They're required to have to have millions of dollars of insurance for the project and no coordinator wants to be the one who irreparably damaged a megastar's hearing, but then again, if you knew what you were talking about, you'd already know that. By the way, that's sarcasm, something Willis sometimes uses in movies...in THIS one as a matter of fact! Just remember it's all fake and blanks aren't that loud. They amount to little more than a kid's cap gun and are mostly used as markers for the sound and muzzle-flash put in during post-production.
One big reason is the late Alan Rickman. Hans is one of the creepiest psychos I've seen in movies. Even as he went on to play Snape in the Harry Potter films, I always remember this about Die Hard: Hans in his perfectly made suit sitting at a desk, making deals over a radio while blowing away hostages with his H&K pistol. Even the gun could represent Hans: it was a very slim, sophisticated piece of German engineering. It was unusual in that the safety and hammer were both connected to a huge lever in the grip, which is called a "squeeze-cocker." Hence the name, the user must squeeze and hold the grip down to fire the gun. It is VERY accurate, in fact probably better than a lot of handguns costing over $900. And no, it wasn't cheap at $1,100 in 1998. The script had so many memorable lines and even minor characters like Karl (the long-haired blond) kept me hooked and ironically, he spoke very few lines and let his Steyr rifle "do the talking." And then, even when they're talking over the radio, John and Hans keep viewers wondering what will happen next. However, what really hammered the movie home is how the hero is fully aware of his mortality. He patches up his badly cut feet and realizes the conversation he will have could be the last time he talks to his mysterious buddy and he tells Al to find Holly and tell her "John said he was sorry." It was like being slapped in the face because I've never to this point seen an action film where the main character is kicking the crap out of bad guys left and right and is still fully aware that he is NOT superhuman. This is how action movies should be made. Small wonder that it still holds up well over 20 years later.
The characters are SO well written, too. Every single character in this movie feels so rich and interesting. From Argyle, to almost all of the terrorists, to the cops and FBI agents, to John McClane himself
I remember watching an interview with George Lucas about the appeal of Star Wars. He says that it is about basic mythical archetypes of good vs evil. I think all great action films make use of these archetypes. It is very easy for a films to fall into the trap of using clichés or stereotypes that make them derivative "been there, don that" kinds of films. The mark of a good action film is one that uses these archetypes or clichés and somehow still manages to seem fresh and entertaining. Die hard does this. I think the trick is in its simplicity: no complicated plot or dialogue...just a very human, and therefore relatable hero; his damsel in distress; a greedy, narcissistic and charming villain who lacks remorse; and a supporting cast of characters that also fulfill other types of archetypes: the joker, the sidekick, the law, henchmen, etc. For me, Die Hard is three kinds of movie: the best Action Film ever made, the best Christmas movie ever made, and the best feel good movie ever made.
Archetypes are necessary, but you still need CHARACTERS at the heart of the film. It can be surrounded by archetypes, but it needs at least one fully rounded character at the center of it all. For Die Hard, that was Bruce Willis' John McClane. Hell, even Hans Gruber, played excellently by Alan Rickman, was an archetype. It's just that Alan Rickman is such a great actor that he made an archetype a very unique and memorable character.
Archetypes are basic psychological personality structures for characters. It's not either/or. The Characters are one of many archetypes that can be assigned to any character, but many award-winning storytellers don't use archetypes in their works. Only two Characters are necessary for a story, Protagonist, and Antagonist, but they don't have to be assigned to archetypes to make the story work. Rickman didn't "make" a character out of an archetype. Hans Gruber is a pretty simple character with simple motives. He's a thief who is motivated by greed. (oldest motive in the book) The story is about John McClane, a much more complicated character who is motivated by love for his family, his sense of right and wrong and, more specifically, good versus evil, and his almost Superhero-like actions in the face of overwhelming odds, not to mention his unwavering perseverance in taking down the bad guys. Hans Gruber was just the antagonist needed to impede the protagonist's progress and make the story work! Just like the terminators in any of that franchise. They were all antagonists! Even in Terminator 2, Arnie was the protagonist saving the kid. The T-1000 was the antagonist. In context, McClane as Arnie and Gruber as the T-1000. Luke Skywalker is the protagonist, Darth Vader, the antagonist. Same story.
Jan De Bont's camerawork. Everything's great about Die Hard, especially Willis and Rickman, but the framing, action, glares(!), those add so much to escape the easy violent blockbuster label. I consider the building and interiors to be another actor almost, that 80's Japanese inspired corporate style often takes my attention away from the faces and conversations. The emotional journey of the hero against his will, and the physical hurt too, the trolling to keep his spirits up and even the fight with Holly are all very real, logical and relatable. Hans is an ordinairy thief but also of a higher status in demeanor and attire which makes you hate him, but you love him for his sense of humor, subdued confidence and intelligence: a worthy adversary who steals almost every scene he's in. I remember seeing the poster, where the tower seemed to be the adversary, around the lightpost and immediately knew it was something else, dispite being in my early teens at the time. That poster is awesome enough to make me the thief.
One thing you did'nt mention was that for the first time in action movie history all the bad guys were memorable and with names. Heinrichs hair is the most epic thing ever.
it's a film that i still love to watch whenever it's on. it's never dated. it gives you a chance to see what is going on as well as establish the locations. you have a protagonist that is an every man that the audiences can relate to. you have a villain that is just charming, cool, and intelligent. plus, those supporting characters. it is a masterpiece. it sets the bar of what action films need to be.
