V.C.R. Presents: Unwrapping "Die Hard" - Is it a Christmas Classic or an Action Icon?

Ever wondered if 'Die Hard' is a Christmas movie or just an action-packed thrill ride? Get ready to join us in a vibrant discussion that will shed light on this festive debate and so much more. We'll take you through the cascading action, the nostalgia of 80s corporate Christmas parties, all while dissecting the layers of John McClane's timeless showdown against Hans Gruber. Whether you're here for the yuletide cheer or the edge-of-your-seat suspense, this episode is your ticket to an explosive cinematic journey.

As we relive the spectacle of 'Die Hard', we don't just recount the bullets and bravado; we dig into the tantalizing "what-ifs" of Hollywood casting and the surprising truths behind those formidable German terrorists. Imagine, for a moment, Frank Sinatra as McClane or Ronald Reagan's office as part of the set—these are just a taste of the movie facts we've uncovered. From Bruce Willis's hearing loss due to those deafening blanks to the potential heist value in today's dollars, we're peeling back the layers of this action masterpiece that has us all declaring, "Yippee-Ki-Yay!"

Strap in for a nostalgia-laden finale where we gauge 'Die Hard' against the quintessential elements of Christmas films. Our unique rating system will reveal just how much this movie resonates with us, whether it's a 'late fee', a 'return', or if it's so beloved, we'd rather 'burn' the tape than part with it. We'll share cherished memories, like watching McClane's daring antics with loved ones, and discuss how sequels like 'Die Hard 2' sometimes soar even higher than their originals. So, if you're as intrigued by these behind-the-scenes tidbits and on-screen thrills as we are, this discussion is not to be missed.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

thanks for tuning in to the vintage cinema review on this week's episode.

Speaker 2: 0:05

We're covering from 1988 die hard some call it an action movie, some call it a christmas movie uh, there's see germans and a high building and explosions and bruce willis yeah, this is one of my personal favorites and, uh, I really enjoyed it.

Speaker 1: 0:20

Speaking of which, if you're enjoying our podcast, leave a five-star rating on spotify. On apple, you can leave a written review, we'd appreciate that and sit back, relax and enjoy. From 1988. Die Hard. Hey, this is Dave. Matt and Zap, and welcome to the Vintage Cinema Review where, every week, we review some of our favorite films from the past.

Speaker 3: 0:44

Hey, there ain't no late fees here silence is golden and be kind rewind hey, I see you're putting in a christmas classic yeah, god damn it, matt what.

Speaker 1: 1:07

It's a Christmas classic. Yeah, that's right, die Hard. This is my selection. I got to pick this week.

Speaker 2: 1:12

Good one. That's a fine non-Christmas movie. It's a fine movie.

Speaker 1: 1:16

We'll get in that debate then, I guess.

Speaker 3: 1:18

We don't need to debate that, but I mean, if you're looking into this movie, I think it begins at a at a certain time of year.

Speaker 1: 1:27

It was released in july though, yeah, but I mean it begins.

Speaker 3: 1:29

The story begins maybe, so you have to tune in.

Speaker 1: 1:32

Yeah tune in and find out, if you haven't. Yeah, a couple mailbag items real quick, sure, before we get into this. So we did one a couple weeks ago I think it was onbo. We were talking about the bars on the front of the cop cars and basically what they use those for.

Speaker 2: 1:49

Sure Crowd control. Cow pushers push vehicles, whatever.

Speaker 3: 1:53

Spin move.

Speaker 1: 1:54

Yeah, spin move.

Speaker 2: 1:55

Oh, that's right. Yeah, it was to do that spin out thing.

Speaker 1: 1:58

Spin move. Yeah, actually, yeah. So, buddy Jason, the old mechanic, he listens all the time he reached out. It's called a pit maneuver. That's it, the pit maneuver. I actually asked him. So actually a name for that.

Speaker 2: 2:06

Yep, I had named a named. I asked a guy I know about the same thing, former Stilton cop, and yeah, he said pit maneuver. Yep, that's like day one training stuff.

Speaker 1: 2:15

I figured we'd get an answer on that. Sure, I think Matt's cousin too. We were just out hanging out this weekend, chris, and we asked him about it as well.

Speaker 3: 2:26

Yeah, he's from Albuquerque. He was a cop, but Troggs he was telling us about. It's a maneuver you do? You hit like the back end of the car, you spin them out. Yep, instead of like they don't lay those things across the road anymore, like they're doing, all out, the car goes, blows all the tires out. How does it go? It's a cool maneuver. It's called tire blowing.

Speaker 1: 2:52

Also, we had a message from JW. We were talking about him on the Vintage Album Reviews, about copyright and all that stuff, and he got back to us with an answer on that.

Speaker 2: 3:10

So go on our Instagram and look at that. If you go on the old dirty face instagram, you can find the answer. This is the. This is the non-official cannot take it to to the court. You cannot rely on this. I I won't testify to it, but I'll just give it to you off the top of my head. That was the just the the jw disclaimer. Yeah, did you read it? No, but I know that it's just there's. I'm sure he disclaimed it galore just because he's hilarious, that's just because he's what he, what he does. I'm yeah, I'm anxious to read that.

Speaker 1: 3:29

Yeah, so go on there if you want to find out about the copyright stuff and all that music, so but anyway in advance, JW. Jw is our lawyer and you know we're always happy when he reaches out. So diehard 1988 runtime on this long two hours and 12 minutes.

Speaker 3: 3:44

Yep, yeah, didn't seem that long.

Speaker 1: 3:45

No, it goes fast. This was directed by John McTiernan. Rated R as well. I don't know if I said that Screenplay by Jeb Stewart, Stephen E DeSouza and I did not know this is based on a book, but it was based on a book called Nothing Lasts Forever. Yep by Roderick Thorpe, produced by Lawrence Gordon and Joel Silver, music by Michael Kamen. This was released on July 12th 1988, to be exact, so it was a summer movie. They're looking for a summer blockbuster.

Speaker 1: 4:13

But talking about it being a Christmas movie. It wasn't like released on Thanksgiving or anything like that.

Speaker 2: 4:17

So I don't know if that's a strike against it, but Well, the shit stirrers of the world will say that it's a Christmas movie.

Speaker 3: 4:23

Right, they do play it around Christmas because there's enough shit stirrers out there. I think it's called like one hour of diehard instead of like 24 hours of a Christmas story. Yeah, I'm sorry, two hours of diehard.

Speaker 2: 4:33

I was going to say how did they do that?

Speaker 3: 4:35

Yeah, it's magical. The uh enhanced version or unenhanced.

Speaker 1: 4:40

July 12th was at the Avco Theater, so that was an early release, and then July 15th was nationwide, I guess, and worldwide Nationwide. So budget on this one between $25 and $35 million that's a big spread. I don't know if it can get more accurate with that, but box office $139.8, between that and $141.5. So I can see with the box office they take into the international money but still damn, that's a good fucking return.

Speaker 2: 5:11

That's a great return.

Speaker 1: 5:12

Yes, it's very good yeah, they did well on this. The filming for this took place november 1987 through march of 88, and it was almost entirely shot at the fox plaza in Angeles. So Fox Studios, fox, all that. That's what Nakatomi was, yeah, or is. I don't know if it still is.

