DIE HARD – A John McClane Xmas Celebration

Introduction

Ever since its release in the summer of 1988, the debate has raged on. Is Die Hard a Xmas movie? Cinema Scholars takes a look back at the John McTiernan-directed classic, as well as adding further fuel to the fire that rages on inside Nakatomi Plaza. We’ll break down why we feel that not only is Die Hard a Xmas movie but that it may be the greatest action movie of them all.

Beginnings

The story of Die Hard goes back over forty years when Roderick Thorp’s 1979 novel Nothing Lasts Forever was released. This was a sequel to his 1966 novel The Detective. The film of the same name became a 1968 vehicle for Frank Sinatra, who portrayed NYPD Detective Joe Leland. The film also starred Lee Remmick and Jack Klugman and was a modest success. Sinatra received strong reviews from critics.

20th Century Fox soon began working on adapting Thorp’s sequel into a major feature. As a result, they were contractually obligated to offer Sinatra the starring role. This was because Nothing Lasts Forever was a direct sequel to The Detective. Sinatra, who was 73 at the time of pre-production, wisely turned down the role.

Subsequently, screenwriters Jeb Stuart and Stephen E. de Souza began to shape and change the screenplay more towards an action film. 20th Century Fox was pitching the film in the same light as the popular Rambo: First Blood Part II. The Sylvester Stallone action classic was released in 1985 and was immensely successful.

Joe Leland, an older retired NYPD detective, became John McClane, a much younger detective visiting Los Angeles on Xmas Eve. Instead of reuniting with his daughter Stephanie, he’s now reuniting with his estranged wife, Holly. The setting of the Klaxon Oil building now became Nakatomi Plaza, with the Nakatomi Corporation becoming a multinational Japanese corporation.

Casting

It is rumored that Jeb Stuart began to try and craft Die Hard as a sequel to the successful action film Commando (1985). Its star, Arnold Schwarzenegger was immediately pursued. However, the actor wasn’t interested. Schwarzenegger was looking to branch out into more comedic roles, such as Twins (1988). He also had Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) in the pipeline. de Souza has denied these rumors.

Depending on what you read or who you talk to, the lead role of John McClane was offered to a slew of stars of that period. This included Sylvester Stallone, Harrison Ford, Don Johnson, Richard Gere, and Clint Eastwood. James Caan, Nick Nolte, Mel Gibson, and Paul Newman were also considered. Even screen legend Al Pacino was discussed as portraying Detective McClane.

The TV series Moonlighting was a moderately successful comedy/drama series about a Detective Agency. The show ran from 1985-1989 on the ABC television network. The show was a vehicle for actress Cybill Shepherd who, in July 1987, was going through a difficult pregnancy. Eventually, production on the show would be forced to shut down for the next three months. This shutdown would change her costar’s life forever.

Bruce Willis

Why TV actor Bruce Willis was paid $5 million to star in Die Hard continues to be a discussion up for debate. This was a salary virtually unheard of back in the mid-1980s. Especially for an actor who had only one credited film to date, Blind Date (1987). Willis was known primarily for his comedic chops, co-starring opposite Cybill Sheppard in the ABC TV series, Moonlighting.

Actors at the time who were getting paid that kind of salary were Academy Award winners. These included people such as Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman, and Jack Nicholson. 20th Century Fox and producer Joel Silver justified paying Willis, stating that the film was dependent on its charismatic lead. Others felt that the studio was desperate for a star and a big summer blockbuster. Regardless, shockwaves were felt throughout the industry.

Alan Ladd Jr., then chairman of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, stated in a February 1988 Chicago Tribune article:

“This throws the business out of whack. Like everybody else in town, I was stunned. We haven`t gone after a big star in the last month. But if we try to make a deal with Tom Selleck, for example, after `Three Men and a Baby` is he going to say, `I`ve just been in a big successful picture, so I want $6 million”’

Alan Rickman

Born in 1946, Alan Rickman was destined to trod the boards of the stage. The late actor trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Eventually, he would become a member of the prestigious Royal Shakespeare Company. Rickman would receive a Tony nomination for portraying Vicomte de Valmont in a 1988 Broadway production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses.