First Blood felt almost unsettlingly real to me upon a recent rewatch. And Rambo 4, though Rambo himself didn't feel that real, the rest did. Especially because some of the opening footage was actual newsreel.
First Blood is a very different type I find film to the sequels, and I feel it gets unfairly lumped in with the far dumber sequels, too often. Even the phrase "going Rambo" always seems to refer to The one man army approach, where he takes on waves of bad guys, when in the first film he barely killed anyone, and stealthily ensnared some, rather than going "guns blazing".
Michael Harris I just rewatched First Blood also and gotta agree with you. It makes you squirm with emotion and I genuinely want to cry for the dude. Fucking Teasle back the fuck off and give the man some room to breathe, for fuck's sake!
Rossatron, you must be a writer. You're the only one I've read here to make that distinction. The Bond films have no real story. Just as Starsky and Hutch fans really only watched to see Starsky's Batmanesque car, Bond fans kept watching to track the evolution of his spy gadgets and the girls!
An everyday man/cop who turns into a hero. Not a recon marine or a champion fighter. Just an everyday Joe, like 99% of the population. That's what I enjoyed about the film. It was realistic to the sense that you can actually see this happening.
"Rambo didn't have a big body count, like 2 people died inadvertently? But that's it. And his character felt very real" They were talking about Rambo II, but yes, Rambo the first was real, and well done. "Killed for**vagrancy** in Jerkwater USA. That will look great on his tombstone at Arlington." (something like that)
The reason why imo it stands out among most action movies is that it is so well constructed and directed in a way that there are a crazy amount of details that have a later repercussion in the movie. It's solidly written. It also has a subtle commentary of foreign cultures vs American culture. The fights are not some choreographed BS. It is raw, it is dirty, it is bloody. Action movies lack that violent feel to them. It actually feels like a game of "survival of the strongest". And of course the amazing protagonist-antagonist dynamic between John and Hans. And finally, the way it subtly shows its Christmas vibes while not being direct about it. Overall, not only one of the greatest action/Christmas movies and of my favorites, but one of the greatest films ever.
I'm subbing based on this video. Also 105 likes to 0 dislikes, says how good this movie is and how good you are at pointing out how good this movie is. I hope you keep putting out great vids. This is the first I've watched.
God I love this movie by far one of my favorite overall action movie I wouldn't change anything the action is great and every character is amazing and use of it's setting Hans Gruber is an incredible villain
Die Hard is your classic 80's action flick. It's a film that a lot have tried to emulate & never quite reached. You can't outdo Die Hard. You just can't. John Wick is the only film in recent memory I can think of as a pure action film to rival Die Hard, but that's because it defies everything Die Hard does. It's bad guys pissing off a worse guy who hunts them.
+Interesting dialogue that is very quotable and memorable.......+Playboy playmate in the opening airport scene.....+Naked woman in office..........+Heavy duty rocket launcher
For me Leon (the professional) is the best, again right the way through from the paragonist to the bad guys to the story, the setting… it’s a truly beautiful action film
Rossatron are you going to do Lethal Weapon?! Probably Die Hard's leading competition of that era? Or oh god here is an actual first I'd love to see! Die Hard vs Lethal Weapon a comparison of the two!
There's no reason to hold back on saying that it's the greatest action movie ever made. It is. That's just a fact. ...although, Speed is a VERY close second.
Predator is the best action film ever made. Die Hard is a close 2nd tied with RoboCop. Die Hard 2 is the best Die Hard sequel. Speed is a bit of a clusterfuck. Entertaining, but technically lacking. It even had fundamental editing errors.
Harry Balzak I don't think Predator is an well plotted as Die Hard. There are things introduced at the start of Die Hard such as Holly's watch, her using her maiden name of Genero, her placing the photograph of her family face down and John McClane being told not to wear shoes after flying that all have huge pay-offs later on. It's honestly one of the cleverest, well-written movies ever.
Swoooze Die Hard might be a better film, but Predator is better action. It is pure. They didn't even bother with a love interest. We are talking about action here, right? You seem to be straying into drama.
Action requires stakes to be dramatic. I love Predator, mostly because it's funny, there are good action scenes, Arnold and a cool monster. But it's not the same because there are no stakes. Why do we care whether or not Arnold lives? We care about John McClain because he wants to save his wife and reunite his family.
Normal movies have would have some crappy, fumbling reason for John to be barefoot. Die Hard has a great little scene with brilliantly cloaked exposition. Normal movies would have pointless, empty comic relief characters. Die Hard has comic relief spread out amongst at least 3-5 characters, at least three of which have pretty compelling character arcs and at least two of whom die. Normal movies would have a simple, telegraphed twist that seems implausible and ham handed. Die Hard has twists on nearly every level. Die Hard is an action movie masterpiece.
i got to see it in a theater, when it first came out. the thing that really grabbed me was that going in, i didn't know what to expect. i was expecting the bruce willis i knew from Moonlighting. then, about twenty minutes into the film, i was convinced that this was a serious picture, and that this dude was real. the rest of the film was a glorious surprise.
Michael Biehn and Bruce Willis, throughout the '80s and '90s, created sort of an "alternative" action hero archetype with their realistic characters who were strong and smart, but also realistically vulnerable, and ultimately human.
