But then I started to analyze the concept a little more closely. Maybe Bruce Willis is Santa Claus, trying to deliver "cheer" to the hostages in the Nakatomi Tower by rescuing them. Perhaps Alan Rickman as Hans Gruber represents the Grinch or Scrooge or Krampus, ruining Christmas for everyone including the city of Los Angeles, the LAPD, and the FBI. Hey, there is a Christmas work party going on at the beginning of DIE HARD. Only instead of the CEO kissing his secretary by mistake or saying something inappropriate, he's shot dead by the terrorists. I think I'm beginning to see the holiday connections.
DIE HARD actually was released in the summer of 1988. I will never forget when I saw the first trailer for DIE HARD in a half full theater a few months before its release. The first trailer (sometimes know as a teaser) gives a general idea of the film and only lasts about ninety seconds compared to the second and third trailer which run about two and a half minutes. Whomever edited the first DIE HARD trailer did a horrible job. It consisted of a few explosions with quips by Bruce Willis that made no sense as they were out of context with a film no one had seen yet. I would surmise that three quarters of the audience including me snickered at the first DIE HARD trailer. Bruce Willis was a successful television star from the hit comedy show MOONLIGHTING (1985-1989). The trailer played up his comedy side. No one saw Willis as an action star. DIE HARD seemed like it might arrive dead on arrival from that first preview. Oh how wrong we would all be.
Based on a novel by Roderick Thorpe (nope, I never read it either) and written by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. DeSouza, DIE HARD stars Bruce Willis as John McClane, a New York cop who lands in Los Angeles on Christmas Eve to visit his estranged wife Holly Gennaro McClane and their two kids. The two have lived on opposite coasts for six months as Holly took a high profile position for Joseph Takagi (James Shigeta), head of the Nakatomi Corporation. McClane is picked up by novice chauffeur Argyle (De'Voreaux White) and taken to the Nakatomi Plaza, a sparkling new high rise skyscraper. The building is virtually empty except on the 30th floor where the employees of the Nakatomi Corporation are having their Christmas party. McClane meets Takagi as well as Holly's unctuous, cocaine sniffing co-worker Harry Ellis (Hart Bochner).
While McClane waits in Holly's office for Holly to finish up some work, a group of slick, well-dressed and coiffed Euro terrorists led by Hans Gruber (the superb Alan Rickman), his trigger man Karl who looks like ballet star Alexander Godunov (wait, it is Alexander Godunov), and security system hacker Theo (Clarence Gilyard, Jr) surreptiously infiltrate the skyscraper and take Mr. Takagi and his employees hostage. Gruber wants Takagi to hand over the key codes to their vault where sixty million in negotiable bonds sit. When Takagi refuses, Gruber shoots him. Hearing gunshots, McClane hides out, moving a few stories higher. He pulls the fire alarm to bring police and fire trucks to the building but Gruber's men cancel the alarm. When Karl's brother Tony (Andreas Wisniewski) goes to investigate, McClane takes him out, obtaining a machine gun and hand radio. He sends the dead Tony down in an elevator to the 30th floor to alert Gruber and his men they have an adversary in the building.
Enraged by the death of his brother, Karl and two others chase McClane to the rooftop where a gun battle ensues. McClane calls 911 for help. A patrolman Sgt. Al Powell (Reginald VelJohnson) investigates, checking the lobby. As Powell pulls away from the building, McClane throws the body of a dead terrorist out the window, hitting his car, grabbing Powell's attention. Gruber's men open fire on Powell's car. He barely survives. Now, the LAPD and a nosy TV reporter Richard Thornburg (William Atherton) head to the Nakatomi tower. Led by the incompetent Deputy Police Chief Dwayne T. Robinson (Paul Gleason), the LAPD attempts an unsuccessful assault on the building, resulting in the LAPD's small tank to be destroyed by a missile launcher. A cat and mouse game ensues between McClane and Gruber as they banter on the radio.
Holly's slimy co-worker Harry Ellis tries to negotiate with Gruber, revealing to the terrorists that McClane's a cop. Gruber repays Harry by killing him. The FBI arrives led by hot shot FBI Special Agent Big Johnson (Robert Davi) and FBI Agent Little Johnson (Grand L. Bush). Theo finally cracks the vault. McClane discovers that Gruber has planted detonators on the upper levels of the building, planning to blow up the building to hide their theft after they depart. McClane manages to disable a few of the bombs (throwing them down an elevator shaft with pyrotechnic results), infuriating Gruber. Gruber figures out that Holly is McClane's wife. With FBI helicopters circling the building and law enforcement waiting below, McClane and Gruber (holding Holly as his hostage) square off for a very entertaining final confrontation.
So is DIE HARD a Christmas movie? I would argue that Richard Donner's LETHAL WEAPON (1987) may have more Christmas vibe than DIE HARD with Bobby Helms' Jingle Bell Rock playing over the opening credits, Mel Gibson undercover at a Christmas tree kiosk, and Hollywood Boulevard decked out in wreaths and Christmas lights. Some films placed in the Christmas film genre are there because of a song. Robert Wise's THE SOUND OF MUSIC (1965) isn't really a Christmas movie but Julie Andrews' rendition of My Favorite Things has propelled it as a holiday favorite. Vincent Minnelli's MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS (1944) is broken into four parts based on the seasons. Judy Garland sings Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas during the winter section and it falls into the Christmas category. Are we so hard pressed for a new Christmas movie to replace WHITE CHRISTMAS or HOLIDAY INN that we have to conjure up new ones out of an action film?