Producer Joel Silver had seen Rickman’s villainous performance on Broadway and was convinced that the stage actor had the chops and intensity to portray the eloquent yet deadly villain of the film, Hans Gruber. Rickman’s iconic performance would go on to establish the prototype of the Hollywood “Euro-villain.” In 2016, shortly before his death from pancreatic cancer, Rickman reflected on his role, speaking to The Independent:

“Die Hard was a huge event in my life…I walked into a screening in New York anonymous and walked out not anonymous. You are aware that something has happened. It was the first film I ever made. I was very ignorant. Nowadays, everyone wants to be in an action or superhero movie, I notice. Then, it was very weird for me to do it…What seems to have been forgotten along the way, is that Die Hard has wit and style. That’s why it lasted”

Rounding Out The Cast

Die Hard belongs to Willis and Rickman. However, enough cannot be said about the incredible supporting cast that complements them. Because of Stuart’s script and de Souza’s rewrites, every single supporting player has a moment to shine. In the case of some characters, an entire arc is seen to its full realization.

Bonnie Bedelia, portraying McClane’s estranged wife Holly, was a trained ballet dancer. She made her film debut in 1969’s The Gypsy Moths. While her scenes with Willis are limited, they argue as a couple should and their chemistry is significant. Reginald VelJohnson is fantastic as LAPD Sgt. Al Powell, who has one of the film’s more iconic moments. His CB-radio friendship with McClane is heartfelt and genuine.

William Atherton zealously portrays reporter Richard Thornburg, a character who is incredibly unlikeable. One who we root against. Paul Gleason’s Deputy Police Chief Dwayne T. Robinson and the fantastic Robert Davi as Special Agent Johnson are both characters who are supposed to be the good guys. Yet they are incredibly inept and borderline sociopathic. We hate them just as much as we do Gruber and his band of evil henchmen.

One cannot talk about Die Hard without mentioning the incredible oily and sleazy performance by Hart Bochner as Ellis, Holly’s co-worker and hopeful lover. He is the quintessential coked-up LA dickhead. Bochner’s performance is so over-the-top, that his dialogue, 30 years later, remains some of the film’s most oft-quoted.

Production

de Souza, who had rewritten Stuart’s script, was able to blend comedy and action effortlessly. This can also be seen in some of his other writing efforts, such as Commando (1985) and Running Man (1987). de Souza rewrote the Die Hard screenplay as if Gruber had been the protagonist. The writer would later state:

“If Gruber had not planned the robbery and put it together, McClane would have just gone to the party and reconciled, or not, with his wife. You should sometimes think about looking at your movie through the point of view of the villain, who is really driving the narrative”

During the beginning of production, Willis was still filming Moonlighting. As a result of this, additional subplots were added. This would allow Willis to fulfill his contractual obligations to ABC. The actor’s workload on both productions was brutal. Because of this, Willis’s look of sheer exhaustion throughout Die Hard is genuine.

To accommodate Willis’s hectic schedule, supporting characters were further developed. Sgt. Powell now had a wife and kids. This allowed him to relate and bond with McClane throughout the film. Argyle (De’voreaux White), the annoying yet lovable limo driver only has a minor role in the original novel. In the final shooting script, he is present throughout, offering comic relief.

Stuart’s original script had Die Hard taking place over three days. McTiernan would change this. He opted to have it take place over a single night. This was a homage to Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The director also changed the terrorists’ main motive of action from politics to money. McTiernan felt that a summer blockbuster shouldn’t involve politics, thereby polarizing the viewer.

In the film’s most iconic scene, Gruber is dropped to his death from the top floor of Nakatomi Plaza. Rickman performed the stunt himself and was tricked by Charlie Picerni, the film’s stunt coordinator. Hanging over a “green screen,” Rickman was supposed to be dropped 40 feet on the count of three, landing on a crash pad. He was released on the count of one. As a result, the fear and shock on Gruber’s face are legitimate.

Filming

Shooting on Die Hard began in November 1987, lasting about 16 weeks. Filming took place almost entirely at Fox Plaza, located at 2121 Avenue of the Stars, Century City, Los Angeles. This was because a mostly unoccupied building was needed. The still-under-construction Fox Plaza would fill in for Nakatomi Plaza. The only caveat was filming at the Plaza could not take place during normal business hours.

As a result of filming, thousands of dollars worth of Italian marble had to be imported to replace the fancy Fox marble that had been partially damaged or destroyed during production. Century City continues to be frequently used as a location for film and TV shoots. It’s south of Santa Monica Boulevard, and just southwest of Beverly Hills.

With script rewrites throughout filming, actors were given flexibility about ad-libbing. The result was some of the more iconic lines in action film history. Ellis’s “Hans, bubby, I’m your white knight” was made up on the fly. Also improvised was “Oh my God, the Quarterback is toast!” This is uttered by computer hacker Theo (Clarence Gilyard) after the infiltration of Nakatomi Tower, and the murder of a security guard.