I love your vids man! Another amazing Alan Rickman villain (and imho one of the best westerns) is Quigley Downunder. If you did an action analysis of this movie, it would make my heart happy!
Terminator 2 would hold the accolade of being the greatest action film ever made I think if wasn`t for the sci-fi elements it carries. Pure action... I say Die Hard or Hard Boiled
Die Hard 2 is my second favourite as it still has the tradmarks of the first film where 3 started the downfall of the franchise with the sequels taking traits from that film.
Die Hard (1988): 4 stars/4 stars Die Hard 2: Die Harder (1990): 2.5 stars/4 stars Die Hard With a Vengeance (1995): 3 stars/4 stars Live Free or Die hard (2007): 2 stars/4 stars A Good Day to Die Hard (2013): 1.5 stars/4 stars
For me Die Hard is still my nr 1 movie of all time. Listen to the soundtrack from the late Michael Kamen, it`s fits like a glove. The action is stunning. John McTiernan is a great director for making this classic actionpacked hightech-thriller. Willis is perfect as McClane, and so are the others. This movie was setting the standard of many, many rip offs. It still is my favorite movie of all time. Every year around christmas time i have to see this masterpiece.
I'm very happy that when the last Die Hard movie came out, aka "2 Hours of Bruce Willis being cranky", for 24 bucks I got to see in theaters a marathon of all 5 films. Hell, 24 bucks to see the first two in theaters ALONE would have been worth it, as I didn't get to see them in such back in the day.
I love everything about this movie! Bruce Willis' smartass comments, the fight scenes and him saving his wife at the end. I'd pick Die Hard over Rambo and The Terminator any day of the week and twice on Sunday!
Any plans on doing an analysis of the first Starship Troopers? I find it one of those rare action movies that works because of the clichés instead of in spite of them. I would say it is an example of Verhoeven at his best, then again, he did Robocop and Total Recall so, Verhoeven at his third best?
maybe one of the reasons is that its based on a book (nothing lasts forever - roderick thorp) and the autor had time to write a story, characters etc and to think about stuff that could be in a place like this and how he could use it
I agree that most action films were exactly as described except Rambo 1st Blood which imo was a very good movie and possibly Stallones finest performance. Die Hard definitely set a new standard and still holds up today.
Die Hard is excellent from beginning to end and the great Alan Rickman as Hans Gruber also Bruce Willis as John McClain I always watch this movie on New year's Eve at 12:00am
John & Hans are the perfect protagonist vs antagonist. Never underestimating the other as the film goes on. Like when the terrorist tells Habs " the police used heavy artillery on us " Hans says " no u idiot it's not the police it's him!" John has so Many moments that remind us he's afraid & human. Like when he first hears Hans ruthlessly kill Takagi he paces around saying " think think " the camera brilliantly shows John looking from Hans his men & the exit door. He has his chance to run but doesn't. Also the scene where Hans tells Karl to shoot the glass knowing John is Barefoot. John looks & has this pain face knowing he's gonna rip his feet up on the glass. In turn Hans never cared about killing John or not he got back his detonators knew the fbi was involved & was gonna cut the power which opened the vault. Hans had no problem killing John but it really wasn't ever a goal which he never took his eye off of. Back to John being so relatable as I got older one of my favorite parts of the roof blowing was John has the moment where he looks like he's about to cry when he's tying the hose around himself knowing what he's about to do. Talk about the tension building up everywhere on our hero he's got the dopey feds coming around to shoot at him again from the chopper thinking he's a terrorist John knows Hans is about to blow the roof & he's gotta jump. It's brilliantly done. Ita about Hans being such a great villain he's almost likeable. He's brilliant 10 Steps ahead never worried about the lapd & counting on the fbi to do exactly what he wanted them to do. Gotta love the things that the supporting characters do to help in their own way. Al was John's support outside & he shoots Karl b4 he kills John outside. It's a nice callback to al telling his story about how he never wanted to use a gun again after an accidental killing of a kid who drew a fake gun on him in the dark. Even argyle gets in on some action when he's listening to everything over the limo radio & rams the limo into theo who's trying to make a getaway w/ all the bonds. The film is a masterpiece. Alan rickman was the best non bonds villain ever & could have won an Oscar for his role. Willis of course went from a TV star to a superstar. I recently watched the 2nd film & it was really quite good. I loved the 3rd & u can see visions of a pre film of the gruber Brothers. However I can't see any young actor filling the legendary shoes of rickman or Jeremy irons. Theirs also a fantastic now famous deleted alternate ending that was cut b/c it made John too cold & brutal the way he toys w/ Simon. I think it was awesome. U could see John psychologically damaged from Simon screwing w/ him on a brutally hot late summer day in NYC. Plus they added that John was fired from the NYPD after all the years of service & him risking his life 3x in situations he didn't have to. He says he was fired cause they believed he was in on the heist including making him take a lie detector. I never bothered w/ the 4th film as it was many years later & I think die hard was best left a trilogy & the films were all done under 10 years apart.
Every single character is good and have good scenes. Even Uli who doesn't talk is good because of the candy bars scenes. Even the convenience store cashier is good. Ya....Big time.
Reasons why - it's unpredictable, has lots of twists and turns, along with witty banter/humour and the storyline is believable. Yes, it has violence and profanity : yet it's far from the worst action movies ever made - none of that "free the comrades or we kill everyone" predictable storyline, it's been done to death. Of all the action movies that should be in a DVD or Blu-ray collection, this is definitely it : Die Hard 5 really let's the side down!.