The new generation of film lovers imagines Bruce Willis in DIE HARD as Santa Claus (or maybe Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer or Yukon Cornelius) coming to deliver "the gift" of a Christmas miracle by rescuing the Nakatomi employees from a terrible fate. Hans Gruber is the Grinch or Krampus incarnate, prepared to steal the Nakatomi Corporation's "toys" i.e. negotiable bonds, jewelry, and priceless works of art from its impenetrable vault. The FBI helicopters are Santa's flying reindeer, buzzing around the building. It's far fetched but DIE HARD does take place entirely during Christmas Eve.
More surprising than it's comparison as a Christmas movie, I was struck by DIE HARD'S separation of classes (working class vs the elite). McClane is a blue collar New York cop. His wife makes more money than he does and her boss and co-worker aren't too impressed with him. But McClane can see through the trees. He's not about ego. He's real. Sgt. Powell is just an LAPD foot soldier. He survives the terrorists barrage on his patrol car and connects with McClane, reading the situation they're involved in. But Powell's superior Deputy Police Chief Dwayne T. Robinson ignores every suggestion that Powell provides. Then, the FBI (more arrogant and elitist than Robinson) take over the crisis and make it worse. Director McTiernan clearly roots for the underdog. DIE HARD even hints that bad guy Gruber may have come from humble roots. His previous terrorist group ignored or brushed off his ideas. Gruber has a chip on his shoulder and starts his own terror campaign to show what he's capable of.
What DIE HARD most certainly proves is it's one of the best action films ever made, redefining the genre. It's the classic fish out of water film, only the fish is a New York cop stepping out of the concrete jungle and landing in the bright, palm tree laden City of Angels. The direction, writing, and acting in DIE HARD is superb. Screenwriters Stuart and de Souza give McClane plenty of obstacles to overcome yet create ingenious ways for our hero to overcome them. The villain Gruber is witty and adaptable, even fooling McClane when they accidentally cross paths. Gruber adopts a Texas accent and pretends to be one of the party guests, almost fooling McClane. Director McTiernan intersperses plot and character with great action set pieces.
DIE HARD would spawn four more sequels including 1990's DIE HARD 2 (set in an airport), 1995's DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE (New York terrorized by Hans Gruber's brother Simon), 2007's LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD (computer hackers), and 2013's A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD (McClane in Russia). DIE HARD would spawn countless imitators like Renny Harlin's CLIFFHANGER (1993). Harlin actually directed DIE HARD 2. CLIFFHANGER wants desperately to be DIE HARD right down to Sylvester Stallone's average Joe mountain guide and John Lithgow's over the top villain Qualen. It has its moments but CLIFFHANGER is no DIE HARD.
Bruce Willis was still starring in the TV show MOONLIGHTING when DIE HARD was released. DIE HARD'S success would propel Willis into a bona fide movie star and he would never look back appearing in hit films like Quentin Tarantino's PULP FICTION (1994) and M.Night Shyamalan's THE SIXTH SENSE (1999). Willis's John McClane is like the classic lone wolf western hero. Hans Gruber calls McClane "cowboy" and McClane professes to be a fan of Roy Rogers yelling "Yippee-ki-yay mother*@&#!" as he kicks butt. DIE HARD would also be a breakout film for British actor Alan Rickman as German terrorist leader Hans Gruber. Rickman would play another fascinating villain the Sheriff of Nottingham in Kevin Reynolds ROBIN HOOD: PRINCE OF THIEVES (1991) but will probably be best remembered as the Professor of Dark Arts Severus Snape in the HARRY POTTER film franchise. I always feel sorry for Gruber in DIE HARD. He wears expensive suits and seems to have a full proof plan but he's easily bothered that a common cop has interrupted his grand scheme.
Director McTiernan peppers the rest of DIE HARD with wonderful character actors. Bonnie Bedelia as McClane's wife Holly turns the usually cliché hero's spouse into a tough and smart hostage, having to think on the fly as much as McClane does. Bedelia would also appear in DIE HARD 2. Actors Paul Gleason and William Atherton have both perfected how to play an asshole in films like John Hughes THE BREAKFAST CLUB (1985) where Gleason played the principal overseeing detention and Ivan Reitman's GHOSTBUSTERS (1984) where Atherton's EPA official butted heads with Bill Murray and gang. Gleason as the Deputy Police Chief in over his head and Atherton as a smarmy TV reporter chasing the story of his career are both utterly despicable and hilarious. Special mention to the two equally cocky and horrible FBI Agents played by Robert Davi and Grand L. Bush and Hart Bochner as Holly's sleazy co-worker Harry. The one other human character besides the McClane's is Sgt. Al Powell played by Reginald VelJohnson. VelJohnson seemed destined to play a nice TV sitcom Dad and he would get that chance soon after as patriarch Carl Winslow in TVs FAMILY MATTERS (1989-1998) which was famous for Winslow's nerdy young neighbor Steve Urkel (Jaleel White).
Ultimately, whether DIE HARD belongs in the Christmas movie genre like IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE or ELF is up to each movie fan to decide. One thing going for DIE HARD like many Christmas movies is the universal theme of family. Like George Bailey realizing how important his family is to his life or Buddy the Elf leaving the North Pole to find his real family, DIE HARD boils down to John McClane flying from the East Coast to the West Coast to reunite with his wife and kids. It just takes McClane about two hours to dispatch of a group of German terrorists before he can be with his family. That's what Christmas movies are about. Family.
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