Die Hard is one of the best movies ever made. You don't need us to tell you this. (Although we have done so before.) There are big-picture reasons the film is so damn good — a killer script, Bruce Willis' career-defining performance as John McClane, and director John McTiernan's sure-handed approach. But there also are a bunch of smaller reasons the movie works so well, including some nifty practical FX and little performance decisions by the actors that help sell their characters. Like I always do, I rewatched Die Hard over the recent holiday season, but this time, while I watched, I kept a running tab of all those little reasons the film is an all-timer. I present them to you here, in roughly chronological order:
1. The flirty looks the flight attendant gives McClane as he disembarks the airplane in the opening scene. The fact that McClane seems bemused by it more than anything helps begin to establish his character almost immediately.
2. The quick orchestra strike when the title credit appears on screen.
3. That magic-hour orange skyline when we first see Nakatomi Tower. No CGI here! Just filmmakers out in L.A. shooting Fox Plaza at the perfect time on a gorgeous day.
4. The little nod McClane gives the lobby security guard right after noticing the security cameras. For some reason, that helps establish his "regular joe" cred with me.
5. The fact that Takagi seems like a nice guy. In a lesser, more obvious script, he'd probably be an asshole. That way, we'd feel like our hero John was more in the "right" when it comes to his and Holly's marital difficulties. But Takagi being, by all accounts, a good CEO of a thriving company provides a more complex back-story. Plus, it makes his inevitable death more of a gut-punch.
6. Those low rumbling teases of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony that are mixed into the score here and there throughout the first half of the movie, including when we first see the truck full of terrorists rolling in. (By the way, I'm going to keep calling them terrorists, although technically we all know they're not.) Hell, Hans Gruber — Alan Rickman's villain for the ages — is even humming it at one point!
7. Holly correcting John's pronunciation of "Pomona," which helps establish that he's out of his element and highlights the rift between the two.
8. The fact that many of the terrorists have distinctly different personalities. Theo's ebullience. Hans' rational calm. Karl's boiling temper. The way Tony likes to slide down stairs on the railings. These people are not interchangeable cannon fodder for McClane. They feel like actual characters.
9. That lovely shot of Hans and company stepping off the elevator, with our villains framed by the bodies of partygoers who have no idea how much shit they're about to be in.
10. The terrorists laughing after they pull two half-dressed workers who had been mid-coitus out of an office. Of course that would be funny! Movie killers and thieves don't all need to be humorless thugs.
11. The look Gruber gives Holly right after he takes Takagi. It's almost a double-take, as if he thinks, "She might be trouble later."
12. Gruber shutting Takagi up with a well-placed "Sit down!"
13. Rickman's little laugh right before he says, "Who said we were terrorists?!" God, he's so good in this.
14. The terrorists putting the work in, doing blue-collar labor like unspooling wire and carrying boxes of explosives. Being a thief isn't all pulling naked women out of side offices, you know? One of my favorite things about the first three Die Hard movies is that you see how these giant evil schemes require not just careful planning but also a lot of elbow grease.
15. The way the film keeps us informed of McClane's exact location in the building. Sprinkled throughout are visual cues that indicate what floor the action is currently taking place on — stairwell signs, elevator readouts and even the fire alarm signal on a security computer. McTiernan uses these to almost subliminally communicate to the audience the geography of the building. There's this great bit where McClane checks out some naked centerfolds taped to a wall. Then, we he passes them again later in the movie, he mutters "girls" and sticks a hand on one of the pages. First of all, it's funny because it shows there's always time to appreciate boobs. But, past that, it also establishes that McClane is back on the same floor he was on earlier in the film. It would be so easy to get confused about where everyone is in the skyscraper in relation to each other, but with little tricks like this, McTiernan keeps it pretty clear whether McClane is above or below the bad guys.
16. The way McClane picks up Carl's brother's head by the hair to make sure he's dead, then just lets it slam back down after confirming.
17. "No fucking shit, lady. Do I sound like I'm ordering a pizza?!"
18. That slightly askew shot as McClane uses his machine gun strap to rappel down the elevator shaft. I'm guessing it's a matte painting, but it's a good one and allows you really feel the crazy things McClane has to do to stay alive.
19. The tension in the scene where John's hiding in the air duct while Karl searches for him. There are these great back-and-forth cuts, with half of the shots showing us John's POV through the duct vent, including the light streaming through the bullet hole right in front of John's face. Great stuff.
20. Takagi's blood on the door and floor when McClane watches Al Powell circle around on the ground below. Again, McTiernan uses a visual cue to remind us where we are (and how much of a threat Hans is).