Great video as always, Ross. I was wondering if you could do similar videos on Aliens, Predator, Robocop, and the Matrix. Keep up the great stuff man, loving the channel.
+Yiorgios Vazouras I plan to look at all of the above in some regard, but perhaps over time. Aliens is mentioned quite heavily in the latest video on action horror though. Thanks for watching!
If I could change one thing in Die Hard it'd be the goof ass FBI Agents. They just feel like they are in a different movie. Now for the real Question: Who would win in a fight? John McClain or Martin Riggs? Two fun facts, Lethal Weapon and Die Hard both take place on Christmas. The same exact, I mean exact serial numbered Beretta 92FS that Martin Riggs carried in Lethal Weapon is the same one John McClain carried in Die Hard as both films used the same prop department. The Gun itself is now in a museum because of that.
It's the movie that still holds up. The effects, score, action, story, and characters.
Fax
Die Hard is my favourite film of all time forever
@JoelCraike W pfp and W take
"Next time you have a chance to kill someone, don't hesitate." BLAM BLAM BLAM "Thanks for the advice." One of my favorite lines/scenes in the movie.
Yeah, and that messed up hearing in one of his ears too I believe, all the blanks being fired right next to his head pretty much.
They're required to have to have millions of dollars of insurance for the project and no coordinator wants to be the one who irreparably damaged a megastar's hearing, but then again, if you knew what you were talking about, you'd already know that. By the way, that's sarcasm, something Willis sometimes uses in movies...in THIS one as a matter of fact! Just remember it's all fake and blanks aren't that loud. They amount to little more than a kid's cap gun and are mostly used as markers for the sound and muzzle-flash put in during post-production.
almost as good as "when you have to shoot , shoot don't talk"
@@jmellenen2608 Just google it.
Honestly reminds me of the "If you're going to kill someone kill them" bit from Van Helsing. I'm sure was the inspiration of the line/moment.
One big reason is the late Alan Rickman. Hans is one of the creepiest psychos I've seen in movies. Even as he went on to play Snape in the Harry Potter films, I always remember this about Die Hard: Hans in his perfectly made suit sitting at a desk, making deals over a radio while blowing away hostages with his H&K pistol. Even the gun could represent Hans: it was a very slim, sophisticated piece of German engineering. It was unusual in that the safety and hammer were both connected to a huge lever in the grip, which is called a "squeeze-cocker." Hence the name, the user must squeeze and hold the grip down to fire the gun. It is VERY accurate, in fact probably better than a lot of handguns costing over $900. And no, it wasn't cheap at $1,100 in 1998.
The script had so many memorable lines and even minor characters like Karl (the long-haired blond) kept me hooked and ironically, he spoke very few lines and let his Steyr rifle "do the talking." And then, even when they're talking over the radio, John and Hans keep viewers wondering what will happen next. However, what really hammered the movie home is how the hero is fully aware of his mortality. He patches up his badly cut feet and realizes the conversation he will have could be the last time he talks to his mysterious buddy and he tells Al to find Holly and tell her "John said he was sorry." It was like being slapped in the face because I've never to this point seen an action film where the main character is kicking the crap out of bad guys left and right and is still fully aware that he is NOT superhuman. This is how action movies should be made. Small wonder that it still holds up well over 20 years later.
The characters are SO well written, too. Every single character in this movie feels so rich and interesting. From Argyle, to almost all of the terrorists, to the cops and FBI agents, to John McClane himself
...it's also the best Christmas movie ever made.
On every Christmas must see list esp. if you want to kill everybody at the office!!~~~! ENJOY!
Agreed, Dark.
You know that's right.
Stop
Yes, its the best and my favorite movie and you got to love Lethal Weapon
Best action film of all time. Never gets boring or old.
Fax
Top 3 actors of all time and their definitive films
Stallone: First Blood
Schwarzenegger: Terminator 2
Willis: Die Hard
Die Hard is my favourite film of all time forever
And to think, Bruce Willis' agent told him about this movie: "It'll ruin your career" I'm willing to bet Bruce has a different agent these days!
Lmao that’s why I don’t listen to anyone. Especially my parents.
Die Hard is an action movie masterclass. Alan Rickman should have won an Oscar for Hans Gruber.
I remember watching an interview with George Lucas about the appeal of Star Wars. He says that it is about basic mythical archetypes of good vs evil. I think all great action films make use of these archetypes. It is very easy for a films to fall into the trap of using clichés or stereotypes that make them derivative "been there, don that" kinds of films. The mark of a good action film is one that uses these archetypes or clichés and somehow still manages to seem fresh and entertaining. Die hard does this. I think the trick is in its simplicity: no complicated plot or dialogue...just a very human, and therefore relatable hero; his damsel in distress; a greedy, narcissistic and charming villain who lacks remorse; and a supporting cast of characters that also fulfill other types of archetypes: the joker, the sidekick, the law, henchmen, etc.
For me, Die Hard is three kinds of movie: the best Action Film ever made, the best Christmas movie ever made, and the best feel good movie ever made.
