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Die Hard

"Now I have a machine gun. Ho-ho-ho."

‘Tis the holiday season, and what better way to kick it off than with everybody’s favorite Christmas action classic, Die Hard. John McTiernan had done Predator beforehand and proved he was the perfect person to helm this action thriller. But would an adaptation from a book about terrorism make for entertaining summer fare? Join us – Pete Wright and Andy Nelson – as we kick off our Die Hard series with McTiernan’s 1988 blockbuster Die Hard.

We talk about the adaptation from the original novel and why the terrorism elements were dropped in favor of the robbery elements. We also talk about why Frank Sinatra was the first person the studio went to when offering actors the chance to play John McClane. We look at what the film did for Bruce Willis’ career and why he was such a gamble to helm an action thriller that now seems like such a no-brainer. We discuss Jan de Bont’s cinematography and Michael Kamen’s score, not to mention the wonderful effects work that Thaine Morris put together. And we chat about the legacy the film has had and how it made pitching similar action films so easy (it’s Die Hard on a (fill in the blank)).

We love this movie which we definitely think is a Christmas movie. It’s one of our favorites and we’re thrilled to get a chance to talk about it. Put the movie on with the age-appropriate family for the holiday (definitely not the three-year-olds) then tune in to the show! The Next Reel – when the movie ends, our conversation begins.

Film Sundries

A show about movies and how they connect.

When the movie ends, our conversation begins. We love movies. We’ve been talking about them, one movie a week, since 2011. It’s a lot of movies, that’s true, but we’re passionate about origins and performance, directors and actors, themes and genres, and so much more. So join the community and let’s hear about your favorite movies, too.
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