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Die Hard is one of those movies that I was surprised to hear was considered one of the all time greats, back before I had seen it.
As with Se7en and Alien, this movie is the grand-daddy of a whole genre, and a million little tropes that seem obvious today had to be invented for it. Enjoy this classic McTiernan flick to kick start your Down in Front holiday season.
My retroactive correction for this movie is:
I referred to a certain actor as Ric Overton, his name is actually Rick Ducommun.
Ric Overton is another fine character actor, but he ain't in this movie. I got my Micks rixed up.
Also, I mispronounced the screenwriter's name as "De-SOWza". For the record, it's "De-SOOza". Please make a note of it.
Last edited by Trey (2009-12-13 20:05:42)
Good, rough fun. Man, I love this movie... despite the awfully stupid cops.
Watched this for the first time last night.
However radical, bold and impressive it must have been when first released, it seems dated in that 1980s Reagan-era far-right Republican way: the government law enforcement bureaus are useless, only a lone vigilante with a gun can get the job done, heroes are dumb working class all-American schmucks, while villains are culturally sophisticated and classically educated, due process of law is a waste of time. Bruce is the hero even though he killed more people than the bad guys did.
Anyway, it had frequent use of a trope which I don't think has been given a formal name but I've seen it everywhere:
The good guy is in a room and the bad guy is about to come in. There's a cut to the bad guy entering the room, and then another cut to the good guy who is now hiding in a completely different place, for example a closet in an adjoining room. The thing is, the good guy has had NO TIME to get to the hiding place as the editing cuts were done in real time.
Does anyone know if that trope has a name?
Does anyone know if that trope has a name?
iiuc it's called a Howdy
as in Howdy DoDat 
The original script for this, iirc, had the police and FBI being very professional and doing all the right things, only to find out that the criminal's plan intended for them to do that. Some of that is still in there, but once filming started the director decided to turn the cops into comedy relief.
The original script for this, iirc, had the police and FBI being very professional and doing all the right things, only to find out that the criminal's plan intended for them to do that. Some of that is still in there, but once filming started the director decided to turn the cops into comedy relief.
Sounds like the Joker in Dark Knight, that can anticipate what the Police will do several moves ahead.
Well you kinda can. It's called protocol. And I as far I remember government agencies believe pretty strongly in that sorta thing.
Last edited by BigDamnArtist (2012-04-22 00:00:09)
On the what makes Die Hard with a Vengeance better than Die Hard 2 has everything to do with coincidence and plausibility. In Die Hard 2, it's John at the center of a terrorist plot. Again. A ridiculous one. One that had no hope of working in the real world. And his wife is in one of the airplanes. And Carl Winslow, an LA cop, is also in DC. The lantern hanging of "how can the same shit happen to the same guy twice" line doesn't come close to covering it. The filmmakers banked on the hope that audience would just accept the replay of senario and enjoy the action and set pieces. Which I don't. Actually, I can't even tell you what the villain's goal was and I've seen that movie at least three times. I do remember naked kung fu though. Die Hard 4 basically has the same problems. The first one is about an average cop who is thrown into extreme circumstances. 2 and 4 just step over the line from what's an acceptable coincidence to the contrived. And now he's anything but an average Joe. He's an experienced badass by 4. Boring.
With a Vengeance, on the other hand, is far more plausible. John is targeted. He didn't stumble into a cab with Sam Jackson. He was forced into it. I'd also argue that it's the best entertainment of all the films. The action, puzzles, and comedy are top shelf. I like that Simon's mission to kill John is more of an aside. I always got the impression he did it to prove that he was better than his brother. He was a well developed villain. But that's me reading into the movie.
I saw this recent article and thought it was an excellent summation of what makes Die Hard so great, even all these many years later.
http://www.screened.com/news/seven-thin … hard/4440/
I loved die hard the first time I saw it and still see it almost every year. Two things Ive learned that I found interesting were that the role of McClane was originally offered to Frank Sinatra, because of his movie the detective. The other thing was that the man who played Karl, the terrorist who wouldn't die, used to be a ballet dancer. I think this is the pinnacle of action movies because it has great moments of action. It has slower points so you can catch your breath, and this is the point it will make you laugh. It is probably the smartest action movie Ive ever seen as well. I know that doesnt mean that much though kind of like being the smartest kid who has to wear a helmet to school.
Some aspects of Die Hard I feel need to be mentioned more than they might normally be are the tempo of the film and the cinematography. Most Die Hard copies are amped up action films. Die Hard though is really a thriller at heart, and that is also enforced by the score which almost never strays into action score territory. The best word to use when describing Die Hard is tension, and lots of it. Not many contemporary films would be made in such a competent way that the scene where your hero is dangling from a machine gun in an airshaft is one of the best scenes in the film.
And Jan de Bont really knows his shit. The cinematography is superb, bordering on masterclass throughout this film. The anamorphic lenses alone are gorgeous and the use of lens flares are not overt, but used for memorable scenes. When I think of the scene where the vault finally opens to the tune of Ode To Joy, the first thing I think of is the camera push-in on Alan Rickman and a huge gorgeous flare (and a windmachine for good measure).
Personally I don't see how anyone, even those who watch this movie way after-the-fact, could not love it, because it really exels in all areas of filmmaking).
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