Archetypes are necessary, but you still need CHARACTERS at the heart of the film. It can be surrounded by archetypes, but it needs at least one fully rounded character at the center of it all. For Die Hard, that was Bruce Willis' John McClane. Hell, even Hans Gruber, played excellently by Alan Rickman, was an archetype. It's just that Alan Rickman is such a great actor that he made an archetype a very unique and memorable character.
Archetypes are basic psychological personality structures for characters. It's not either/or. The Characters are one of many archetypes that can be assigned to any character, but many award-winning storytellers don't use archetypes in their works. Only two Characters are necessary for a story, Protagonist, and Antagonist, but they don't have to be assigned to archetypes to make the story work. Rickman didn't "make" a character out of an archetype. Hans Gruber is a pretty simple character with simple motives. He's a thief who is motivated by greed. (oldest motive in the book) The story is about John McClane, a much more complicated character who is motivated by love for his family, his sense of right and wrong and, more specifically, good versus evil, and his almost Superhero-like actions in the face of overwhelming odds, not to mention his unwavering perseverance in taking down the bad guys. Hans Gruber was just the antagonist needed to impede the protagonist's progress and make the story work! Just like the terminators in any of that franchise. They were all antagonists! Even in Terminator 2, Arnie was the protagonist saving the kid. The T-1000 was the antagonist. In context, McClane as Arnie and Gruber as the T-1000. Luke Skywalker is the protagonist, Darth Vader, the antagonist. Same story.
Best Christmas movie of all time.
Jan De Bont's camerawork.
Everything's great about Die Hard, especially Willis and Rickman, but the framing, action, glares(!), those add so much to escape the easy violent blockbuster label.
I consider the building and interiors to be another actor almost, that 80's Japanese inspired corporate style often takes my attention away from the faces and conversations.
The emotional journey of the hero against his will, and the physical hurt too, the trolling to keep his spirits up and even the fight with Holly are all very real, logical and relatable.
Hans is an ordinairy thief but also of a higher status in demeanor and attire which makes you hate him, but you love him for his sense of humor, subdued confidence and intelligence: a worthy adversary who steals almost every scene he's in.
I remember seeing the poster, where the tower seemed to be the adversary, around the lightpost and immediately knew it was something else, dispite being in my early teens at the time. That poster is awesome enough to make me the thief.
One thing you did'nt mention was that for the first time in action movie history all the bad guys were memorable and with names. Heinrichs hair is the most epic thing ever.
The Jeffrey Dahmer lookalike was memorable.
it's a film that i still love to watch whenever it's on. it's never dated. it gives you a chance to see what is going on as well as establish the locations. you have a protagonist that is an every man that the audiences can relate to. you have a villain that is just charming, cool, and intelligent. plus, those supporting characters. it is a masterpiece. it sets the bar of what action films need to be.
1977 after watching starwars i had no idea we were on the cuff of the best decade in movies...awesome
“I don’t play villains… I play very interesting people”
- Allan Rickman
you said Rambo didn't feel real, but he did in first blood and somewhat in Rambo 4
First Blood felt almost unsettlingly real to me upon a recent rewatch. And Rambo 4, though Rambo himself didn't feel that real, the rest did. Especially because some of the opening footage was actual newsreel.
First Blood is a very different type I find film to the sequels, and I feel it gets unfairly lumped in with the far dumber sequels, too often. Even the phrase "going Rambo" always seems to refer to The one man army approach, where he takes on waves of bad guys, when in the first film he barely killed anyone, and stealthily ensnared some, rather than going "guns blazing".
Michael Harris I just rewatched First Blood also and gotta agree with you. It makes you squirm with emotion and I genuinely want to cry for the dude. Fucking Teasle back the fuck off and give the man some room to breathe, for fuck's sake!
Thw first Rambo is more of a tragedy than a dumb action movie
For me, Die Hard is like the first Matrix movie or JAWS, the first Star War, Indiana Jones, or a good Bond film, it's just that fucking good man.
Die Hard is better than any Bond film.
Rossatron, you must be a writer. You're the only one I've read here to make that distinction. The Bond films have no real story. Just as Starsky and Hutch fans really only watched to see Starsky's Batmanesque car, Bond fans kept watching to track the evolution of his spy gadgets and the girls!
@@Rossatron thats ur opinion.
@@Rossatron Moonraker may be better than Die Hard but not by much.
@Rossatron And Jaws but W take
The Quarterback is toast!
Iconic
An everyday man/cop who turns into a hero. Not a recon marine or a champion fighter. Just an everyday Joe, like 99% of the population. That's what I enjoyed about the film. It was realistic to the sense that you can actually see this happening.
Rambo didn't have a big body count, like 2 people died inadvertently? But that's it. And his character felt very real
"Rambo didn't have a big body count, like 2 people died inadvertently? But that's it. And his character felt very real" They were talking about Rambo II, but yes, Rambo the first was real, and well done. "Killed for**vagrancy** in Jerkwater USA. That will look great on his tombstone at Arlington." (something like that)
in First Blood yes
Yeah but he's described by his superior as a "full-blooded combat soldier". He's not an ordinary man. John McClane is just some everyday cop, though.
Jan de Bont's dynamic and fluent Cinematography is glorious
The reason why imo it stands out among most action movies is that it is so well constructed and directed in a way that there are a crazy amount of details that have a later repercussion in the movie. It's solidly written.
It also has a subtle commentary of foreign cultures vs American culture.
The fights are not some choreographed BS. It is raw, it is dirty, it is bloody. Action movies lack that violent feel to them. It actually feels like a game of "survival of the strongest".
