15 facts about the cult film "Die Hard"

On July 15, 1988, the film directed by John McTiernan "Die Hard" (English title — Die Hard) was released worldwide. This picture, based on the book by the American detective writer Roderick Thorpe "Nothing lasts forever", marked the beginning of a whole series of five films. The main role of police officer John McClain was played by the incomparable Bruce Willis, and it is considered one of the best in the actor's career.

We present a selection of interesting facts about this cult film, which has been loved by many since childhood.

Initially, the film was planned as a continuation of the action movie "Commando" with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the title role. But Iron Arnie refused the role, and the script had to be completely reworked. Actually, Bruce Willis was the fifth actor applying for this role. In addition to Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone was considered for the main role, then Burt Reynolds, then Richard Gere. As a result, Willis was chosen. Bruce was taken on this role despite the fact that he had never played in action movies before. The authors of the film simply decided that he would bring humor and lightness to the performance of this serious male role.

The film "Die Hard" became very commercially successful. $ 28 million was spent on the creation of the film, and the worldwide collections amounted to $ 138 million.

In Russia, the very name "Die Hard" was fixed for the film not immediately. The film could be found under such titles as" Indestructible"," Die hard, but with dignity "and"Stubborn". The original title of the film is Die Hard, which can literally be translated as "Resist to the end" or "Be persistent".

In one of the fragments of the film, you can hear the phrase that John McClain "could be a good bartender". Before starting his acting career, Bruce Willis really worked as a bartender.

In the original version of the film, the terrorists come from Germany. At the same time, phrases in the German language in which they are expressed are sometimes incorrect from the point of view of grammar and meaningless. In the German version of the picture, the terrorists do not come from Germany at all. Their names were changed from traditional German to British: Hans became Jack, Karl-Charlie, Heinrich-Henry. The name and goals of the terrorist group were also changed — they became radical Irish activists who separated from the main organization and took hostages not to pursue any goals, but to make a profit.

In all parts of the film, you can hear the phrase "Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker!" ("Yo-ho-ho, bastard!"). This phrase was named 96th in the list of the 100 greatest film phrases by Premiere magazine in 2007.

The film "Die Hard" was shot in the evening and at night, since Bruce Willis was simultaneously involved in the filming of the series "Moonlight Detective Agency", which was filmed in the morning.

In the book by Roderick Thorpe, the main character saves his daughter from criminals. In the film — his wife. Willis himself recommended Bonnie Bedelia for the role of his wife.

John McTiernan deliberately did not show Hans Gruber's face in close-up when he shoots from any weapon, because Alan Rickman constantly flinched at every shot, which, of course, did not fit in with the image of a tough and merciless terrorist.

For the filming of the film, a building owned by the 20th Century Fox film company, called Fox Plaza, was used. It was built only a few months before the shooting of the picture. It is noteworthy that after the release of the film and to the present, any photo and video shooting is prohibited inside the building.

There was not a single mention of Bruce Willis and his image on the official poster for the film. Just a huge building. The producers specifically did not put the actor's face on the posters, so as not to scare away Bruce's anti-fans from viewing. After it became clear that the film went successfully at the box office, posters with the image of the actor also appeared.

The scene in which McClain falls into the elevator shaft was the result of a failed stunt. Initially, the stuntman had to grab the first ventilation opening. However, the filmmakers left this frame, editing it with the frame where McClain grabs the next ventilation opening, considering that it would look more exciting.

The Spanish title of the film is "Crystal Jungle", the Polish one is "Glass Trap". The Hungarian title of the film is "Give your life more expensive", the title of the sequel is "Your life is even more expensive", the triquel is "Life is always expensive".

The film "Die Hard" was nominated for four Academy Awards, but did not receive a single statuette. However, this film won several other prestigious awards: the BMI Film & TV Awards ("Best Film"), as well as the Blue Ribbon Awards and the Japanese Film Academy Award (as the best foreign language film).