Speaker 2: 5:29

That show on Netflix, that movies that made us so that building still stands, of course. In fact, that one episode, I think, was hosted by Carl Winslow. Oh, nice the cop, yeah, powell, big guy.

Speaker 1: 5:41

That's it, Powell. Oh nice the cop. Yeah, Powell Big guy.

Speaker 2: 5:43

That's it, Powell. That's it. Whoever played Powell. Who is he who?

Speaker 3: 5:46

is he Powell Powell?

Speaker 1: 5:48

Reginald, reginald Valjohnson, yep, there you go. Yeah, speaking of that, I guess that's it for all that fun stuff. I'll turn it over to Zap for the cast.

Speaker 2: 5:57

Cool, all right, not limited to Bruce Willis as. John McClain Bonnie Bedelia as Holly Gennaro McClain Hart Bachner as Harry Ellis. James Shigeta as Joseph Yoshinobu Tagaki. Tagagi, tagagi.

Speaker 3: 6:22

Tagagi.

Speaker 2: 6:23

Tagagi Miyagi. Like Miyagi-san right tagagi-san I mean I know I heard it once or twice in the movie. All right, alan rickman as hans gruber.

Speaker 3: 6:34

Isn't that dracula? Hans gruber's dracula? Yes yeah yes, absolutely.

Speaker 2: 6:39

It is alexander gudinov as carl, that's uh gruber's second in command. He was also featured in the money pit I love that movie.

Speaker 3: 6:51

Yeah, it's a good one, money pit with uh tom hanks and who was the actress? The blonde haired lady shelly long yeah, that was a great movie clarence gilliard as theo as Theo.

Speaker 2: 7:02

Reginald Val Johnson as Sergeant Al Powell. Paul Gleason as Chief. Dwayne T Robinson, william Atherton as Richard Thornburg, not to be confused with former. Dick Thornburg, governor former governor Pennsylvania's Devereux White as Argyle, robert Davi as FBI agent Big Johnson and Grand L Bush as FBI special agent. Little Johnson 70s porn.

Speaker 3: 7:36

Yeah, they were actually going to cast Robert Davi Jr for that part, but they did not. Robert Davi Jr.

Speaker 1: 7:42

Grand L Bush.

Speaker 2: 7:43

Grand L Bush as Little Johnson. No, robert Davi Jr part, but they did not. Robert davi jr grand l bush.

Speaker 3: 7:46

Grand l bush as little johnson no, robert davi jr, you know I wonder if they stood there.

Speaker 2: 7:51

I wonder if, at one point, when they were filming, and there's the directors out there looking and he says hey, man, I can't see big johnson through grand l bush yeah, right so that will set that up

Speaker 1: 8:02

just going through the cast here, that william atherton. He was in real genius, correct? No? William atherton was william atherton uh, william atherton was.

Speaker 2: 8:10

Oh no, I'm sorry. Yes, correct, he was, he was. Uh, yes, of course he was jerry from.

Speaker 3: 8:14

Uh, jerry, yeah I thought he was the the jerk uh professor guy, correct, right?

Speaker 2: 8:19

yes, I was jerry the professor. I thought we were at one point you were talking about uh Gleason, who was from Breakfast.

Speaker 1: 8:26

Club.

Speaker 3: 8:26

Breakfast Club.

Speaker 1: 8:26

yeah, he was a very similar character in this as well, Like kind of plays the same type Yep, yep yep. And then, of course, Reginald Val Johnson is Family Matters.

Speaker 3: 8:35

Hey big guy, Yep, that guy.

Speaker 1: 8:37

I guess that's it for the cast, so we'll turn it over to Matt for a brief synopsis.

Speaker 3: 8:41

Yes, I had to take my glasses off to read this.

Speaker 1: 8:43

Do you need the magnifying glass? No, I think.

Speaker 2: 8:45

You can use the. I'm so old. Get out your binoculars.

Speaker 3: 8:50

Yes for Die Hard. We have a brief synopsis. High above the city of LA, a team of terrorists has seized a building, taken hostages and declared war. One man has managed to escape detection An off-duty cop. He's alone, tired and the only chance anyone has. Bruce Willis stars as New York City detective John McClane, newly arrived in Los Angeles to spend the Christmas holiday with his estranged wife. But as McClane waits for his wife's office party to break up, terrorists seize control of the building. While the terrorist leader Hans gruber, alan rickman and his savage henchman alexander gudenoff round up hostages, mclean slips away unnoticed. Armed with only a service revolver and his cunning, mclean launches his own one-man war. A crackling thriller from beginning to end. Die Hard explodes with heart-stopping suspense. Nice, yeah, that's Die Hard.

Speaker 2: 9:49

That's a hell of a synopsis, man. I like that.

Speaker 1: 9:51

That was good.

Speaker 3: 9:51

Goddamn.

Speaker 2: 9:52

It was a good one.

Speaker 1: 9:53

I wrote that myself. Do you know when they Fun fact, when they released this movie initially, it was just kind of the Nakatomi Tower on the cover and they kind of had Bruce Willis faded out in the background because they didn't want people to be scared off thinking it was a comedy because of his work up until that time, sure?

Speaker 2: 10:12

so what was he on moonlighting?

Speaker 1: 10:13

right, moonlighting and blind date was like a movie that was out blind.

Speaker 2: 10:16

It was uh, possibly, uh, oh. No, he wasn't in that one yeah, blind day, blind day, yeah.

Speaker 1: 10:21

so they kind of did that until it tested well and released and was a hit and then they changed it. So I thought that was an interesting fact about the movie. But speaking of the movie, I liked. Moonlighting, moonlighting. I never really watched it.

Speaker 3: 10:33

I was aware of it, but I don't.

Speaker 1: 10:34

Moonlighting Strangers.

Speaker 2: 10:35

So the guy who sang that track, that opening song for Moonlighting, is one of the guys that was featured in. He was not just featured, he sang for that. We Are the World. I forget his name. Oh, he was the one that was drunk, like at the end he was drunk, the one that they kicked out, correct, yeah.

Speaker 3: 10:49

He was the black guy that was drunk, he was like three bottles of wine in. Correct, they're like dude you got to stop man that was him.

Speaker 1: 10:55

He sung the song for Moonlighting Street not to be confused with albie, sure, yeah, that eyebrow all right. Speaking of, albie.

Speaker 2: 11:07

Sure, I'll be sure to walk us through this movie and take some breaks, because I can. I'm gonna need him, all right. So to matt's point. It's christmas eve. Wait, when is it christmas eve? Thank you, it happens to take place on christmas eve. You know, fun fact before we even go anywhere, there's this movie. I love, absolutely love it. Stars uh, brad pitt and robert redford. It's called spy game oh yeah incredibly, just such a good movie.

Speaker 2: 11:34

Great soundtrack, great story, awesome, awesome, violent, you know, espionage, all kinds of stuff during that movie. There's a someplace in there. There's actually a christmas eve. Get together. Does that make that a christmas movie?

Speaker 3: 11:49

I'm not sure, um I wouldn't say it's a christmas movie, but it is kind of christmasy with the christmas eve party so it's christmas eve and new york police detective john mclean makes his way to Los Angeles to visit his wife Holly.

Speaker 2: 12:06

They've had some rough spots. He's a committed New York cop. She's a highfalutin executive who took an opportunity with the Nakatomi Corporation at their US headquarters in Los Angeles. Will distance make the heart grow fonder? Having safely landed, mcclane is chauffeured to Nakatomi Plaza by Argyle, a young limousine driver, to the tune of Christmas in Hollis by Run DMC. Mom's cooking dinner in collard greens. It sounds Christmassy so far.