And of course the amazing protagonist-antagonist dynamic between John and Hans.
And finally, the way it subtly shows its Christmas vibes while not being direct about it.
Overall, not only one of the greatest action/Christmas movies and of my favorites, but one of the greatest films ever.
Saw this last night for the millionth time at the Alamo Drafthouse. It was fun to see this on the big screen. Fun film to watch with an audience.
Actually in John McClane's backstory he is ex-Marine Corps.
I watch this movie every Christmas
Ok you convinced me, I'm going to watch this movie, for the first time.
How was it?
Yes, how was it?
Haha it's best action movie of all time
Another reason why Gruber is such a good villain is because he isn't just a palette swap of the hero, only evil. He's perfect foil.
I'm subbing based on this video. Also 105 likes to 0 dislikes, says how good this movie is and how good you are at pointing out how good this movie is. I hope you keep putting out great vids. This is the first I've watched.
God I love this movie by far one of my favorite overall action movie I wouldn't change anything the action is great and every character is amazing and use of it's setting Hans Gruber is an incredible villain
Die Hard is your classic 80's action flick.
It's a film that a lot have tried to emulate & never quite reached. You can't outdo Die Hard. You just can't.
John Wick is the only film in recent memory I can think of as a pure action film to rival Die Hard, but that's because it defies everything Die Hard does. It's bad guys pissing off a worse guy who hunts them.
It is very significant
it had everything. incredible direction. incredible cast. incredible look. incredible shots. a credible story. rated R for grown ups. ho ho ho!
+Interesting dialogue that is very quotable and memorable.......+Playboy playmate in the opening airport scene.....+Naked woman in office..........+Heavy duty rocket launcher
@@cowboy7170 yeah but the quaterback is toast!
For me Leon (the professional) is the best, again right the way through from the paragonist to the bad guys to the story, the setting… it’s a truly beautiful action film
The fact that your channel name is "Rossatron" & you're reviewing "Die Hard" is amazing!
There are two types of people in this world, those who think Die Hard is a Christmas movie, and those who are wrong
Hans Gruber:
Do you really think you have a chance against us,
Mr. 🐄 Cowboy?
(Elevator 🛎 bell dings)
John McClane: Yippee ki-yay, motherf**ker!
I can’t believe you didn’t mention the line, “ho ho ho now I have a machine gun”
Loved this video and the one on Robocop. To Live and Die in L.A. should be next! All of these old 80s movies have an environmental atmosphere to them.
Rossatron are you going to do Lethal Weapon?! Probably Die Hard's leading competition of that era? Or oh god here is an actual first I'd love to see! Die Hard vs Lethal Weapon a comparison of the two!
There's no reason to hold back on saying that it's the greatest action movie ever made. It is. That's just a fact.
...although, Speed is a VERY close second.
Hard Boiled comes even closer with the best action ever put onto film, but Die Hard with it's characters and plots make it the best.
Predator is the best action film ever made. Die Hard is a close 2nd tied with RoboCop. Die Hard 2 is the best Die Hard sequel. Speed is a bit of a clusterfuck. Entertaining, but technically lacking. It even had fundamental editing errors.
Harry Balzak I don't think Predator is an well plotted as Die Hard. There are things introduced at the start of Die Hard such as Holly's watch, her using her maiden name of Genero, her placing the photograph of her family face down and John McClane being told not to wear shoes after flying that all have huge pay-offs later on. It's honestly one of the cleverest, well-written movies ever.
Swoooze
Die Hard might be a better film, but Predator is better action. It is pure. They didn't even bother with a love interest. We are talking about action here, right? You seem to be straying into drama.
Action requires stakes to be dramatic. I love Predator, mostly because it's funny, there are good action scenes, Arnold and a cool monster. But it's not the same because there are no stakes. Why do we care whether or not Arnold lives? We care about John McClain because he wants to save his wife and reunite his family.
Normal movies have would have some crappy, fumbling reason for John to be barefoot. Die Hard has a great little scene with brilliantly cloaked exposition. Normal movies would have pointless, empty comic relief characters. Die Hard has comic relief spread out amongst at least 3-5 characters, at least three of which have pretty compelling character arcs and at least two of whom die. Normal movies would have a simple, telegraphed twist that seems implausible and ham handed. Die Hard has twists on nearly every level.
Die Hard is an action movie masterpiece.
In my opinion, one of the best Die Hard-like movies is Daniel Petrie Jr.'s "Toy Soldiers".
I'm watching it again this Christmas
i got to see it in a theater, when it first came out. the thing that really grabbed me was that going in, i didn't know what to expect. i was expecting the bruce willis i knew from Moonlighting. then, about twenty minutes into the film, i was convinced that this was a serious picture, and that this dude was real. the rest of the film was a glorious surprise.
Michael Biehn and Bruce Willis, throughout the '80s and '90s, created sort of an "alternative" action hero archetype with their realistic characters who were strong and smart, but also realistically vulnerable, and ultimately human.
WELCOME TO THE PARTY, PAL!
I love your vids man! Another amazing Alan Rickman villain (and imho one of the best westerns) is Quigley Downunder. If you did an action analysis of this movie, it would make my heart happy!
Oh yeah. Elliot Marston. Again, I agree, Brian.
