Favorite Xmas Trailer Theatre: Die Hard (1988)

This is the trailer that sold me on seeing DIE HARD. I remember the day well for some reason, maybe because it was the Friday first showing of John Carpenter’s THEY LIVE (1988), or maybe because of the goodwill I have for the film now. Hard to believe, but when Bruce Willis was given a five million dollar payday for DIE HARD, there was a lot of media indignation, especially since he’d only starred in BLIND DATE (1987) and Blake Edward’s little-seen SUNSET at that point so was considered unproven as a movie star commodity like other popular TV actors — this was also the year of THE PRESIDIO with Sean Connery…and Mark Harmon. I liked Willis on MOONLIGHTING, and he seemed like an amiable New York sort of guy, so I had no pre-considerations about him one way or another.

But. The poster for DIE HARD didn’t exactly grab me with it’s generic 80’s exploding building paste job. I assumed it would be a routine action film, a genre that was winding down by decades end after over-exposure by Stallone, Seagal, Norris, and even Arnie’s films needed a new direction (so he did TWINS). What I liked about this trailer is that they’re clearly pointing out that John McClane is trying to NOT be a hero, nor your standard 80’s Rambo or Commando mass killer. So this ad made me sit up in my seat and think, hey, this thing might be different. Plus I can tell you exactly when I decided to viddy DIE HARD: at 1:30. Actually, the pulsing music track used here (but not in the film) really sold me on the movie’s energy and potential — for Double Jeopardy, does anybody know who composed this theme?

My expectations were rewarded on opening day in a sparse theater, but I loved DIE HARD and immediately knew it was going into the pantheon of great American action films. Not only because of the exciting cat and mouse battles, but because the screenplay by Jeb Stuart and Steven De Souza was so damn smart, giving every single character a beat or moment for themselves. We’re even invited to revel with Alan Rickman and his gang o’ merry thieves when they finally unlock the Nakatomi vault. Rickman was robbed of a Best Supporting Actor nod, but given a full-blown career and established the cliche of witty, erudite Euro-trash villains. John McTiernan’s stylish direction (and Jan De Bont’s slick camerawork) is a major asset too, and he captures a unique widescreen action scope here as he did in PREDATOR (1987) and THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER (1990).

Of course, Willis became an official Movie Star with this film, which I dragged people to see in the summer of ’88. Interestingly, DIE HARD didn’t open with a bang, it was a genuine word of mouth “sleeper hit.” Even Billy Wilder liked it (the thought of Mr. Wilder watching McClane leap off an exploding building makes me smile). Three weeks later, I saw it again with a packed, rousing, appreciative audience. So now the film is on my list of favored holiday classics next to A CHRISTMAS STORY, ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE and BLACK CHRISTMAS. And I still get a tiny charge whenever I pass by the Fox building — which will always be Nakatomi Plaza to me. Fuckin’ California.