Speaker 1: 12:38

Yeah, and then he makes a comment in that scene. That's not Christmas music, you know what I mean. So that made me think about the movie argyle's fly is it not a christmas movie?

Speaker 3: 12:47

what's his, what's his wife's name?

Speaker 2: 12:49

holly as in jolly christmas holly jolly christmas holly genero christmas wasn't genero.

Speaker 1: 12:55

That was like a clothing line yes, sure was I used to wear genero yeah, the godfather, robert genero genero. It was genero, though I, I think, with an.

Speaker 2: 13:05

A.

Speaker 3: 13:05

Oh with an A okay, no.

Speaker 2: 13:07

Gennaro was that white and black box stuff you got at the grocery store?

Speaker 1: 13:11

Gennaro, yeah, it's like not a name brand, it's.

Speaker 3: 13:14

Gennaro King Vitamin Cereal was Gennaro, that's right.

Speaker 1: 13:17

Yeah, that could be.

Speaker 2: 13:18

It too Could be All All right. So McClane arrives in the midst of Nakatomi Corporation's annual Christmas party, held in the uppermost executive level of the building, and boy is it a party. Ellis, one of Holly's peers, is blowing lines in her office. Other co-workers are having sex in empty offices. It's a party, all right. Meanwhile, a group of German terrorists have infiltrated the building from the ground below, and just as McClane gets himself settled in, the Germans arrive to crash the party. Everyone is taken hostage, except for McClane, who manages to steal away without being seen.

Speaker 1: 14:00

Yeah, I always wanted to go to like a Christmas party like that.

Speaker 3: 14:02

Instead of yeah, you should be like ja, what's that?

Speaker 1: 14:04

German oh ja, Christmas party like that Instead of yeah, you should be like ja, what's that German? Oh ja, yeah right.

Speaker 3: 14:07

Like, ja want to go to party.

Speaker 1: 14:09

Yeah.

Speaker 3: 14:10

Sprockets.

Speaker 2: 14:10

Hey fun boy.

Speaker 3: 14:12

Hey, let's do a Christmas party tonight. Let's do it, get a room. Hey, let's blow some more lines.

Speaker 1: 14:19

Let's do it. But I always wanted to go to a Christmas party like that, like in a corporate setting. Sure, they always look like kick-ass, like those parties. They're fun for sure. And that guy I guess his name's Harry, he's the one that's kind of like your prototypical, like he would have fit right in American Psycho, correct, the guy with the beard and all that Harry.

Speaker 2: 14:37

He's that wannabe yuppie guy. Like he works hard and I'm sure he earns it. Like he's a, he's a talker, he's a salesman, but yeah, for damn sure he's also enjoying everything there is to enjoy about the eighties, and that includes cocaine man.

Speaker 1: 14:50

And I'm sure there's like dudes putting chicks up on the copying machine.

Speaker 3: 14:53

Oh yeah.

Speaker 2: 14:54

Cover their ass.

Speaker 1: 14:55

Yeah, that type stuff. Well, there was that, you know they talked about that scene, they said the guy said well, we're going to get an R rating anyhow for violence.

Speaker 2: 15:05

So why don't we have boobs in it?

Speaker 1: 15:07

So that's why they did that.

Speaker 2: 15:08

That's just sexy time. Let's have some throwaway sex scenes, and that was it.

Speaker 3: 15:12

Yeah. But uh, you talk about like the corporate or the type of Christmas parties like that. When I work for Consumer Advocates Office but part of my job was going to take stuff to the Capitol, I would go into, like you know, both sides. I'd go to the House, the Senate, but during Christmas they used to like shut off like at like 10 o'clock and then from then on it would just be like Christmas parties.

Speaker 1: 15:39

So that's where.

Speaker 3: 15:40

So going in there, they'd be like hey, hey, matt, like here, have a, have a drink, and like I didn't see like nobody's like blowing lines on tables or anything like that, but like they had, like you saw that, I saw that, you saw. But I'm saying like there would be like 300 bottles of wine. There was like, uh, like the best scotch you could get like all laid across the table. There was like the shrimp, scampi, stuff, like all kinds of like it was all yeah, everywhere you would go, and it's just one of those things.

Speaker 3: 16:04

Like everybody was dressed to the nines.

Speaker 1: 16:05

It was just a cool thing to see yeah, I've never been like, because where I my my job is not like that. Now my wife's job possibly could have a party like that in her setting but I've never been to a party like that.

Speaker 1: 16:16

I just always thought it'd be cool to dress up, go in there. You know what I mean. But I think a lot of bad things come out nowadays with those parties. Everybody be canceled, you'd be fired, correct, you'd be done. You can't do it up like they did back in the day you can do it, but look, nobody, it's.

Speaker 2: 16:30

It's. It's just bad form anymore for anybody to go out and go to a party like that and start drinking.

Speaker 3: 16:36

Yeah, yes, it's just a bad idea especially now, with, with cell phones, people filming stuff, and then and then, like uh, also cops with the duis. If somebody comes out of an office party at your office gets a, it's a dui.

Speaker 2: 16:48

Or somebody can't go to work because they get an accident let alone the woke or the the political correctness that has to be in place now.

Speaker 1: 16:55

Like you have to, you have to watch every word you say right it's just bad the german terrorists would be the least of your problems, correct, in fact I would hang, I would hang out with ze Germans. Yeah.

Speaker 2: 17:04

Ze Germans Just because, why not All right? Well, it turns out ze Germans aren't terrorists at all. They're there to steal $640 million in bearer bonds currently held in the building's vault. Oh, the Germans are terrorists already. No, Damn Germans.

Speaker 3: 17:20

They got the guns, damn.

Speaker 2: 17:21

Germans, they got the guns. When the CEO, joseph Tagagi Tagagi, fails to give the Germans the safe code, he is killed. And uh-oh, the Germans discover that one of the would-be hostages, mcclane, is on to them. One of the Germans. Tony is dispatched to collect and retrieve McClane, but McClane gets the better of him, kills him and takes his gun and walkie talkie. Finding the police band on the walkie talkie, mcclain reaches out to the LAPD and the operators at the police department don't believe a word he's saying. Fear not. Sergeant Al Powell is sent to investigate.

Speaker 1: 18:03

Yeah, that first terrorist, Tony, just like. Dahmer just like Dahmer Looked, just like.

Speaker 2: 18:06

Dahmer. Oh God, a little bit Did you notice that Glasses and all that Mm-hmm.

Speaker 3: 18:10

That's what I liked about 80s movies, like the look of the terrorist guys. Also like the codes. It's always like give me the code. Yeah, you always want the code, yeah, you always want the code. For I don't even know if that's a thing like really like it has to be beyond that right now, like use your hand or like a fingerprint yeah, fingerprint or eyes or something, yeah.

Speaker 2: 18:30

I mean, there are movies that have that, where you'll see somebody cut off somebody's thumb or pull out their eyeball, yeah.

Speaker 3: 18:35

I don't know man so I guess that's still part of like the code, it's just they already broke that part yeah, oh, dang it, but that the girl.

