept and brought The Hunt For Red October to our screens. It was a time when the action movie genre was really being defined and with this film McTiernan certainly did his bit to help the process. It's exactly what a good action film should be and doesn't require the viewer to really be concentrating too hard.
It's because of how simple the formula appeared that Die Hard is now viewed as one of the best films in this genre. It has a pretty simple concept where the bad guys take over the building, and the hero does everything he can to stop them to be reunited with the woman of the piece. Not only did McTiernan manage to put together a story that worked he also made it look fantastic with explosions left right and centre.
This is certainly film making at its easiest, but with something for just about everyone it proves McTiernan was really onto something with Jeb Stuart's adaptation of Roderick Thorp's novel. From start to finish the film looks very impressive and really doesn't seem to have aged too badly. With a decent plot and story and a director who seemed to know what he was doing it's no surprise that the soundtrack really adds to the film. He's picked the right tracks to create tension and really build scene's up nicely.
Of course I don't think Die Hard would have been anywhere near as successful without the cast McTiernan managed to put together. In Willis he seemed to find the perfect actor to play John McClane and now he's almost synonymous with that dirty, blood stained white vest. Willis seems to really bring a lot of personality to the role and it's because of his own little quirks that the film and also his own career took off so quickly. He also seems to work well with the rest of the cast and in particular the running battle between him and Rickman is quite engrossing.
Rickman has, since the first time I seen this film, been one of my favourite actors. He plays the role of the villain so well and takes to it like a duck to water. He has that evil streak that makes him perfect for this role, but it's a streak that actually makes him quite likeable as well. A few of the terrorists seemed to be a little wooden performance wise but that would be why they were given more background roles than really being heavily involved. If there was one character and performance that really stood out for the wrong reasons it was that of Hart Bochner, as the smarmy negotiator who tries to get in with the terrorists.
Overall this is one of those films I'm sure most people will have seen. It is a defining film in the action genre and without it there would be a lot of directors lacking inspiration. This may to some people not be a bad thing but the Die Hard formula works and the result is always a brainless, easy going action movie. With the release of Die Hard 4 next summer it remains to be seen whether bringing it back is such a good idea, but this original will always be remembered for Bruce and his white vest.
Amazon: £6.97 Amazon Marketplace: £2.93 Die Hard trilogy @ Amazon: £11.99
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Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Production Year: 1977 - Action/Adventure - Director: Clint Eastwood - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring:Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle, William Prince, Bill McKinney
Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
"Now I have a machine gun. Ho ho ho!" - One of the finest action movies ever crafted. Along with Predator this was a bit of a double-whammy for McTiernan. Alboy
little_red_hen 04.08.2006 20:56
Here's another one I should have mentioned in my list! Karen
This seminal 1988 thriller made Bruce Willis a star and established a new template for ... more
action stories: "Terrorists take over a (blank) and a lone hero, unknown to the villains, is trapped with them." InDie Hard, those bad guys, led by the velvet-voiced...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
This seminal 1988 thriller made Bruce Willis a star and established a new template for ... more
action stories: "Terrorists take over a (blank) and a lone hero, unknown to the villains, is trapped with them." InDie Hard, those bad guys, led by the velvet-voiced...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
This seminal 1988 thriller made Bruce Willis a star and established a new template for ... more
action stories: "Terrorists take over a (blank) and a lone hero, unknown to the villains, is trapped with them." InDie Hard, those bad guys, led by the velvet-voiced...
Postage & Packaging: free Super Saver Delivery Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
New York cop John McClane facing Christmas alone flies to Los Angeles to see his ... more
estranged wife Holly (Bonnie Bedelia) and their kids in an attempt to patch things up. He arrives at his wife's high tech office building in the middle of their Christma...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Advantages: Great action scenes which keep you hooked right the way through Disadvantages: Re-watching it will expose some plot holes and ideas which are fantastical
![Die Hard (Two Disc Special Edition) [DVD] [1989]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78512308.jpg "Die Hard (Two Disc Special Edition) [DVD] [1989]")
![Die Hard (Two Disc Special Edition) [DVD] [1989]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/70950492.jpg "Die Hard (Two Disc Special Edition) [DVD] [1989]")
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