Twenty years ago today, the classic action flick "Die Hard" was released.

 

REMEMBERING "DIE HARD"

 

Compiled by Michael Coate

 

 

CAST:

John McClane … Bruce Willis

Holly Gennaro-McClane … Bonnie Bedelia

Sgt. Al Powell … Reginald Veljohnson

Dwayne T. Robinson … Paul Gleason

Argyle … De'voreaux White

Thornburg … William Atherton

Ellis … Hart Bochner

Hans Gruber … Alan Rickman

Karl … Alexander Godunov

Theo … Clarence Gilyard, Jr.

 

DIRECTOR: John McTiernan

 

SCREENPLAY: Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza (screenplay), Roderick Thorp (novel)

 

RELEASE DATE: Friday, July 15, 1988 (70mm limited release); Wednesday, July 20, 1988 (general release)

 

PROMOTIONAL SLOGANS:

"40 Stories Of Sheer Adventure!"

"An Adventure That Will Blow You Through The Back Wall Of The Theatre."

 

PRODUCTION BUDGET: $28 million

 

OPENING-WEEK BOOKINGS: 21

 

OPENING-WEEKEND BOXOFFICE GROSS: $601,851

 

CUMULATIVE DOMESTIC BOXOFFICE GROSS: $83 million

 

RANK ON TOP-GROSSING FILMS OF 1988: 7

 

MEMORABLE DIALOGUE [SPOILER ALERT: INCLUDES PROFANITY]

 

"Do you really think you have a chance against us, Mr. Cowboy?" — Hans / "Yippee-kai-yay, motherfucker." — McClane

 

"Nine million terrorists in the world, and I got to kill one with feet smaller than my sister." — McClane

 

"Attention, whoever you are, this channel is reserved for emergency calls only." — Supervisor / "No fucking shit, lady! Do I sound like I'm ordering a pizza?" — McClane

 

"I am an exceptional thief, Mrs. McClane." — Hans

 

"Oh my god! The quarterback is toast! — Theo

 

"You throw quite a party. I didn't realize they celebrated Christmas in Japan." — McClane / "We're flexible. Pearl Harbor didn't work out, so we got you with tape decks." — Joe Takagi

 

"We're going to need some more FBI guys, I guess." — Dwayne T. Robinson

 

"Hey, business is business. You use a gun. I use a fountain pen. What's the difference?" — Harry Ellis

 

 

WHAT THE CRITICS SAID

 

"Alan Rickman, a British stage actor, in his movie debut as the chief terrorist, creates a classic villain." — Dave Kehr, Chicago Tribune

 

"`Die Hard' is dynamite." — Joel Siegel, Good Morning America

 

"[Bruce] Willis has found the perfect vehicle to careen wildly onto the crowded L.A. freeway of `Lethal Weapons' and `Beverly Hills Cops.' And he keeps a respectable grip on the wheel, his only acting requirements being to shift that `Moonlighting' glibspeak into R-rated high-drive and fire his Baretta 92 to heart's content." — Desson Howe, The Washington Post

 

"`Die Hard' is exceedingly stupid, but escapist fun." — Caryn James, The New York Times

 

"This summer's action movie to see." — Mike Clark, USA Today

 

"For sheer roller-coaster thrills, the pick of the crop is `Die Hard'." — David Ansen, Newsweek

 

"See it in 70mm and kick back; it's a party of a movie." — Peter Stack, San Francisco Chronicle

 

"`Die Hard' has audiences rising to their feet and screaming at the screen! You'll have a whale of a time." — Mike McGrady, Newsday

 

"`Die Hard' is the archetypal big-deal Hollywood exploitation picture. It's like a giant war toy, a triumph of well-oiled mechanical precision that performs miracles of destruction. As a grand flourish of cinematic technique, it is awesome; as a human drama, it is disgusting and silly, a mindless depiction of carnage on an epic scale." — Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times

 

 

INTERNATIONAL RELEASE DATES

 

09.21.1988 … France  ("Lepiegede Cristal")

