History Film / DieHard

Though ''Die Hard'' is set at Christmas, it was never intended to be a [[ChristmasTropes Christmas film]]; while it's viewed as the TropeCodifier for AnAssKickingChristmas, it was released in July as a popcorn action film, and debate over its legitimacy as "a Christmas film" as opposed to "a film that happens to take place during Christmas" persists to this day, with even members of the film's cast and crew taking different stances.[[note]]While Bruce Willis said it isn't a Christmas film, the film's writers, Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza, have said it is, with De Souza further stating that producer Joel Silver predicted that the film would become a Christmas staple.[[/note]]

''Die Hard'' was adapted into several video games, including ''VideoGame/DynamiteCop'' (completely different apart from the premise, where one of the players is based on John [=McClane=], barefoot and all that) and ''VideoGame/DieHardNakatomiPlaza'' (a direct adaptation).

Though the film is set at Christmas, it was never intended to be a [[ChristmasTropes Christmas film]]; while it's viewed as the TropeCodifier for AnAssKickingChristmas, it was released in July as a popcorn action film, and debate over its legitimacy as "a Christmas film" as opposed to "a film that happens to take place during Christmas" persists to this day, with even members of the film's cast and crew taking different stances.[[note]]While Bruce Willis said it isn't a Christmas film, the film's writers, Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza, have said it is, with De Souza further stating that producer Joel Silver predicted that the film would become a Christmas staple.[[/note]]

Though the film is set at Christmas, it was never intended to be a [[ChristmasTropes Christmas film]]; while it's viewed as the TropeCodifier for AnAssKickingChristmas, it was released in July as a popcorn action film, and debate over its legitimacy as "a Christmas film" as opposed to "a film that happens to take place during Christmas" persists to this day, with even members of the film's cast and crew taking different stances.[[note]]While Bruce Willis said it isn't, the film's writers, Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza, said it is, with De Souza further stating that producer Joel Silver predicted that the film would become a Christmas staple.[[/note]]

The movie is a loose adaptation of Roderick Thorp's 1979 novel ''Nothing Lasts Forever'', keeping most of the events of the book while altering the characters to various degree.[[note]]For example, [=McClane's=] counterpart, Joseph Leland, is a UsefulNotes/WorldWarII veteran. He is much older and visiting his daughter rather than ex-wife. Gruber is a genuine terrorist rather than a thief masquerading as a terrorist.[[/note]] The book itself is a sequel to ''The Detective'', which was itself adapted into a Music/FrankSinatra film in 1968. When Sinatra declined to return, the script was reworked into ''Die Hard'' with Willis, then mostly known as a TV star from ''Series/{{Moonlighting}}'', as the lead. The film grossed around $140 million worldwide and turned Bruce Willis (who had performed most of his own stunts) into a bankable action star overnight.

The movie was adapted into several video games, including ''VideoGame/DynamiteCop'' (completely different apart from the premise, where one of the players is based on John [=McClane=], barefoot and all that) and ''VideoGame/DieHardNakatomiPlaza'' (a direct adaptation).

Though it's set at Christmas, it was never intended to be a [[ChristmasTropes Christmas movie.]] It was released in July as a popcorn action movie. In a similar vein, no one really expected it to be a gamechanger. The 80s was dominated by giant musclemen like Creator/SylvesterStallone and Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger. The balding guy from ''Series/{{Moonlighting}}''? A middle-aged divorced schlub who looked like it? A frickin comedy guy? Starring opposite a Shakespeare villain? When every other action movie was pitting absolute muscle against absolute muscle... ''Die Hard'' redefined the genre and gave us TheEveryman with a $4 haircut in the center of the action. ''Die Hard'' did for action films what ''Film/FortyEightHrs'' did for the buddy cop film.