Speaker 1: 18:42

I think on that when he called the LAPD the operator at the airport, the operator. They used that in like an Ice Cube song. I think it was Really. Yeah, there's like that little audio clip of that girl. I believe it was an Ice Cube song. Don't quote me on that. It was definitely a rap song, it was Ice Cube or something along those lines. But yeah, I never I got to go back and look for that fun fact and I'd like to hear that.

Speaker 3: 19:05

But from this movie, yeah, from this movie.

Speaker 1: 19:10

They sampled it in the song. But that, reginald, he was at an AM PM uh when he got called out.

Speaker 2: 19:16

Uh, officer powell, yeah he was buying some twinkies twinkies, that's right and he was able to name all the ingredients for every single one of them. His wife's pregnant, that dude, that store clerk, was a jerk, you know it's. Weren't we just mentioning not but a couple of podcasts?

Speaker 1: 19:29

about 7-eleven and all that.

Speaker 2: 19:30

You know the, the people dressed, you know, respectfully, and everybody was all. They were proud of their jobs. That guy was just a fat slob piece of shit working at the 7-eleven right not. Not al powell, I mean, despite his heavy set or stockiness or his, you know, you know physical handicap or whatever. I mean he was just a nice dude buying twinkies.

Speaker 1: 19:49

One thing I noticed doing that am pm is like uh, which, I don't know if there's am pm anymore, but prices don't really change on like soda, like the the fountain sodas are 69 cents, I think. Think I saw a sign and like you, can still go to 79 cents. Get one for like 79 cents, uh, 99 cents. So that tells you. I guess that shit's not very expensive to me.

Speaker 2: 20:08

You know what I mean? It's just sugar and water. It is just sugar and water.

Speaker 3: 20:11

Right, but those Twinkies they don't buy her to grade. Funny that you said that this goes off the story for a quick second. It's never a quick but um, there was, a movie is with cory haim and, uh, the guy that played robocop is called firstborn peter weller. Peter weller and the movie was first born, but anyway it was. Uh, who's the girl from sex in the city? Sarah jessica parker. Sarah jessica parker and this guy, but it's her. They're at the mall and a pair of Lee jeans was $29.95. Dang.

Speaker 1: 20:42

That seems pricey for back in the day.

Speaker 3: 20:43

That's what I'm saying. This was like a movie from 87, 88. But it's a really good movie. You guys should check it out. It's called Firstborn. Are you sure they weren't chic or chick Chick? No, they were Lee. Okay, they Lee jeans.

Speaker 2: 20:56

Well, while Al is on his way, mcclane picks off a few more of the Germans and collects a bag of detonators that's anticipated to be used for their explosives. Al arrives and finds nothing out of the ordinary at Nakatomi Tower. Just as Al is about to drive away, mcclane drops a terrorist's corpse onto his car from high above. A frantic Al wrecks his car while trying to escape and calls for backup. The LAPD SWAT team arrives with a menacing vehicle in hopes of storming the building, but the Germans have some fun toys up their sleeve, like a rocket launcher. While the Germans engage in their counterattack on the armored vehicle, mcclane throws some of the explosives down an elevator shaft which demolishes the interior of the entire floor in which the german attackers were holding their ground. Along with some of the germans, hans is now furious. So al arrives, walks around, sees he's, you know, sees the guy at the desk, everything okay, whatever. Leaves Boom body out of nowhere, just lands on his windshield.

Speaker 1: 22:05

Yeah, so that scene up there where he took out two of the terrorists, he shot the one guy from under the table. Yeah, he actually had hearing loss from that scene. That's close quarters, for sure it is. And also, they had them use. They were fake rounds, but they made them extra loud and they had p used. They know that they were fake round, but they were. Um, they made them extra loud and they had plexiglass, I guess to. I don't know if it was to make it even louder when they were picking up the sound with the boom mics, but it was right next to his ear and they said, uh, bruce willis's ear.

Speaker 1: 22:32

He was like two-thirds of hearing loss and like at the left ear, I think it was something like that. But those are one of those two terrorists that he shot up through the uh the table.

Speaker 3: 22:40

He's one of the guys that they threw out on onto uh officer powell's yeah, yeah, car, yeah, but uh, looking into this, there's actually a recent interview with bruce willis about this scene that you're talking about here. Could he remember it exactly?

Speaker 2: 22:53

yeah, right, what movie I was in. I was in a movie, right?

Speaker 3: 22:56

that's insane damn zappy caught me on that one.

Speaker 2: 23:01

Oh, is that where it was going? Yes, oh shit, I took your punchline.

Speaker 3: 23:03

Yes, that was a punchline.

Speaker 2: 23:05

I thought you were telling me an actual story that happened yeah, a recent interview with bruce willie saying what movie oh god damn it, poor bruce, poor bruce jerk, okay, so was I nailed, it

Speaker 3: 23:16

yeah, tag team champions oh.

Speaker 2: 23:19

Ellis. What are you thinking, believing he's helping the situation by using Hans' walkie-talkie to call McClain in hopes of getting him to surrender? Ellis is shot by Hans when McClain refuses. Not long after, a serendipitous moment happens for Hans when he runs into McClain while checking explosives that have since been installed. Pretending to be an escaped hostage, hans earns McClane's trust and, in turn, mcclane gives him a gun At just the right moment. Hans reveals his true self and attempts to shoot McClane, but oh, no bullets. Only the arrival of another, one of the Germans, saves Hans from McLean's wrath. Mclean manages to escape but is badly injured.

Speaker 2: 24:06

Meanwhile, members of the FBI have since arrived outside to take control of the hostage situation with the LAPD. In true textbook fashion, they command that the power to the building be turned off. Book fashion, they command that the power to the building be turned off. This, in turn, only serves to help the germans, as it disables the vault lock and affords the germans to the ability to grab the bonds. So, argyle, I'm not argyle. Tony, no, not tony, what? God? Hey, tony, the, uh, what's his name? Or the theo? Theo saw that one coming. Theo is the, the token black guy that's with the.

Speaker 1: 24:40

Germans, the shavecracker guy that's doing all the computer work and stuff.

Speaker 2: 24:42

He didn't bring me for my charming personality, he says.

Speaker 3: 24:45

Right, yeah. So yeah, there was a recent interview with Bruce Willis.

Speaker 1: 24:49

Oh man, yeah, but when he was hacking, that I think.

Speaker 2: 24:53

Matt's got a bit of the Bruce in him.

Speaker 1: 24:54

Yeah, he does, I forgot that when there was a scene in there when he was hacking and he was trying to get the password Takamichi or whatever that dude's name was he went back, looked at some of his info and I guess there was like a little bit of a backstory in him that he served in World War II for the Japanese. Takaji yeah and the name of the ship was like Red Castle or something like that and that was the password that he used, one of the first ones he was able to crack and stuff.

Speaker 3: 25:20

But I would imagine Burger joint in Texas.

Speaker 1: 25:22

Yeah, Red Castle Nice.

Speaker 3: 25:24

That's in Russia. Yeah, the Red.

Speaker 2: 25:25

Castle.

Speaker 1: 25:26

Yeah, but anyway, yeah, I would imagine I remember seeing this movie. I didn't see it in a theater, I remember my dad we rented it. It was 1988, this came out, so it was probably like either that winter or the next year, 89. So I would have been 13, 14 and uh, this movie, like even watching it now it holds up and like a lot of times you watch these older movies and the tech stuff looks really outdated and all that. I didn't really get any of those vibes in this. Everything looked kind of modern to me.