21. That shot of Powell checking out the lobby hallway, where the left side of the frame is filled with the hands of an out-of-focus terrorist holding a machine gun and hiding behind a wall just a few feet away. Tension!
22. The awesome squib-work when McClane kills Marco (the "next time you have a chance to kill someone don't hesitate" guy). And there's more great squib-work later when John shoots Franco, who falls head first through the glass. Nice, tangible and painful-looking FX.
23. The fact that the falling body that lands on Al's police cruiser is shot from a low viewpoint inside the car. Makes it a shock for him and us.
24. William Atherton. Always William Atherton. "Eat it, Harvey!"
25. "These guys are mostly European judging by their clothing labels and ………….. cigarettes." I always dig the long pause Willis gives there.
26. Holly's glance at the down-turned photograph of her family, and Hans' glance in the same direction, wondering what she was looking at.
27. The SWAT team member catching his hand on a brier bush as they're about to storm the building. I didn't catch this one until I had already seen Die Hard too many times to count. It's always cool to discover something new in a move you've watched umpteen times.
28. Uli stealing a Nestle's Crunch candy bar for a snack while he waits for the SWAT team. Hey, terrorists get hungry too, you know?
29. "The police have themselves an RV." Clarence Gilyard Jr.'s line readings are all so perfect.
30. The fact that McClane has to jump out of the way of the fireball that he created by dropping C-4 down the elevator shaft. Whereas Hans is so calculated, McClane runs on emotion. He doesn't always think things through before he acts. That's why we love him.
31. "Glass? Who gives a shit about glass?!"
32. "Hans, bubby, I'm your white knight." Jesus, Ellis is a such a glorious douche-bag. Who the hell calls people "bubby"?!
33. The many awesome reflections of McClane in the skyscraper glass. McTiernan never fails to fill the frame with two Willises if he can.
34. After Hans demands the release of the "Asian Dawn" members, McClane's "What the fuck?" followed by Hans' whispered "I read about them in Time magazine" to Karl.
35. "It's Christmas, Theo. It's the time of miracles." Yes, Die Hard is a Christmas movie, and, yes, it's the best one ever made. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
36. How annoyed Hans gets that Karl can't understand German. "Schieß dem fenster."
37. The sheer volume of blood that comes out of John's foot. Talk about using a little practical FX to garner sympathy for your hero. Ouch.
38. The Nakatomi Tower vault opening, possibly the most electric non-action scene ever included in an action film. (Another possible contender: Indy in the Map Room at Tanis.) "The circuits that cannot be cut are cut automatically in response to a terrorist incident. You asked for miracles, Theo. I give you the FBI." Obviously, the full sonic reveal of Beethoven's Glorious Ninth, after all that teasing, drives the scene, but every second is perfect. Davi yelling at the electrician. "Lose the grid or you lose your job." "It's gonna go! It's gonna go!" The lens flare over Hans face and the breeze blowing through his hair as the safe opens. Pure movie magic.
39. The brutal, bone-crunching brawl between McClane and Karl. "You should have heard your brother squeal when I broke his fucking neck!" "You motherfucker. I'm gonna kill you, I'm gonna fucking cook you, and I'm gonna fucking eat you."
40. The one thing that gets Hans riled up? Being called a "common" thief. He's not common; he's exceptional!
41. "Whoooooo! Just like fucking Saigon, hey, slick?" "I was in junior high, dickhead." How did we never get the Agent Johnson and Agent Johnson prequel spinoff we so deserved?
42. The great FX shot of McClane running away from the helicopter as the feds are shooting at him. Fantastically choreographed shot. "I'm on your side, you assholes!"
43. All the lens flare. There is so much lens flare in Die Hard, but it works. The next time someone bitches about lens flare in a J.J. Abrams movie, tell them to rewatch Die Hard and get back to you.
44. The wide shot of the L.A. skyline as the roof blows. Good planning. Nice touch.
45. McClane's bloody footprints on the window as he tries to kick it in while dangling from the side of the building. Again, a reminder of what this guy's gone through to stay alive.
46. The look of utter terror and "what the fuck did I just do?" on McClane's face after he survives the jump and explosion. I really miss the Willis who gave this much of a fuck about his craft.
47. "We're going to need some more FBI guys, I guess."
48. The fact that Holly's Rolex, which seems like a little throwaway line at the beginning of the movie, proves to be Hans' final undoing. There are so many little setups and payoffs like that throughout the entire film. Steven E. de Souza and Jeb Stuart really did a brilliant job constructing this script.
49. McClane and Powell's sweet, sweet embrace.
50. The change in camera focus from the tip of Powell's pistol to his steely gaze right after he blows away Karl. It's a very cool shot that gives the movie one last visual highlight.
