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The Rewatchables ·

Die Hard

year 1988decade 80sdirector John McTiernangenre Action
host Bill Simmonshost Chris Ryanhost Jason Concepcionhost Sean Fennessey
All 15 categories

Most Rewatchable Scene · 34:08

Ellis getting a Coke (two votes)

Chris Ryan: McClane crossing broken glass barefoot is nominated for its immediate physical vulnerability.

Hans interrogating Takagi is nominated as the first full display of his charm and ruthlessness.

The Neil McCauley “A Book about Metals” Award for Best Line from the Movie · 1:20:12

“Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker”

“Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker” is selected as the unsurpassable iconic line.

The film

Die Hard (1988)

Directed by John McTiernan · Action

132 minutes

IMDb Letterboxd JustWatch Find on Rotten Tomatoes
Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Bruce Willis John McClane
Alan Rickman Hans Gruber
Bonnie Bedelia Holly Gennaro-McClane
Paul Gleason Dwayne T. Robinson
William Atherton Richard Thornburg
Hart Bochner Harry Ellis

Everything from the episode

In the order the hosts got to it. Open a row for the discussion.

28:56

Casting What-Ifs

Bruce Willis was chosen after an extraordinary list of stars; Sam Neill was considered for Hans Gruber, while Tom Ber...

Bruce Willis was chosen after an extraordinary list of stars; Sam Neill was considered for Hans Gruber, while Tom Berenger and Don Johnson are the panel’s plausible McClane alternatives.

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 00:28:56Read transcript
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34:08

Most Rewatchable Scene

Ellis getting a Coke (two votes); the roof/fire-hose escape; Hans posing as a hostage

Ellis getting a Coke (two votes); the roof/fire-hose escape; Hans posing as a hostage

In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 00:34:08Read transcript
  • McClane crossing broken glass barefoot is nominated for its immediate physical vulnerability. — Chris Ryan
  • Hans interrogating Takagi is nominated as the first full display of his charm and ruthlessness.
  • Ellis drinking Coke while trying to negotiate with Hans is nominated and later chosen by two participants.
  • McClane’s improvised attempts to attract Al Powell, culminating in dropping a body on the police car, are nominated.
  • The SWAT assault and Theo’s “Night Before Christmas” narration are nominated. — Chris Ryan
  • McClane leaping from the roof with a fire hose and barely surviving the swing into the building are nominated; one participant selects this sequence.
  • Hans pretending to be an escaped hostage, accepting a cigarette, and receiving an unloaded gun are nominated; one participant selects it.
  • McClane’s fight with Karl, every FBI appearance, and the under-table shooting are additional nominations.
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35:17

Picking Nits

Gruber’s research and getaway, Takagi’s bonds, Argyle’s phone, Karl’s return, McClane’s lack of shoes, and the scale ...

Gruber’s research and getaway, Takagi’s bonds, Argyle’s phone, Karl’s return, McClane’s lack of shoes, and the scale of McClane’s injuries

In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 00:35:17Read transcript
  • Hans’s otherwise meticulous team apparently does not know what Takagi looks like.
  • Takagi should either disclose the vault combination to live or explain why $640 million in bearer bonds are stored on site.
  • The ambulance appears too small for the full crew and equipment, and the plan to earn ordinary interest on stolen bearer bonds seems implausible.
  • Argyle’s early cell phone works perfectly from a skyscraper basement, and he waits there drinking for the entire crisis. — Bill Simmons
  • Karl survives an apparent hanging, passes through police lines with a machine gun, and returns solely to attack McClane.
  • McClane should prioritize finding or modifying shoes after recognizing how much running and fighting lies ahead. — Chris Ryan
  • McClane’s glass wounds, fall, hearing damage, and likely tendon injuries are incompatible with his continued mobility.
  • The public knowledge and single-site storage of the bearer bonds remain implausible.
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37:59

The Ruffalo / Hanna / Rubinek / Partridge Overacting Award

Hart Bochner’s full Ellis performance

Hart Bochner’s full Ellis performance

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 00:37:59Read transcript
  • The performance is compared to a Dennis Miller imitation and praised for making Ellis simultaneously the movie’s worst and most entertaining figure.
  • The panel debates whether Bochner invented the broad performance on set or developed it with John McTiernan.
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47:18

What’s Aged the Best?

The title, Jan de Bont’s cinematography, McTiernan’s spatial clarity, McClane’s character-rooted one-liners, and the ...

The title, Jan de Bont’s cinematography, McTiernan’s spatial clarity, McClane’s character-rooted one-liners, and the widescreen renaissance

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 00:47:18Read transcript
  • The title “Die Hard” is praised as compact, memorable, and descriptive. — Bill Simmons
  • The incompetent 1980s LAPD, a surprisingly diverse villain crew, and distinctive minor henchmen are appreciated as period texture.
  • John McTiernan, Jan de Bont, Michael Kamen, the cast, and the production team provide unusually coherent and sophisticated action filmmaking.
  • McClane’s one-liners work because Willis underplays them and they arise organically from his personality. — Bill Simmons
  • Modern widescreen televisions restored the intended compositions and created a home-viewing renaissance after cropped television broadcasts. — Bill Simmons
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51:36

What’s Aged the Worst?

