WTF Happened to Die Hard?

One word that comes to mind when you hear the title Die Hard is “definitive.” After all, it’s widely considered star Bruce Willis’ definitive role. Still, it’s also, arguably, the definitive action movie and even the definitive Christmas movie by some (in a debate that’s grown a bit tiresome). Indeed, Bruce Willis as John McClane, fighting terrorists in the Nakatomi skyscraper in Los Angeles, is a defining image of the eighties. Director John McTiernan, writers Steven E. De Souza and Jeb Stuart, and star Bruce Willis crafted a carnage-filled epic grounded by a very human hero – John McClane, who was a notable departure from the icons of the genre at the time, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone. McClane was no superman. Instead, he was human, flawed and broken-hearted over his failed marriage. His only goal was to rescue his estranged wife, Holly (Bonnie Bedelia) and get home for Christmas with his kids.

As iconic of a hero Willis is, Alan Rickman’s Hans Gruber is just as iconic a villain, with his sharp Brooks Brothers suits and haughty demeanour mixed with gallows humour. Plus, there’s Alexander Godunov as a hulking henchman, the Michael Kamen score, and so much more that helped make the movie become a classic. However, it was anything but smooth sailing to the big screen, with Willis not the first choice to play McClane and many scoffing at the idea that the TV star best known for Moonlighting could handle an action movie. And despite its reputation as a Christmas movie, Die Hard came out in the summer of 1988 and was more of a sleeper hit than an immediate blockbuster. However, it became so influential it inspired a legion of clones. We’ll tell you all about Die Hard’s rocky road to the big screen in this episode of WTF Happened to this Movie, which is written by Eric Walkuski, narrated by Dave Davis, edited by Ric Solomon and produced by Ben Cantler.

Is Die Hard the best action movie ever? Let us know in the comments!