A New York City police officer tries to save his estranged wife and several others taken hostage by terrorists during a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles.A New York City police officer tries to save his estranged wife and several others taken hostage by terrorists during a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles.A New York City police officer tries to save his estranged wife and several others taken hostage by terrorists during a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles.
- Nominated for 4 Oscars
- 8 wins & 8 nominations total
Joseph Plewa
- Alexander
- (as Joey Plewa)
Gérard Bonn
- Kristoff
- (as Gerard Bonn)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe fictional Nakatomi Plaza is the headquarters of 20th Century Studios, so the studio could use one of its own buildings and didn't have to hold back on stunts and action sequences. While Jeb Stuart was writing the screenplay, he did a tour of the building, and immediately incorporated some of the locations and objects he found there into his script as set pieces (such as the cart that McClane and Karl end up riding during their fight). The company charged itself rent for the use of the then-unfinished building. Some of the middle floors were occupied by legal and administrative departments, so only empty floors were used for filming. Still, the filming of scenes that involved gunfire had to be postponed until after hours because some of the employees from the active floors started to complain about the noise.
- GoofsSeveral times during transmissions with the two-way radios, characters interrupt each other, which would be impossible given the type of radios they were using.
- Quotes
Supervisor: [as McClane tries to call up police] Attention, whoever you are, this channel is reserved for emergency calls only.
John McClane: No fucking shit, lady! Does it sound like I'm ordering a pizza?
- Crazy creditsIn the widescreen version, the 20th Century Fox logo is stretched.
- Alternate versionsThe Ultimate edition DVD contains the following deleted/extended scenes:
- Extended power shutdown sequence.
- Extended opening flight scene.
- Brief dialogue in the first Hans/McClane confrontation.
- Extended scene where Robinson/Powell brief the FBI on the tower situation.
- Brief dialogue when Hans interrogates Takagi.
- Brief dialogue after Theo says "You didn't bring me along for my charming personality".
- Extended/alternate dialogue in McClane/Powell conversation after McClane uses the plastic explosives.
- Brief scene of FBI agents getting stuck in thorn bushes as they make their way towards the building.
- At the end, McClane says "You got a warranty for this (Holly's watch, a gift from Nakatomi Corporation)?" to which Holly laughs.
- Argyle's dialogue as Powell's police cruiser flies by in the background.
- Brief Ellis dialogue reacting to the terrorist intrusion.
- City engineer briefly coughs before pulling out the power cord.
- Brief dialogue in Hans/Karl argument about "neutralizing" McClane.
- Additional Holly dialogue after seeing Karl's reaction to McClane's escape.
- ConnectionsEdited into Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)
- SoundtracksSingin' in the Rain
Written by Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown
Featured review
Ladies and gentleman, Mr.Bruce Willis, Movie Star
DIE HARD (1988) **** Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Bedelia, Alexander Godunov, Reginald Vel Johnson, William Atherton, Paul Gleason, Hart Bochner, Robert Davi. NYC cop John McClane (Willis in his star-making iconic role) is visiting LA at Christmas to reconnect with his estranged wife Bedelia who is at an office party that becomes a nightmare when a group of terrorists take over the building led by Hans Gruber (perfect Rickman) a German nutjob out to filch millions in bonds in the vault of the Japanese company. As the " fly in the ointment", Willis does his damnedest to stop him at all costs relying on his street-smarts and out-guessing as time ticks away. Great blend of action suspense and much welcomed humor. Best bit: Willis plunging from a rooftop attack by the FBI (thinking the disheveled cop is one of the bad guys!) attached to a fire hose and shooting his way into an empty office! Hair-raising and exhilirating fun for all. "Yippiee-Kay-Ay !!!!" (Dir: John McTiernan)
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- Duro de matar
- Filming locations
- Fox Plaza - 2121 Avenue of the Stars, Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA(Nakatomi building, interiors filmed on the 29th and 35th floors)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $28,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $85,892,546
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $601,851
- Jul 17, 1988
- Gross worldwide
- $143,651,650
- Runtime2 hours 12 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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