* AnAssKickingChristmas: The TropeCodifier. Unlike many other action films that happen to take place on Christmas, the plot is actually kicked off by the robbers {{exploit|edTrope}}ing the [[SwissCheeseSecurity laxer security]] during a Christmas party to aid in their plan, and [=McClane=] is visiting the building purely to attend the party. On a music note, Christmas carols weave in and out of the score (a couple bars of "Winter Wonderland" are heard when John tackles Tony down the stairs, John whistles "Jingle Bells," Theo quotes "The Night Before Christmas," and Powell briefly sings "Let It Snow.") Sleigh bells are also heard every now and then throughout the score.

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Holly's maiden name of Gennero is usually seen spelled with two Es, though it is spelled "Gennaro" on the computer at the beginning of the film (though it changes to the other spelling when John selects it) and in the credits.

* SpySpeak: Downplayed, the radio John communicates with is an open channel that Hans and his crew can also listen into. Whenever anyone asks questions about who John is he refuses because that only compromises his advantage. Powell reads between the lines and figures out John must be a cop, and he takes on a pseudonym of "Roy" after a conversation with Hans about cowboys and Creator/RoyRogers.

* ManlyTears: At the end of the movie, John and Al finally meet face to face and embrace, laughing and crying.

* CoolGuns: Several examples.
** John famously uses a Beretta 92F, which was modified with an extended slide release on the left side (Bruce Willis is left-handed).
** The terrorists for the most part use chopped and converted Heckler & Koch 94s, mocked up to resemble Heckler & Koch [=MP5s=]. The real [=MP5=] was very expensive and difficult to acquire at the time, hence H&K94s were frequently used in its place in action movies in the 1980s.
** Karl famously uses a bullpup Steyr AUG A1 assault rifle as his main gun. The rifle is given a considerable amount of screen time and makes him [[TheDragon stand out]] from his [=MP5=]-wielding comrades. The AUG's intimidating profile helped to [[ColbertBump contribute to the gun's reputation as a "villain gun"]].[[invoked]] He also carries a Walther PPK as a sidearm.
** Hans' main gun is a Heckler & Koch [=P7M13=] pistol, which he unscrews a suppressor from the beginning of the movie (which is inaccurate; [=P7M13s=] are not threaded for a suppressor, the [=P7M13SD=] is).
** Sgt. Powell's sidearm is a Smith & Wesson model 15 revolver. This is accurate for the setting of the movie, as the model 15 was the standard-issue handgun of the Los Angeles Police Department from 1971 to 1988.

* UniversalAmmunition: Justified; John starts with only a single magazine for his Berretta 92F in 9mm, which he expends several time over during the course of the night, but is able to reload it because the MP5's also use 9mm rounds.

** Kristoff, one of Hans' mooks, refuses to [[spoiler:blow the roof because Karl's still up there.]]

* HellishCopter: One of the helicopters meets its end due to the bomb explosion on the rooftop.

* IllKillYou:

** In the climax, [[spoiler:Hans keeps the last Mook standing from shooting John right away by saying "Nein! Dies ist mein," which translates to "No! This one is mine."]]

* MagicBullets: When Takagi is executed.

* SelfPlagiarism: Creator/JohnMcTiernan admitted that Hans and Karl shooting the glass is a rehash of the scene in ''Film/{{Predator}}'' where the squad shoots most of the jungle.

* SmallNameBigEgo: Hans speaks of himself as basically the Napoleon of crime, but most of his big speeches about his amazing success are long before he's managed a single scheme, and his WickedCultured aspects break down if one's willing to actually check his sources. His BerserkButton, as Holly discovers, is being reminded that for all his delusions of grandeur, he's ultimately nothing more than an ambitiously unsuccessful thief.
** "Long before he's managed a single scheme?" Hans obviously has big-time capital well before Nakatomi: the weapons, the personnel, and even his own sartorially-resplendent self could not have come cheap. There's no way this is his first time at the rodeo.

* SparedByTheAdaptation: [[spoiler:Dwayne T. Robinson. At the end of the novel, Karl reappears to kill Joe and kills him. Here, he survives.]]

