Classic of the genre: Die Hard. Actors who embodied the idea of John McTiernan

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Worthy American film "Die Hard" (actors: charming B. Willis, charismatic A. Rickman and recommended by the male lead - B. Bedelia) was originally released in Russia under a completely different stupid name and was a wild success, however, as well as in the world box office. Not surprisingly, the audience is invariably attracted by the famously unfolding plot action, the indescribable sharpness of collisions and spectacularly staged action scenes.

A Christmas Carol by John McTiernan

The film is based on the work of Roderick Thorp "Die Hard". The actors who took part in the filming of the film declare the only difference: in the novel, the main protagonist saves his daughter, and in the film, his ex-wife, but, as in the literary original, all events unfold on the eve of Christmas. In fairness, it should be noted that the movie can certainly not be called a Christmas movie fairy tale. Director John McTiernan managed to inflame the atmosphere to the limit, the plot really captures, periodically striking the vieweramazing ride moments.

Voltage is going through the roof

Also, the director quite successfully and effectively uses elements of claustrophobia in his film, which often occurs in an office building, exacerbates the feeling of anxiety with scenes with an elevator shaft. Then, like riding a roller coaster, it changes the pace of the story, building up the anticipation of the audience, using frenzied gunfights and incredible stunts. In modern cinema there are quite a few films in which the screen action is not supported by a semantic load and tension is completely absent. Die Hard (whose actors are famous and popular today) almost thirty years ago managed to maximize the attention of the viewer on each episode, and this distinguishes it favorably from similar films in the action genre.

Description of the plot. Warning, contains spoilers

Just before Christmas, handsome NYC cop John McClain (Bruce Willis) arrives in Los Angeles to meet his ex-wife Holly (Bonnie Bedelia). Holly, preferring a business career, some time ago left her always busy husband with her children. Immediately upon arrival, John goes to his wife directly to work - to the building of an influential corporation, where a major deal and a subsequent celebration are planned. But an unexpected gang of terrorists, equipped with the latest technology, breaks into the premises, making their own adjustments to the company's plans. As it turned out later, pursuedthe group is by no means political goals, they are driven by a thirst for profit. Further in the plot of the film "Die Hard" (actors as one note this fact) there comes a turning point. The terrorists miraculously forget about the presence of McClain, who, having assessed the situation, manages to get a walkie-talkie by eliminating one of the bandits. He contacts the LAPD. Doubting the reliability of the information received, Sergeant Al Powell (Reginald Veljohnson) is sent to the scene of the alleged incident for verification. John manages to give him a special sign, and the policeman calls for reinforcements. The whole carefully planned operation goes awry, and on top of everything else, McClain, a tenacious policeman, a professional in his field, enters the battle alone.

Main Antagonist

The main villain in the film "Die Hard" (the actors of the entire crew were surprised by the director's choice) was Hans Gruber - a real German terrorist with experience, smart, thin, charismatic and merciless. The actor, who embodied such a bright character on the screen, before participating in this project in his homeland in the UK, shone in television and theater. Alan Rickman, who became the main antagonist of Die Hard, received carte blanche in Hollywood cinema from this role. Now he is one of the most authoritative, deepest, most demanded and most talented actors - the star of the world screen. But the director had to work hard to work with him, such as not showing a close-up of Hans' face when he shoots someone. The fact is that Alan shuddered everyonce from the sound of a shot, and this, of course, did not fit with the image of a merciless and cruel villain. Bruce Willis refused to rehearse the scene of the meeting between Gruber and McClain in advance, believing that impromptu would have a more emotional impact on the viewer.

To be continued…

The wide recognition of the brainchild of John McTiernan by the audience provoked the release of many similar stories, they, of course, belonged to other authors, and their narrative was focused on other heroes, but the idea of a loner in the fight against everyone and against everyone stirred minds for a long time filmmakers. In addition to other films, four more sequel films appeared: Die Hard 2, Die Hard 3: Retribution, Die Hard 4.0 and Die Hard: A Good Day to Die.