Terminator 2 would hold the accolade of being the greatest action film ever made I think if wasn`t for the sci-fi elements it carries. Pure action... I say Die Hard or Hard Boiled
T2 is #1 for action. Die Hard may be an overall more entertaining movie.
@@cowboy7170I go back and forth on which one I prefer both are top 5 films of all time for me.
1. Die Hard - 10/10
2. Die Hard 3 - 9/10
3. Die Hard 4 - 8/10
4. Die Hard 2 - 7/10
5. A Good Day To Suck Hard - 2/10
In no world is Die Hard 4 better than Die Hard 2
Die Hard 2 is just so bland and predictable to me, like a carbon copy of the first one, just not nearly as good.
Die Hard 2 is my second favourite as it still has the tradmarks of the first film where 3 started the downfall of the franchise with the sequels taking traits from that film.
I haven't seen A Good Day to Die Hard but Die Hard 2 is my least favourite out of the other four.
Die Hard (1988): 4 stars/4 stars
Die Hard 2: Die Harder (1990): 2.5 stars/4 stars
Die Hard With a Vengeance (1995): 3 stars/4 stars
Live Free or Die hard (2007): 2 stars/4 stars
A Good Day to Die Hard (2013): 1.5 stars/4 stars
Among memorable one liners in the movie my personal favorite.
"I was in junior high dickhead."
For me Die Hard is still my nr 1 movie of all time. Listen to the soundtrack from the late Michael Kamen, it`s fits like a glove. The action is stunning. John McTiernan is a great director for making this classic actionpacked hightech-thriller. Willis is perfect as McClane, and so are the others.
This movie was setting the standard of many, many rip offs.
It still is my favorite movie of all time. Every year around christmas time i have to see this masterpiece.
Rewatched the movie just now and it feels like new. Timeless masterpiece.
Great review, man. DareDevil's Punisher brought me here, but I landed on a goldmine of action cinema deconstruction. I'll be back.
+Ross Denyer I'm sure you'll be back. With a vengeance.
The best Action movie ever made.
Die Hard is my favourite film of all time forever
kinda like max payne.....i like die hard very much....you just made me realize how much die hard and max payne games have in common.....
0:33 Arnold showed pain in this. And Sly had moments of that in the Rambo movies.
I haven't seen this movie all the way through in years but I think Die Hard may just be the film equivalent of the game Half-Life.
I'm very happy that when the last Die Hard movie came out, aka "2 Hours of Bruce Willis being cranky", for 24 bucks I got to see in theaters a marathon of all 5 films. Hell, 24 bucks to see the first two in theaters ALONE would have been worth it, as I didn't get to see them in such back in the day.
I would give anything to be able to watch Die Hard 1/2 and Terminator 1/2 in the Cinema, since i couldnt back in the day, given i was too young.
It really is the GOAT of action movies.
The best movie ever
Have you thought about doing a deconstruction of professional fighting films like the Rocky series or Warrior? I'd love to see your thoughts on those.
Total recall 1995 and die hard. Simple story ,practical props and fun characters.
best Christmas movie ever. watched it with the Mrs last week :) love this movie
I love everything about this movie! Bruce Willis' smartass comments, the fight scenes and him saving his wife at the end. I'd pick Die Hard over Rambo and The Terminator any day of the week and twice on Sunday!
Any plans on doing an analysis of the first Starship Troopers? I find it one of those rare action movies that works because of the clichés instead of in spite of them. I would say it is an example of Verhoeven at his best, then again, he did Robocop and Total Recall so, Verhoeven at his third best?
Starship Troopers is flawless and I will look at it at some point for sure
VERHOEVENISM at it's finest!!
This is one of my favorites!! :)
Die Hard is my favourite film of all time
To think that Nakatomi Plaza is the 20th Century Fox office building. Can’t imagine the set building in that location.
Anyone who puts "fuck" in his title deserves a view, thumbs up and sub..
Grueber was kinda likable.
maybe one of the reasons is that its based on a book (nothing lasts forever - roderick thorp) and the autor had time to write a story, characters etc and to think about stuff that could be in a place like this and how he could use it
What I like about Die Hard is that it made Bruce Willis the star he was meant to be. Loved him in Moon Lighting and hoped that he would show up again
Brah you hit the nail right on the head.
I agree that most action films were exactly as described except Rambo 1st Blood which imo was a very good movie and possibly Stallones finest performance. Die Hard definitely set a new standard and still holds up today.
If I could I would forget this movie everyday so that I could feel the same as watching it for the fist time.
04:04 should have featured 'The Long Kiss Goodnight'. ;)
You forgot to mention that's it's also a great Christmas movie
Best on screen Villain. I found someone that agrees with me.👍👍
Die Hard is excellent from beginning to end and the great Alan Rickman as Hans Gruber also Bruce Willis as John McClain I always watch this movie on New year's Eve at 12:00am
It's been a long time since I've seen it but I remember liking Live Free or Die Hard
You can’t name a better hero/villain combo than John McClane vs Hans Gruber.