09.23.1988 … Taiwan

09.27.1988 … Philippines

09.28.1988 … Italy  ("Trappola de Cristallo")

09.28.1988 … Spain  ("Jungla de Cristal")

09.30.1988 … Sweden  ("Operasjon Skyscraper")

10.06.1988 … Australia

10.07.1988 … Austria  ("Stirb Langsam")

10.07.1988 … Finland  ("Vain Kuolleen Ruumiini Yli")

10.07.1988 … New Zealand

10.19.1988 … Hong Kong

10.19.1988 … Singapore

11.11.1988 … The Netherlands

11.11.1988 … Norway  ("Die Hard: Operasjon Skyscraper")

11.11.1988 … Thailand

11.11.1988 … West Germany  ("Stirb Langsam")

12.02.1988 … Malaysia

12.15.1988 … Argentina  ("Duro de Matar")

12.26.1988 … Denmark

02.02.1989 … United Kingdom

02.11.1989 … Japan

04.13.1989 … Mexico  ("Duro de Matar")

04.20.1989 … Colombia  ("Duro de Matar")

 

 

TRIVIA

 

The Nakatomi Plaza featured in the film is the Fox Plaza, the Los Angeles corporate offices of 20th Century Fox Film Corporation.

 

"Die Hard" is based upon the 1979 book "Nothing Lasts Forever" by Roderick Thorp.

 

The world premiere of "Die Hard" was held on July 7, 1988 at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, CA.

 

Bruce Willis received a then-record $5 million salary for his acting services.

 

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Burt Reynolds and Richard Gere all reportedly passed on playing the role of John McClane.

 

"Die Hard" was nominated for four Academy Awards: Film Editing, Sound, Sound Effects Editing, Visual Effects. The film won a BMI Film Music award for Michael Kamen's original score and a Hocho Eiga Sho ("Best Foreign Picture for 1989") from the Japanese newspaper Hochi Shimbun.

 

For the theatrical film prints, a spherical film element of the 20th Century Fox logo that opens the film was (mistakenly) used instead of an (appropriate) anamorphic element, resulting in a noticeably stretched-out image.

 

"Die Hard" spawned three sequels: "Die Hard 2" (1990), "Die Hard With A Vengeance" (1995) and "Live Free Or Die Hard" (2007).

 

"Die Hard" inspired the ultimate motion picture high-concept story idea expression: "Die Hard on a ______."

 

 

THE 70MM ENGAGEMENTS

 

The following is a list of the 70mm Six-Track Dolby Stereo presentations that were booked for the film's exclusive, limited-market release. These were the best venues in which to experience "Die Hard."  (The 35mm general release and 70mm moveover, sub-run, and international bookings have not been included.)

 

Atlanta – LENOX SQUARE

Boston – CINEMA 57

Chicago – WOODFIELD

Cincinnati – KENWOOD

Dallas – NORTHPARK I-II

Denver – CONTINENTAL

Houston – SPECTRUM 8

Los Angeles – AVCO CENTER

Miami – DADELAND

Minneapolis – SOUTHTOWN

Montreal – PLACE ALEXIS-NIHON

New York – BARONET

New York – CRITERION CENTER

Philadelphia – SAMERIC

St. Louis – ESQUIRE

San Francisco – CORONET

San Jose – TOWN & COUNTRY

Seattle – CINEMA 150

Toronto – PANTAGES

Vancouver – GRANVILLE 7

Washington – WISCONSIN AVENUE CINEMAS

 

 

Sources/References: Numerous newspaper articles, reviews and advertisements; and Boxoffice; Boxofficemojo;

Cinerama and Large-Frame Exhibition in Canada; "Die Hard" (1988, 20th Century Fox); The Hollywood Reporter;

Internet Movie Database; Newsweek; Time Magazine; Variety.

 

Special thanks to Thomas Hauerslev, Stan Malone, and the librarians and research assistants who contributed to this project.

 

Copyright 2008 Michael S. Coate

 

 

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