The jokes and anxieties about Japanese power

The jokes and anxieties about Japanese power

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 00:51:36Read transcript
  • The Pearl Harbor joke and the era’s fear that Japanese companies were buying America are judged dated and offensive, though Takagi remains a comparatively substantial character. — Jason Concepcion
  • Visible guns and pervasive smoking on airplanes and in airports mark a vanished era. — Bill Simmons
  • Holly’s late-1980s perm and the apparent effort to expose more cleavage late in the film are criticized. — Bill Simmons
  • Hans’s practical-effects fall is questioned, then strongly defended as an ideal villain send-off.
  • The 131-minute runtime is judged roughly twelve minutes too long by one participant, while others defend the setup.
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55:07

The Dion Waiters Award for Best Heat Check Performance

Hart Bochner

Hart Bochner

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 00:55:07Read transcript
  • Hart Bochner’s eleven minutes are compared to a high-scoring, high-turnover basketball performance and he is treated as the winner.
  • Argyle is presented as the closest rival.
  • William Atherton’s Richard Thornburg extends his specialty in bureaucratic antagonists and carries into the sequel.
  • Paul Gleason’s deputy police chief continues his run of authoritative jerks and receives extended praise.
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57:24

The Joey Pants “That Guy” Award

Paul Gleason

Paul Gleason

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 00:57:24Read transcript
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59:16

Apex Mountain

Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, 1980s action movies, Argyle, and John McTiernan

Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, 1980s action movies, Argyle, and John McTiernan

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 00:59:16Read transcript
  • Bruce Willis is accepted despite the later Pulp Fiction revival because Die Hard created the action-star track that enabled the rest of his career. — Sean Fennessey
  • John McTiernan is accepted by one participant, while another prefers The Hunt for Red October.
  • Alan Rickman is accepted for the career-making Hans Gruber debut.
  • The film is accepted as a plausible Apex Mountain for 1980s action movies. — Jason Concepcion
  • Argyle is accepted as reaching his apex here. — Jason Concepcion
  • Bonnie Bedelia is rejected in favor of Presumed Innocent or Heart Like a Wheel.
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1:04:02

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Theo’s basketball play; the alleged USC–Notre Dame game; Ebert’s judgment; Hans’s escape plan; bearer bonds; the McCl...

Theo’s basketball play; the alleged USC–Notre Dame game; Ebert’s judgment; Hans’s escape plan; bearer bonds; the McClanes’ marriage

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:04:02Read transcript
  • Which Lakers game is Theo describing in the lobby? — Chris Ryan
  • Could USC and Notre Dame have been playing football on Christmas Eve in the 1980s?
  • How could Roger Ebert give Die Hard only two stars, and does that undermine his judgment?
  • Did Hans ever intend to extract his entire crew, given the ambulance size and his willingness to detonate the roof?
  • What are bearer bonds, how could Hans convert $640 million of them, and why would Takagi keep them in one building?
  • What agreement governed John and Holly’s separation, children, geography, and surnames?
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1:07:10

Roger Ebert's review
In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:07:10Read transcript
  • Ebert is reported as giving Die Hard two stars and arguing that the police material damaged the film.
  • The panel calls the rating a major miss while reaffirming Ebert as an important cultural writer and film advocate.
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1:19:35

Half-Assed Internet Research

The ventilation-shaft fall reportedly used footage of a stunt error, and Bruce Willis shot Moonlighting by day and Di...

The ventilation-shaft fall reportedly used footage of a stunt error, and Bruce Willis shot Moonlighting by day and Die Hard at night while marrying Demi Moore during production.

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:19:35Read transcript
  • The stunt performer reportedly fell unexpectedly in the ventilation shaft, recovered, and the production used the shot. — Bill Simmons
  • Bruce Willis reportedly filmed Moonlighting during the day and Die Hard at night and married Demi Moore during the shoot. — Bill Simmons
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1:20:12

The Neil McCauley “A Book about Metals” Award for Best Line from the Movie

“Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker”; “Come out to the coast…”; Hans’s classical-education line

“Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker”; “Come out to the coast…”; Hans’s classical-education line

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:20:12Read transcript
  • “Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker” is selected as the unsurpassable iconic line.
  • McClane’s sarcastic “Come out to the coast, we’ll get together, have a few laughs” is one participant’s favorite.
  • “Just like fucking Saigon” and the response about being in junior high are praised.
  • Hans quoting Alexander and adding “Benefits of a classical education” is the strongest villain alternative. — Sean Fennessey
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1:21:19

Is This Movie Better With…?

Michael K. Williams

Michael K. Williams

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:21:19Read transcript
  • All three named performers are judged able to fit into the multinational henchman crew.
  • Michael K. Williams is selected as the best fit. — Bill Simmons
  • The category prompts an unresolved question about how Hans recruited the team.
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1:22:56

Who Won the Movie?

Bruce Willis

Bruce Willis

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:22:56Read transcript
  • Bruce Willis receives the first explicit vote because the movie created the action-star career that supported his more adventurous work.
  • John McTiernan is proposed for raising the craft expectations of action filmmaking and sustaining an unusually interesting career.
  • A second explicit decision says Bruce Willis definitely won.
  • Alan Rickman is identified as the other half of the central two-person race, though no final explicit vote for him is captured.
Podcast choices
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Bruce Willis
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Bruce Willis
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More from the conversation

The panel treats Die Hard as an archetypal summer blockbuster that replaced invulnerable musclebound heroes with a vulnerable, funny everyman and created the enduring “Die Hard on a…” pitch.
Approx. transcript time · 00:01:42Read transcript
A sustained disagreement asks whether the Christmas Eve setting makes Die Hard a Christmas movie; the panel agrees that the holiday atmosphere contributes strongly even though one participant rejects the label.
Approx. transcript time · 00:10:02Read transcript
The film’s Frank Lloyd Wright-influenced production design, self-awareness about earlier movies, and unusually polished action filmmaking are identified as reasons for its durability.
Approx. transcript time · 00:13:40Read transcript
Bruce Willis’s irreplaceable everyman performance and Alan Rickman’s feature debut are discussed as genre-changing star turns, with Hans Gruber framed as a smart delegating leader rather than a superhuman villain.
Approx. transcript time · 00:16:57Read transcript

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