** When John is hiding in the air vent and Karl is probing the vent searching for him, he has his pistol trained on Karl and could shoot him. He is reluctant to do so and very relieved at the end that he doesn't have to. Besides an understandable reluctance to kill another person in cold blood, firing a gun from such an enclosed space would almost certainly render him permanently deaf (Bruce Willis lost a good chunk of his hearing while filming the scene where John kills Marco from under the table), not to mention how John soon finds out that more of Hans' men were also present and would have absolutely [[DeadlyEuphemism canceled his Christmas]] if he'd given his inescapable position away.

** After Argyle punches out Theo, he shakes his wrist in pain. Wrist injuries are a common result of punching.

** In-universe, when [=McClane=] kills Tony, he writes "Now I have a machine gun..." He uses an obvious marker but uses red to simulate that it was written in Tony's blood.

--->'''Special Agent Johnson:''' Wooo! Just like fuckin' Saigon, hey, Slick?\\

* UniversalAmmunition: Justified; John starts with only a single magazine for his pistol, as he doesn't take any spares with him when he grabs it. He doesn't use it until he dispatches a {{Mook|s}} with an [=MP5=], which conveniently uses the same ammo.

* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Hans is willing to sacrifice Karl in the final stage of his plan, which involves [[spoiler:blowing up the hostages to make a clean getaway.]] To be fair to Hans, Karl had started to show [[RevengeBeforeReason that he cared more about killing McClane than about seeing the plan through]], so Hans might have simply decided it was time to cut his losses.

* DarkestHour: Occurs after the shootout on the 33rd floor. John's got glass in his feet, Hans just got the detonators back meaning that John's only put a small dent in his plan, and Ellis leaked John's information, leading Dick Thornburg to cause more trouble for John by exposing his and Holly's martial status to Hans.

* ChekhovsGunman: A DownplayedTrope. After arriving on the 30th floor, John eyes a pretty blonde woman during the party. A couple minutes later, she and a guy are looking for a room to make out in. She appears a third time when the terrorists arrive on the 30th floor and start taking hostages while she and her partner are starting to make out (while she's topless), distracting three terrorists. John seizes the opportunity to slip to a staircase.

''(Violence ensues!)''

* DarkestHour: Occurs after the shootout on the 33rd floor. John's got glass in his feet, Hans just got the detonators back meaning that John's only put a small dent in his plan, and Ellis leaked John's information, leading Dick Thornburg to cause more trouble for John by endangering his kids.

* DeathFromAbove: John takes out the two henchmen (James and Alexander) manning the missile launcher by dropping a packet of C4, coupled with a chair and computer to give the bomb extra weight, down the elevator shaft.
-->'''John:''' [[PreMortemOneLiner Germonimo, motherfucker]]!

-->'''Holly:''' ''Jesus.''

* BigotWithABadge: It's a subtle moment mostly off-screen. "This is Agent Johnson. No the other one." It's the white Johnson (no relation) speaking at the time.

* BrickJoke: Easy to miss; Powell's leisurely drive towards Nakatomi and noticing nothing amiss makes John complain, "Who is this, Music/StevieWonder?" Soon, when Powell frantically drives to escape the machine-gun fire, when he passes unnoticed by the distracted Argyle, it's Wonder's single "Skeletons" blaring in the limo.

* MarriedToTheJob: The "workaholic cop, frustrated wife" relationship is inverted, as at the beginning of the movie, police officer John [=McClane=]'s complaint was that the devotion his ''wife'' had to her job was ruining their marriage.

* TheLawOfConservationOfDetail: The early part of the screenplay is littered with minute details that play a significant role in the plot. The advice given to John by the man sitting next to him on the plane, Argyle driving him straight to the Nakatomi building so no unnecessary outside characters are introduced, the watch given to Holly as a reward for her hard work, her using her maiden name rather than her married name so John's estrangement to her is established (plus, thr aforementioned maiden name and the family picture she puts face down after the discussion about it mean that Hans doesn't immediately realise that she's John's wife), the couple who break into Holly's office for sex (they go into the next office, and when the woman is dragged out topless and screaming, the terrorists are distracted just long enough for John to make his initial escape), Ellis's cocaine habit (setting him up as someone who's likely to behave erratically) and even the nationality of the wife's nanny play into the plot.