Die Hard     

By Tom Keogh

This seminal 1988 thriller made Bruce Willis a star and established a new template for action stories: "Terrorists take over a (blank), and a lone hero, unknown to the villains, is trapped with them." In Die Hard, those bad guys, led by the velvet-voiced Alan Rickman, assume control of a Los Angeles high-rise with Willis's visiting New York cop inside. The attraction of the film has as much to do with the sight of a barefoot mortal running around the guts of a modern office tower as it has to do with the plentiful fight sequences and the bond the hero establishes with an LA beat cop. Bonnie Bedelia plays Willis's wife, Hart Bochner is good as a brash hostage who tries negotiating his way to freedom, Alexander Godunov makes for a believable killer with lethal feet, and William Atherton is slimy as a busybody reporter. Exceptionally well directed by John McTiernan.

Academy Awards

Die Hard received Academy Awards nominations for Best Achievement in Film Editing (Frank J. Urioste, John F. Link), Best Achievement in Sound (Don Bassman, Kevin F. Cleary, Richard Overton, Al Overton), Best Achievement in Sound Effects Editing (Stephen H. Flick, Richard Shorr) and Best Achievement in Visual Effects (Richard Edlund, Al DiSarro, Brent Boates, Thaine Morris).

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