Willis found acting in Die Hard difficult as the majority of his scenes were filmed alone and isolated from the rest of the cast. This was a new experience for the Moonlighting star. He further isolated himself from his castmates when not filming, as he was spending most of his off-camera time with his new girlfriend, and future wife, Demi Moore.

The Music and Xmas

Michael Kamen composed the score for Die Hard. His previous works had included ballets and concertos. McTiernan specifically wanted to include in the film Beethoven’s Ode To Joy, from his Symphony No. 9. The director was a fan of Stanley Kubrick’s 1971 masterpiece, A Clockwork Orange, which featured the work, as reimagined electronically by American composer Wendy Carlos.

At first hesitant, Kamen relented when he saw how Kubrick had used Beethoven’s work to underscore the violence in his film. Kamen insisted however that they also license Singin’ in the Rain, another track in A Clockwork Orange. The composer used Ode to Joy, Winter Wonderland, and Singin’ In The Rain – three upbeat and joyful pieces – to underscore the villains of the film. Ode to Joy is purposefully scored with a darker, more ominous tone.

Many characters in Die Hard end up singing the musical theme most associated with them. This includes Gruber who hums Ode to Joy while in an elevator. Theo also hums Singin’ in the Rain, and the Xmas classic, Let it Snow. This is also sung by Sgt. Powell before he arrives at Nakatomi Plaza. McTiernan, in the director’s commentary of the film, reflected on the now legendary score:

“…I found myself thinking of movies as musical structures…I kind grew up around opera and even though I’m musically illiterate, I think in musical forms at least…”

Die Hard also features Christmas in Hollis by Run-DMC, a song now widely considered a Xmas classic because of its use in the film. It should also be noted that Let It Snow, another Xmas classic, plays after Die Hard, playing as the credits roll, and as John and Holly McClane embrace.

Release and Legacy

Bruce Willis wasn’t an established movie star, and expectations for Die Hard were not high by 20th Century Fox. Also, test screenings with audiences were not favorable towards Willis. As a result, the marketing campaign started to veer away from the actor. Soon, the film’s one-sheets were changed. Now, focusing on Nakatomi Plaza with Willis’s name only shown in small print.

Defying expectations and predictions, Die Hard started to generate buzz. Further sneak previews of the film were well received and advertising began to again feature Willis. The premiere of Die Hard took place on July 12, 1988, at the Avco Theater in Los Angeles. While it never was number-one at the box office, it did spend ten straight weeks as a top-five highest-grossing film. Something unheard of today.

Die Hard went on to be a huge success, grossing $140 million worldwide. The film is widely responsible for re-invigorating 20th Century Fox, which had been struggling for several years. In the ensuing 30+ years, it’s been reevaluated critically, heaping high praise on both John McTiernan and cinematographer Jan de Bont. Die Hard also received four Oscar nominations, including Best Visual Effects.

Die Hard has become one of the most influential films of the 1980s. It has inspired dozens of filmmakers in the ensuing years. Among them, are Darren Aronofsky, Brad Bird, and Colin Trevorrow. Willis’s portrayal of John McClane changed how the modern action hero looked and acted. Instead of a musclebound quip machine, action stars could now be everyday Joes. It remains one of the great action films of all time.

The Case For Xmas

The most fundamental narrative of Die Hard is of a man trying to return to his family for Christmas. Further, McClane’s wife is named Holly. The film takes place on Christmas Eve. Not on Valentine’s Day or Thanksgiving. It could have been set during any week of the year. But it wasn’t. Hans Gruber also refers to the Christmas spirit: “It’s Christmas, Theo, it’s a time for miracles.”

Further, the soundtrack features Christmas tunes both new and old. Notably Run-DMC’s Christmas in Hollis and Frank Sinatra’s version of Let It Snow. Even Santa Claus makes an appearance in the film, as a dead terrorist. Also, it snows at the end of the film. The last time it had snowed in Los Angeles was in 1962. If all of this isn’t enough, Die Hard features the best use of Xmas wrapping tape in cinema history.

Perhaps it’s 20th Century Fox that offers the most compelling case that Die Hard is the ultimate Xmas movie. They released a brand new trailer for the film’s 30th anniversary back in 2018. In the revamped trailer, we hear the voice-over describing John McClane’s predicament:

“He just wants to spend Christmas with the family…But when he gets stuck at the office party, it’ll be a holiday he’ll never forget…This Christmas get ready to jingle some bells, and deck the halls with boughs of Holly…Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman – together in the greatest Christmas story ever told.”

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