Speaker 2: 25:57

I'm with you. I think this movie still like, having just watched it very recently. Obviously I mean to put all this together.

Speaker 1: 26:03

I mean it still holds up for sure yeah, sometimes you you expect that tech to look real outdated. Yeah, but I was really, uh, really impressed with it, like this movie is just so great, killer definitely one of my favorites, hell yeah, toying with the fbi.

Speaker 2: 26:17

Hans demands a helicopter to be delivered to the rooftop for the Germans' escape, but Hans' real plan is to detonate explosives planted all around the rooftop to kill the hostages and fake their own deaths. Meanwhile, carl the German attacks McClane, but McClane makes short work of him, or does he?

Speaker 1: 26:41

That was cool when he hung him up like that Mm-hmm yeah.

Speaker 2: 26:44

While the local news starring on-the-scene reporter Richard Thornburg runs on a television. In the office Hans is using, hans swiftly learns that McLean is actually the husband of one of his best hostages. Holly, his best hostages? Yeah, one of his best hostages.

Speaker 3: 27:00

Holly, his best hostages. Yeah, one of the best, she's the good one, she's the one that's helping people out.

Speaker 2: 27:03

She's coordinating herding the cats, moving the people, getting pregnant bitches to the bathroom to do whatever they got to do, Keeping his prize hostage with him. She's good under pressure.

Speaker 1: 27:12

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 27:13

Is she? Yeah, hans sends all of the other hostages to the roof. Never fear. Despite being mistaken for a terrorist by the FBI, mcclane herds the hostages off the roof just before Gruber detonates it. So there's a lot that happened here.

Speaker 1: 27:28

Oh for sure. Yeah, that scene where he was fighting that long-haired blonde looks like Fabio a little bit. Yeah, that was a cool fight scene, you know what I mean. And he hangs him up on the chain and he chokes him out, you think?

Speaker 2: 27:41

you think?

Speaker 1: 27:41

we'll find out, I wonder. But also when he's on the uh helicopter landing pad up at the top and he's trying to corral the people get off the roof and he's shooting his machine guns, these fucking lapd guys think that the two fbi guys, the big and little johnson, think that they're shooting him right and they're shooting. They're thinking he's the bad guy and stuff that one guy he has like the real. His face is all like Pocked, pocked. Yeah, that's the word on the.

Speaker 2: 28:05

It's a guy from Goonies.

Speaker 1: 28:06

Yeah, he was having flashbacks to Nam, that's a great On the way he was like this is like Saigon, or something like that. Reminds me of Nam, says I was a middle school dickhead.

Speaker 2: 28:22

Yeah, yeah, it was good, that was a good 80s. He can't, uh, relate. It's interesting, though. So look, we talk about timelines and what we know and the things we came up with. So if this happened in 88, right, I mean nam wasn't, but 20 years less than 20 yeah it's talking 60s into early 70s, yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 1: 28:38

Yeah, that's crazy, that makes sense, makes sense.

Speaker 2: 28:40

He's probably like 40 then For sure, oh absolutely For sure, preparations for the Germans' real escape plan commence as Theo is sent to prepare an ambulance they brought with them as disguise. And who's there to stop their dastardly plan? None other than Argyle, the limo driver who knocks Theo out. In the final showdown, mcclane finds Hans and the remaining Germans, with Holly in tow. Pretending to surrender, mcclane pulls out a pistol he'd hidden on his back, shoots and kills Hans' henchmen and shoots Hans and with his last bit of strength, as he crashes through a window high atop the building, hans grabs Holly's wristwatch, nearly pulls her with him. Mclean unclasps the watch and Gruber falls to his death.

Speaker 1: 29:30

Now that watch, did you catch the connection from earlier in the movie?

Speaker 2: 29:32

Yeah, that was the watch that was given to Holly as a token of appreciation. It was a Rolex. It's a Rolex.

Speaker 1: 29:38

And he made a comment to Bruce Willis. Mclean says to him I'll see you later.

Speaker 2: 29:45

Well, there he goes. He did see you later. Yeah, Cash me outside. How about that? He did that All on his own, I did this.

Speaker 3: 29:54

I did this. Look what you made me do.

Speaker 2: 30:01

This was the whole impetus that has since been used a lot of times since that uh, yippee-ki-yay motherfucker yeah yeah, I mean, that's classic scene at the end of this it was awesome right before hans does the great flop.

Speaker 2: 30:11

Uh, on the, the movies that made us capture of this. Like when they redid this movie or went through this movie. Uh, what's his name? Alan rickman was scared to death of this. Like when they redid this movie or went through this movie uh, what's his name? Alan rickman was scared to death of this scene oh, yeah, he fell like 25 feet.

Speaker 2: 30:25

Yeah, now he's fallen into just you know, cushy stuff and easy stuff and nice stuff, but, dude, it was like come on, man, you're an actor, you got to give it a shot here well, you know what they said.

Speaker 1: 30:34

The stunt guy that was holding him left.

Speaker 3: 30:36

Go on two instead of three and that's why that reaction was yeah, was like the real yeah, he didn't.

Speaker 1: 30:43

He didn't like, uh, that, and he also didn't like shooting the gun. They had to cut away from his face that rickman guy because he would wince every time he'd shoot the gun. He didn't like the loud. I mean people that don't shoot guns right, aren't used to it sure it wince, and they kind of you, you know.

Speaker 3: 30:58

Shit, I coach track when they shoot that Everybody like flinches for that.

Speaker 1: 31:03

Yeah, I was thinking about that track because I was at my daughter's track meet and they sent that gun off to go. You know, growing up in Harrisburg we used to always have false starts.

Speaker 3: 31:12

Gunfire False starts at three in the morning.

Speaker 1: 31:14

We could just never get finished.

Speaker 3: 31:16

That's hilarious they hear a pop and he get out of bed like in a stance ready to run.

Speaker 2: 31:20

Oh my God, that's good. False start, god damn it. Everybody just wakes up and starts doing shit.

Speaker 3: 31:28

Like the local cops. There was another false start in Harrisburg today, yep, all right.

Speaker 2: 31:32

As McLean and his wife exit the building, now surrounded by dozens of officers and emergency service personnel, we find that Carl's adjournment wasn't dead after all. Just as Carl is about to shoot the happy couple, al the cop saves them by shooting Carl first. On their way out of the traumatic scene, holly wallops Richard Thornburg in the face in retribution for having put their family on the television, for Hans to see. Just then Argyle crashes through the parking garageburg in the face in retribution for having put their family on the television, for Hans to see. Just then Argyle crashes through the parking garage door in the limo and drives McLean and Holly away together.

Speaker 1: 32:07

When he went to their house and he was like they had like a, like a nanny.

Speaker 2: 32:12

Yeah, she was like Like Rosita or something like that, Adios mio and he was he was threatening her with like I gonna call the ins and all that bullshit and uh that still happens today.

Speaker 3: 32:22

It does sure that's, that's it's.

Speaker 2: 32:23

They're called ice.

Speaker 1: 32:24

Now, though, but they, they put that. You know he put their kids on like national tv or I don't know if it's national, but local tv there, so I'm sure they were pissed. Of course they were pissed. I mean she punched him in the face. Yeah, that guy, he played uh kind of a douche and real genius too correct.

Speaker 2: 32:39

He's good at playing douches, for sure.