I think because in moments he actually looks scared
I love Die Hard and I absolutely adore what they did with Die Hard 3
Its still John McLane but he's in completely different waters and its great
John & Hans are the perfect protagonist vs antagonist. Never underestimating the other as the film goes on. Like when the terrorist tells Habs " the police used heavy artillery on us " Hans says " no u idiot it's not the police it's him!" John has so Many moments that remind us he's afraid & human. Like when he first hears Hans ruthlessly kill Takagi he paces around saying " think think " the camera brilliantly shows John looking from Hans his men & the exit door. He has his chance to run but doesn't. Also the scene where Hans tells Karl to shoot the glass knowing John is Barefoot. John looks & has this pain face knowing he's gonna rip his feet up on the glass. In turn Hans never cared about killing John or not he got back his detonators knew the fbi was involved & was gonna cut the power which opened the vault. Hans had no problem killing John but it really wasn't ever a goal which he never took his eye off of. Back to John being so relatable as I got older one of my favorite parts of the roof blowing was John has the moment where he looks like he's about to cry when he's tying the hose around himself knowing what he's about to do. Talk about the tension building up everywhere on our hero he's got the dopey feds coming around to shoot at him again from the chopper thinking he's a terrorist John knows Hans is about to blow the roof & he's gotta jump. It's brilliantly done.
Ita about Hans being such a great villain he's almost likeable. He's brilliant 10 Steps ahead never worried about the lapd & counting on the fbi to do exactly what he wanted them to do.
Gotta love the things that the supporting characters do to help in their own way. Al was John's support outside & he shoots Karl b4 he kills John outside. It's a nice callback to al telling his story about how he never wanted to use a gun again after an accidental killing of a kid who drew a fake gun on him in the dark. Even argyle gets in on some action when he's listening to everything over the limo radio & rams the limo into theo who's trying to make a getaway w/ all the bonds.
The film is a masterpiece. Alan rickman was the best non bonds villain ever & could have won an Oscar for his role. Willis of course went from a TV star to a superstar. I recently watched the 2nd film & it was really quite good. I loved the 3rd & u can see visions of a pre film of the gruber Brothers. However I can't see any young actor filling the legendary shoes of rickman or Jeremy irons. Theirs also a fantastic now famous deleted alternate ending that was cut b/c it made John too cold & brutal the way he toys w/ Simon. I think it was awesome. U could see John psychologically damaged from Simon screwing w/ him on a brutally hot late summer day in NYC. Plus they added that John was fired from the NYPD after all the years of service & him risking his life 3x in situations he didn't have to. He says he was fired cause they believed he was in on the heist including making him take a lie detector. I never bothered w/ the 4th film as it was many years later & I think die hard was best left a trilogy & the films were all done under 10 years apart.
My favorite christmas movie!
"movies of ridiculous body counts"
Did you know John Wick has more kills than most action heros of the 80s?
Every single character is good and have good scenes. Even Uli who doesn't talk is good because of the candy bars scenes. Even the convenience store cashier is good. Ya....Big time.
Reasons why - it's unpredictable, has lots of twists and turns, along with witty banter/humour and the storyline is believable.
Yes, it has violence and profanity : yet it's far from the worst action movies ever made - none of that "free the comrades or we kill everyone" predictable storyline, it's been done to death.
Of all the action movies that should be in a DVD or Blu-ray collection, this is definitely it : Die Hard 5 really let's the side down!.
Doesn’t hans ask for people to be released from prison? Isn’t that “free the comrades” even though they weren’t his comrades
Great video. I write this as I’m actually watching Die Hard.
don't forget boys and girls, it's only christmas, when Hans Kruber falls off the Nakatomi Plaza
don't let anyone ever fool you about that!
I just wonder in a modern day Die Hard......Would he be ordering a Pizza on a cell phone? or just call door dash?
It annoys me when everyone says there are 12 terrorists, even the photo and the film, but there are actually 13…
when does lucky 13 get offed in this masterpiece of action!!? WAIT!! don't spoil it for me i'll try to figure it out!!
Yes, and I think he only killed 10 of them. Most Stallone movies kill that many during the opening credits.
Theo wasnt a terrorist, he was just brought along for his charming personality
Great video as always, Ross. I was wondering if you could do similar videos on Aliens, Predator, Robocop, and the Matrix. Keep up the great stuff man, loving the channel.
+Yiorgios Vazouras I plan to look at all of the above in some regard, but perhaps over time. Aliens is mentioned quite heavily in the latest video on action horror though. Thanks for watching!
April fools day scares setting in...
Actually, Liam Neeson's Taken (the first one) is probably the only movie that would compete with Die Hard (one) as a perfect action flick.
McClane has a USMC tattoo, he is an ex-Marine
MrLorenzovanmatterho Do they show that in the first film? Also it's kinda unrealistic for him to never mention to any of the law enforcement officers.
What a fucking Christmas movie.
Make a video talking about the Original Die Hard Trilogy
Best Xmas film ever
Action isn't equal to "how many die"
Best movie of the 80's. And not a Christmas film.
die hard is such a masterpiece, a perfect 10! the only other action movie to be par with it is terminator 2
If I could change one thing in Die Hard it'd be the goof ass FBI Agents. They just feel like they are in a different movie.
Now for the real Question:
Who would win in a fight?
John McClain or Martin Riggs?
Two fun facts,
Lethal Weapon and Die Hard both take place on Christmas.
The same exact, I mean exact serial numbered Beretta 92FS that Martin Riggs carried in Lethal Weapon is the same one John McClain carried in Die Hard as both films used the same prop department. The Gun itself is now in a museum because of that.
Riggs, unless John got lucky. Remember, John gets the shit beat out of him a lot by people who know martial arts. Riggs is a expert.