Die Hard is a 1988 American action film
directed by John McTiernan and written by Steven E. de Souza and Jeb
Stuart. It follows off-duty New York City Police Department officer John
McClane (Bruce Willis) as he takes on a group of highly organized
criminals led by Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman), who perform a heist in a
Los Angeles skyscraper under the guise of a terrorist attack using
hostages, including McClane's wife Holly (Bonnie Bedelia), to keep the
police at bay.
It is based on Roderick Thorp's 1979 novel Nothing Lasts Forever, the
sequel to 1966's The Detective, which was adapted into a 1968 film of
the same name that starred Frank Sinatra. Fox was therefore
contractually obligated to offer Sinatra the lead role in Die Hard, but
he turned it down. The studio then pitched the film to Arnold
Schwarzenegger as a sequel to his 1985 action film Commando; he turned
it down, as well, and the studio finally and reluctantly gave it to
Willis, then known primarily as a comedic television actor.
Made for $28 million, Die Hard grossed over $140 million theatrically
worldwide, and was given a positive reception from critics. The film
turned Willis into an action star, became a metonym for an action film
in which a lone hero fights overwhelming odds, and has been named one of
the best action movies ever made. The film also ranks #29 on Empire
magazine's 2008 list of the 500 greatest movies of all time. The film's
success spawned the Die Hard franchise, which includes four sequels (Die
Hard 2, Die Hard with a Vengeance, Live Free or Die Hard and A Good Day
to Die Hard), video games, and a comic book.
Plot
On Christmas Eve, NYPD
Detective John McClane arrives in Los Angeles. He aims to reconcile with
his estranged wife, Holly, at the Christmas party of her employer, the
fictional Nakatomi corporation. McClane is driven to the party by
Argyle, an airport limousine driver. While McClane changes clothes, the
party is disrupted by the arrival of a German terrorist named Hans
Gruber and his heavily armed team: Karl, Tony, Franco, Theo, Alexander,
Marco, Kristoff, Eddie, Uli, Heinrich, Fritz, and James. The group
seizes the tower and secures those inside as hostages, except for
McClane, who manages to slip away.
Gruber singles out Nakatomi executive Joseph Takagi, and says he intends
to teach the corporation a lesson for its greed. Isolated from the
hostages, Gruber interrogates Takagi for the code to the building's
vault and reveals that his endgame is to attempt to steal $640 million
in bearer bonds in the vault, with terrorism merely being used as a
distraction. Takagi refuses to cooperate and is murdered by Gruber.
McClane, who had been secretly watching, accidentally gives himself away
and is pursued by Tony. McClane manages to kill Tony, pocketing his
weapon and radio, which he uses to contact the Los Angeles Police
Department (LAPD). As Sgt. Al Powell is sent to investigate, Gruber
sends Heinrich and Marco to stop McClane, who kills them both. Powell
arrives and is greeted by Eddie, who is posing as a concierge; he finds
nothing strange about the building. As Powell turns to leave, McClane
drops Marco's corpse onto his patrol car to get his attention. Powell
summons the LAPD, who lays siege to the building. McClane steals
Heinrich's bag containing C-4 explosives and detonators.
James and Alexander use anti-tank missiles to knock out a SWAT Greyhound
armored car, but before they can finish its destruction, they are
killed when their building floor is blown up by C-4 that McClane
dropped. Holly's coworker Harry Ellis attempts to mediate between Hans
and McClane for the return of the detonators. McClane refuses to return
them, causing Gruber to murder Ellis. While checking explosives attached
to the roof, Gruber is confronted by McClane. Gruber passes himself off
as an escaped hostage and is given a gun by McClane. Gruber attempts to
shoot McClane but finds that the gun is empty. Before McClane can act,
Karl, Franco, and Fritz arrive. McClane kills Fritz and Franco, but is
forced to flee, leaving the detonators behind.
FBI agents arrive and take command of the police situation outside,
ordering the building's power be shut off. The loss of power—as Gruber
had anticipated—disables the vault's final lock. Gruber demands that a
helicopter arrive on the roof for transport, and the FBI prepare to
double-cross him by sending helicopter gunships to take down the
terrorists. However, McClane discovers that Gruber's true intention is
to detonate the explosives on the roof, thus faking the deaths of his
men and himself so they can escape with the bearer bonds, a plan that
would also kill the hostages. Meanwhile, Gruber sees a news report by
intrusive reporter Richard Thornburg that features McClane's children,
and deduces that McClane is Holly's husband. The criminals order the
hostages to the roof, but Gruber takes Holly with him to use against
McClane. McClane defeats Karl in a fight, kills Uli, and sends the
hostages back downstairs before the explosives detonate, destroying the
roof and the FBI helicopter.
Theo goes to the parking garage to retrieve their getaway vehicle but is
knocked unconscious by Argyle, who had been trapped in the garage
throughout the siege. A weary McClane finds Holly with Gruber and his
remaining men, and knocks Kristoff unconscious. McClane surrenders his
machine gun to spare Holly, but then distracts Gruber and Eddie by
laughing, allowing him to grab a concealed pistol (still with two
bullets) taped to his back. McClane shoots Gruber in the shoulder and
then kills Eddie with his final shot. Gruber crashes through a window,
and while he momentarily saves himself by grabbing Holly's watch,
McClane removes it and Gruber falls to his death.
McClane and Holly are escorted from the building and meet Powell in
person. Karl emerges from the building disguised as a hostage and
attempts to shoot McClane, but is gunned down by Powell. Argyle crashes
through the parking garage door in the limo. Thornburg arrives and
attempts to interview McClane, but is punched by Holly. McClane and
Holly are then driven away by Argyle.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_Hard