Speaker 1: 32:41

And then the other guy was he FBI? He wasn't FBI.

Speaker 2: 32:45

The police chief.

Speaker 1: 32:46

Yeah, the chief, that was always on a bender. Yep, oh, he was LA police chief, yeah.

Speaker 2: 32:51

Correct, okay.

Speaker 1: 32:52

He's the same way. He played the same kind of dickhead character in Breakfast Club. Yep, yeah, like dickhead character in a breakfast club.

Speaker 3: 32:58

Yep, yeah, you're talking about Rickman right? What you talking about Willis? No, no.

Speaker 2: 33:01

The chief of police, oh he was the principal, paul Gleason.

Speaker 1: 33:06

He was the principal in a breakfast club.

Speaker 2: 33:09

So Al Al Jarreau, not Al Jarreau.

Speaker 1: 33:13

Al that Reginald.

Speaker 3: 33:15

Reginald Denny.

Speaker 2: 33:16

Definitely not Reginald Denny Al Powell.

Speaker 1: 33:19

Al.

Speaker 2: 33:19

Powell. So he had a fear of shooting his gun. I guess he had what. Early on he was telling the story there was some kid running around. Yeah, he shot the kid. He thought it was a real gun and he shot the kid. And now he's just pushing papers, he's got a desk job, but nope, he saves the day at the end. You know there's so many stories of I don't know, not retribution, that's not the right word. It's almost like a reconciliation right.

Speaker 2: 33:42

Right right that come out of this. It's almost like a feel-good movie. It's almost like it could be a Christmas movie Almost, but not even fucking close.

Speaker 3: 33:51

Not even close. This is not a Christmas movie, no it is not.

Speaker 2: 34:04

I'll be the first to admit that there's. There's a lot of. I mean, now we look back, it's nostalgia, but there's a lot of stuff in here that could, I guess, if it were shot at the right time of the year, right, if it were shot and it came out and it was pushed and there was a little bit more elements in there, maybe it could be. But come on, man, this is an action in your face.

Speaker 3: 34:12

Look the fuck it is an action based on a like it's the christmas party, like it the snowy. It's like snowy, out it's a little cold it's la. There's no fucking snow it's snowy out, it's not in the christmas party. All they would have had to do is in the christmas party yeah, how'd they do that there?

Speaker 2: 34:27

was a lot of snow there. Yeah, they gave that bitch a shovel no, did you never. They've got it yeah, oh, like a cocaine snow christmas, christmas party.

Speaker 3: 34:40

Milk of the poppy.

Speaker 1: 34:40

Okay, hear me out. What if, uh McLean would have worked a Santa hat through the whole movie as he's taken out terrorists? Does that make it a Christmas movie?

Speaker 2: 34:49

Possibly Does that it moves it closer, it would move the needle.

Speaker 3: 34:53

Okay, what if he was like saying stuff like, like a catchphrase of like ho, ho, ho yeah dang before he like shot something I don't know.

Speaker 2: 35:00

This guy's on him like hoes on santas I heard they're remaking this.

Speaker 1: 35:04

Uh, but the germans are stealing 640 million or 640 billion in bitcoin. Yeah, why not?

Speaker 2: 35:10

oh, so I think it might be about time fun facts since we're coming up and talking about the conversion rate and what things were once worth. Uh, fun fact 640 million dollars, american in 1988, as of today is worth 1.69 billion with a b. With a b, carter was good, like this b, so that's basically like two and a half times.

Speaker 1: 35:39

That's insane. That's insane, yeah, so fun fact, bruce Willis at that time received $5 million for this role. That's a lot which was unheard of at the time and this is a guy who's never done an action movie. At the time he was, like we said, moonlighting blind date, did some stuff like that.

Speaker 2: 35:58

How did?

Speaker 1: 35:58

he swindle that Like his agent or somebody well, definitely would have been his agent, I guess was able to push for that?

Speaker 2: 36:04

Did you say his agent? Or his Asian, his Asian, no Tagaji.

Speaker 1: 36:08

Tagaji. No, his agent. I forget the gentleman's name, but he was the one that orchestrated it all and got the money for him. I mean, there was obviously which I don't know. If you have a list of people that were up for this role.

Speaker 2: 36:19

No, I've. So I've determined that I really wanted to leave some fun facts for you guys, because I spend so much time reading this movie, I feel like I'm just doing the whole thing and I don't want to do that. I want to share because sharing is caring.

Speaker 1: 36:32

Did you, matthew Broderick? Did you have a list?

Speaker 3: 36:34

No. Was Broderick, you said no, oh, you're just joking. Yeah, just made that shit up.

Speaker 1: 36:38

All right, so here's a I would see him in it.

Speaker 3: 36:40

I think he could have played a good role.

Speaker 1: 36:41

Here's a list of names. So I heard on well, I should say. I read on a couple different sites that the first person that they were thinking of was Frank Sinatra, because there was that's some made up shit.

Speaker 2: 36:55

No, no, that's not, that's actually not that far off. When this movie came or when the book came out oh, I got you the book author had written this with frank sinatra in mind, like he had just wanted whatever big fan he was, it was either yeah, like the, or the first run of this movie, or the first thought of it was to have frank, but yeah and it just because this book was old enough and frank was still able enough that yeah, they were going to pull him in for that so here's some other names robert de niro, richard gear, arnold sylvester salone, harrison ford get the home.

Speaker 1: 37:33

Mel gibson, clint eastwood, charles bronson, don Johnson, richard Dean Anderson that was MacGyver MacGyver and then Burt Reynolds, john Travolta, which they turned away from because he wasn't. This is about the time where his career was kind of dead before Tarantino brought him back in the 90s Michael Madsen. Oh, that's it. Oh, here's one that turned down the role of Hans Gruber. Sam Neill.

Speaker 2: 38:00

Oh.

Speaker 1: 38:01

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 38:02

Oh, that would have been a good one. He would have been very diabolical yeah.

Speaker 3: 38:06

No, what Dave said about Schwarzenegger they had him. They were going to cast him because they wanted to try to make it a sequel to like Commando.

Speaker 1: 38:13

Yes, I did hear about that. Yeah, really yes, did you see that? I did hear about that? Yeah.

Speaker 3: 38:16

Really. Yes, so it was based on that character. Well, they wanted to try to make it based on that character from the Commando movie, but that was said to be something. They didn't want to stretch it like that, so they didn't go through with it.

Speaker 1: 38:25

And there was a line in there about enough ammo to take down Arnold or something like that. Right, right that they made a con.

Speaker 2: 38:43

They would have changed, have made oh don johnson.

Speaker 1: 38:44

I think would have been good just because the timing was perfect for that miami vice and all that. And maybe somebody would mention before don johnson one or two bronson uh, you got stallone, harrison ford, mel gibson.

Speaker 2: 38:49

Oh, that's it, mel gibson. I think that would have worked for him too yeah otherwise anybody else is. Either look, you're set as indiana jones it there, or you're too old.

Speaker 1: 39:00

So to play Takachi. Originally it was going to be George Takei.

Speaker 2: 39:04

Really yeah, zulu, zulu Takachi.

Speaker 1: 39:08

So they really wanted to cast him, but his agent mixed all the things up and George Takei was not happy about it.

Speaker 2: 39:14

Yeah, that's fucked up. He wanted that role. He would have been good in um the book was called.

