Yes. That's right. We even do reviews on Christmas on Hunting for Isla Fisher.
GENRE: Action / Blockbuster
PREMISE: Without much help from the FBI or LAPD, a New York City cop infiltrates a skyscraper and manages to rescue a handful of hostages, including the cop's estranged wife, held captive by terrorists.
ABOUT: Die Hard was originally a novel written by Roderick Thorp called Nothing Lasts Forever. The film is a pretty faithful adaptation, but makes several of the characters foreign (the bad German and Japanese businessmen) rather than American. The script was written by Jeb Stuart(his first big credit, later did Another 48 Hrs and Indy and the Crystal Skull) and Stephen de Souza (who at this point had done 48 Hours and The Running Man).
WRITER: Novel by Roderick Thorp, Script by Stephen de Souza and Jeb Stuart
Die Hard is one of the quickest reads I've ever had in my life. And that's funny because I don't remember it being that quick a watch. This thing is a blockbuster if there ever were one. But the problem with Die Hard is the script is almost a tad too formulaic: the structure is all predictable, there is a cop who not very dramatically doubts Willis is really a cop, the dialogue moves very flat and doesn't have that much oomph at all. The thing has an original setting and the action pieces are really what make the film. Who can't recall Bruce Willis stepping on the broken glass when they think of Die Hard?
But, cut Die Hard for meaning or purpose and you'll find absolutely nothing. Although, I admit to being a little fond to the estranged relationship Willis has with his wife where things aren't necessarily bad, she's just living on the other side of the country to pursue her job. As a result, the only real subjective framework in which to view this puppy is as a thriller. And as a thriller, the thing really starts to lag in the second half as McClane plods along his way to capture the terrorists.
And how does Die Hard revolve around Christmas? It doesn't really, other than giving a few stray Christmas images and a few musical cues. Most action movies don't seem to have much of a use for Christmas, though. So it's often a pointless setting.
Scooby Doo (Complete Crap)
Atilla (Poor, Few Redeeming Qualities)
Wedding Crashers (Mediocre)
[X] - Hot Rod (Good)
Definitely Maybe (Pretty Darn Good)
What I Learned: There is this great scene I always am amazed to read in Die Hard. John McClane meets the terrorist leads Han Gruber. Hans pretends to be a good guy, and McClane goes so far as to even give him a gun. There's a similar scene in Michael Mann's Heat where DeNiro meets the Pacino on non confrontational terms. It's also visible in De Palma's The Untouchables. If you can write a scene where the good guy confronts the bad guy in anonymous but confrontational manner, the audience will be riveted because the drama is so thick and the words/looks so loaded you could cut them with a butter knife.
Isla Prospect: No. The only main female role is McClane's wife, and from how she reads one doesn't expect her to be a very attractive character.
Script Link: The production draft is all over Google. Try the big sites.
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