Speaker 1: 39:27

I forget. I had it there in the beginning nothing lasts forever or something forever something nothing lasts forever.

Speaker 3: 39:31

Yeah uh, clint eastwood actually held the movie rights to that and he was going to cast himself in it, but then he, he kind of was like you know I, he backed out of it, he backed out of it here's one you'll like, zap, give it to me.

Speaker 1: 39:45

Ronald reagan later rented the building, top floor, that actual building for his offices, the Fox building, yep yeah, after retiring from politics. When the Secret Service went up there to look everything over, they found all kind of bullet casings and stuff that were left over from filming, yeah. So they put two and two together and they thought it was foul play at first, but then they were like, oh wait, a minute, they filmed, die Hard, that's awesome. It's probably like leftover shelves from back when they filmed that.

Speaker 2: 40:09

Uh PS. God rest your soul.

Speaker 1: 40:12

Ronald.

Speaker 2: 40:13

Reagan yeah, mr, we could use a man like you again.

Speaker 3: 40:18

We could use a man in his maybe fifties or sixties.

Speaker 2: 40:21

There's that, yeah, there's that.

Speaker 3: 40:22

Sixties was good. I think Reagan was in his 60s right when he was prez. Maybe sure sounds right yeah, now what you got uh, the german terrorists in this movie were actually not german. They could speak no german they were all british, yeah they were just regular actor dudes except the one.

Speaker 1: 40:35

There was one guy, I think actually it was the dahmer guy. He was actually german. He was the only one that was really german. Where's blonde guy farm?

Speaker 2: 40:42

what? Where's? Uh, he's russian, oh gudenoff is russian.

Speaker 1: 40:46

Yeah, he was a ballet dancer.

Speaker 2: 40:47

Sneaky fucking russians. I did know that, that he was a ballet dancer. Yeah, not. Not to be confused with a private dancer private dancer for money tina turner I just heard that track today.

Speaker 3: 40:58

That's a great track tina turner is incredible hell yeah, yeah, if you guys got a chance, listen to uh, tina turner's uh what is this called? Her, not her soundtrack, her uh that. Catalog Very good, god rest her soul. Yeah, she was great.

Speaker 1: 41:12

So Alan Rickman he was 42 when they filmed this. This was his first feature film, first film that he was ever in. He was like a Shakespearean British actor.

Speaker 2: 41:21

He was a. British actor. He was in plays and stuff.

Speaker 1: 41:23

They saw him at a play he was doing Dangeraisons, I think it was. Oh, and they uh. They like he didn't want to do this movie. And they approached him and he's like, nah, I'm like good. His friends are like are you crazy? Like you just don't get offered a movie like that, like you should take it.

Speaker 3: 41:38

And then he reconsidered and took the movie um, I when mclean, when he goes down the ventilation shaft, that part it's iconic, pretty cool part he was supposed to grab. The stuntman was actually supposed to grab like the first rung of that wait, like stop.

Speaker 2: 41:50

Are you saying the part where he's crawling around with like the zippo and he's talking to himself, or are you talking about when he's bouncing around the elevator shaft?

Speaker 1: 41:56

the elevator, shaft, elevator, oh yes yeah, right before he grabs and climbs in with the zippo yeah and lights it up and he's like oh, come to the coast. Yeah, that it'll be fun. You come to the west coast. I think that's a scene what happened?

Speaker 3: 42:08

well, it was actually supposed to be a scene where he just like grabs the one wrong, but they let the whole thing go down like the whole ventilation shaft. Damn, that was a mistake. You don't say so this movie.

Speaker 1: 42:19

Like I said to me back then, I loved it. My dad loved it. I remember we watched it. I think that most people I talked to love die hard, but one person didn't. Back then, ro Ebert. He was one of the few critics that gave it a bad review.

Speaker 2: 42:31

Well, he's a racist, he must be. He hates Bruce Willis.

Speaker 1: 42:35

Yeah, but he later then changed his mind later on and said maybe I was wrong on it, I guess. But I guess when you're a movie critic like that, sometimes you got to take. You know, you can't always love everything.

Speaker 2: 42:46

Correct.

Speaker 1: 42:47

We kind of do that with some of these movies, I think sometimes, even if they're bad, we'll go. Whoa, it's nostalgic, you know. But in reality. If you look at the movie, it's pretty bad like maybe Rad, so Rad Cannonball Run.

Speaker 3: 43:01

I don't think Rad's up there with Cannonball Run oh Rad.

Speaker 2: 43:06

I mean Cannonball Run had the level of cheese beyond cheese it was like cheese cubed or cubed cheese.

Speaker 1: 43:09

Oh rad it depends on.

Speaker 2: 43:09

yeah, I mean Cannonball Run had the level of cheese beyond cheese. It was like cheese cubed or cubed cheese yeah. Which you find on your local party trays when you go to a.

Speaker 3: 43:15

Christmas party. Bruce Willis on the part in the computer room, remember with like the broken glass.

Speaker 1: 43:20

Yeah, all that stuff.

Speaker 3: 43:23

They made like actual fake feet for his feet, so it looked like but they say, if you slow it down and look at his feet, he got like these big like big foot. Yeah, big giant feet Cause they were made out of rubber, to put it was a rubber foot. Cause it's a glass shoe yeah To put on his foot.

Speaker 2: 43:35

Holy shit.

Speaker 3: 43:36

So he has really big feet. Those special effects dudes are pretty tricky.

Speaker 2: 43:39

Yeah.

Speaker 3: 43:39

They get you smart.

Speaker 1: 43:49

SMRT, some Simpsons reference. Also another Simpsons reference yes, what do you got? So the Hungarian title for this movie was Give your Life Expensive. So I was looking at it, which doesn't really make any sense, but it was funny because that's one of the many ways this was translated to other languages and none of them made sense.

Speaker 2: 44:02

Sure, go to a Chinese restaurant and look at the menu like Happy Family, fun, joy Right. Right. And look at the menu like happy family fun, joy Right.

Speaker 1: 44:07

Right, that's like that Chinese restaurant over here that we go to, and, like you, go on the webpage and it says across to Walmart.

Speaker 2: 44:16

That's fantastic. That is hilarious.

Speaker 3: 44:23

But they didn't. They didn't know how to put like the diehard movie into other countries. So it was like diehard is hard to say for like like, say like Mandarin or whatever.

Speaker 2: 44:27

Like death difficult.

Speaker 3: 44:28

So in the Czech Republic it was called lethal trap, In Norway it was called action skyscraper or the glass trap in Poland and it was called hard nut in Russia. What it's called hard nut, yeah.

Speaker 1: 44:44

That's awesome yeah.

Speaker 2: 44:45

Damn Russians. That's going to happen for sure when you get older.

Speaker 3: 44:49

And I guess Hungaryry called it. It was called Give your Life Expensive.

Speaker 1: 44:53

Yeah, that's the one that was one of the ones I saw, but yeah, none of them made sense like any other Hard nut I'm still laughing at Dave.

Speaker 2: 45:02

He said, yeah, when you get older it happened?

Speaker 1: 45:04

Those things dry up, it happened.

Speaker 2: 45:04

Those things dry up.

Speaker 1: 45:06

For sure. So 2007, Bruce Willis. He took the undershirt he used in the movie and donated it to the Smithsonian, Nice To be on display.

Speaker 2: 45:15

Nice, that wife beater Mm-hmm.

Speaker 1: 45:17

Huh. So around this time, him and Demi Moore were engaged. They were about to get married. So all that was going down during the filming of this Wait, weren't they? They did get married eventually.

Speaker 2: 45:25

Yeah, they had like three kids.

Speaker 3: 45:26

They were married for a long time. Then she dated like Ashton Kutcher or something.

Speaker 2: 45:29

She was not ugly no, still not. Well, she got a lot of work done.

Speaker 3: 45:35

She put some work in there. I work.

Speaker 2: 45:37

Get the job done so from the man himself, Baby.

Speaker 1: 45:40

I work From the man, so you know the eternal question here of Christmas movie or not. So the director said he thinks it isn't a Christmas. He thinks it is a Christmas film. Bruce Willis has stated he does not consider it a Christmas movie. He sees it as a summer action movie film with some resonance due to when it takes place. Sure, so yeah.

Speaker 2: 46:02

I mean, so I'm, I'm looking at this and I was going to say this for the end, but I'm happy to talk about it now. So, look, there is the ongoing discussion and look, everybody's got opinions right. Everybody's got their own opinion. I don't care.

Speaker 2: 46:12

So, in my particular opinion, I believe that you know, christmas movies celebrate the festivity right and the spirit of that holiday season. And there's one thing I know resonates in all Christmas movies true Christmas movies you got joy, love and nostalgia. Resonates in all christmas movies, true christmas movies you got joy, love and nostalgia. So in this you might see some joy, at the end you might see some love, but there's there's zero nostalgia. And by nostalgia I'm saying I can't look back and say man, I remember when I was a kid and we went to skyscrapers for christmas or you know what I mean.

Speaker 2: 46:43

Like there's no, yeah there's no elves, there's no decorations, there's no gifts there's no party, right it, whatever it decorations. There's no gifts. Christmas party Right.

Speaker 1: 46:50

Whatever, it's not that at all Different kind Former kind.

Speaker 2: 46:54

I agree with Bruce Willis on this.

Speaker 3: 46:58

Yeah, take it either way. Take it any way, you like it. It's still a good action movie.

Speaker 2: 47:01

That's right, all right, that's the yep.

Speaker 3: 47:06

Take it any way you like it. Any way you like it, die hard as a movie.

Speaker 1: 47:11

So I guess uh, matt, do you have any other fun facts?

Speaker 3: 47:14

No, yeah, I'm all funned out on that.

Speaker 1: 47:15

Zab anything we missed on the fun fact.

Speaker 2: 47:17

No, I mean, you guys did a great job on that.

Speaker 1: 47:19

Thank you, so I guess we'll get into the rating on this, sure, so we have late fee return or burn, I guess. Since it was my movie, I'll take it first, and I'm looking at this through my 12 year old lens, or 13 year old lens, okay, 13 years old vcrs got it, or?

Speaker 3: 47:38

13 years 13 year old, we got our vcr.

Speaker 1: 47:40

Yep popping gotcha, I'm late fee in this. I loved it. I remember, like I said, we watched it back to back. This was right at the perfect time that I was old enough to get everything that was going on in the movie. Nothing really went over my head. I could really appreciate all the things not that action movies, but you know, when you're a little kid and you watch, like Rambo for instance, I was much younger, there was a lot of shit that went over my head but. But I feel like at this time in my life I was old enough which I probably really shouldn't have been watching. To get it right 12 year based on the rating, but I was 13 I think by the time I saw this 13 going on 14. Um, that I loved it. I remember we watched it back to back. Like it's like a great memory I have with my dad that die hard. It was just a great movie. I loved it and I would wait for you okay I would matt you want to go?

Speaker 3: 48:29

yeah, sure, um, I would say I would, uh, I would watch it and return, like I like the movie. It wasn't anything that like. Uh, I don't think it's like it's. It's a fun movie to watch, it goes by quick, it's action packed. But, um, yeah, I'd watch it for that night, maybe watch again in the morning and return it. Return, but I'd watch it twice.

Speaker 2: 48:47

Yeah, I'm I'm with matt on that one. I would return it, but while I had it, I promise you I would watch the shit out of it. I would have, like, if I'm watching it on a friday night or whatever night, I would watch it back to back, for sure, and I would try to watch it again the next morning before I take it back I can appreciate that.

Speaker 1: 49:03

Yeah, it's really hard for me to say for sure, but I would well. This is definitely top five action movies of the eighties. For me it might be number one, oh damn.

Speaker 2: 49:13

Number one that's not bad, dude Cause. It is a good action. It is an incredible action movie.

Speaker 1: 49:18

I'll go that far, I'd have to go back and watch some of the other. Like Rambo was really great to watch the other week and week and, uh, you know that I've newfound appreciation for that movie. A lot of these other ones I haven't watched in a while. I remember what you talked about, commando. What was the other one predator? Was that in?

Speaker 3: 49:35

the 80s.

Speaker 1: 49:35

Oh yeah, predator is another one, uh, terminator I terminator 2 I like better than terminator 1, but that's a whole nother debate, I guess so I'm glad you mentioned that, because that holds a lot of influence with this movie. That is to say with regard to the influence.

Speaker 2: 49:51

There are very select few movies where the sequel is as good as or better than the first. So Terminator, terminator 2, for damn sure, those two are neck and neck, great, and in some cases, depending on what you're looking at, terminator 2 might even be better Because of the soundtrack, I believe Indiana.

Speaker 2: 50:07

Jones, same thing, that second one just as good as the first, if not better. Die hard, I think die hard 2 is just as good as the first one. You know, it's funny, they are neck and neck, the same movie, just one's in chicago and one's in la it's the same movie, but one is in chicago.

Speaker 1: 50:24

Yeah, but it is good, it is good shout out to rj uh guy I work with listen to the podcast religiously and he always tells me, like man, every time I listen to you guys's vintage cinema, I want to go out and watch this movie, like rad he never saw. And he's like I want to see this movie now. But I told him we're doing die hard. He's never seen it.

Speaker 1: 50:40

No, he's this kid sees every I say kid, he's probably 15 years younger than us but he has an appreciation for all these movies he's seen. He's seen most of them, right, but when I brought up die already said you know what I I think I like. I don't want to quote him on this, but I think what he said was he likes the second one the best and I I said well, I like the first one the best, but maybe it's because of that story I have and the nostalgia my dad and I watching it, sure, back to back and all that. But I I see what you're saying. I see with Terminator 2, the reason I think I like that better is the jump in special effects. You sure they had that whole new special effect they were using for the melting of the metal.

Speaker 2: 51:17

They were using magnets and mercury and shit like that and then they were doing crazy James Cameron, cgi stuff that was mind blowing and I mean that's far ahead of its time at the time. I mean they're far ahead of its time at the time.

Speaker 3: 51:26

Yeah, and messing with mercury is dangerous. Remember as a kid they said if you would break one of the thermometers, like you had to like call somebody to come and like clean it up.

Speaker 1: 51:34

You get mercury poisoning.

Speaker 3: 51:35

Mercury poisoning Die.

Speaker 1: 51:38

You know one other mailbag I forgot to mention and this had me thinking about. We should come out with an episode that is all about old, dirty basement references and what we're talking about. Because we're from central Pennsylvania, Harrisburg area, we talk a lot about stuff around us. One of our listeners, the snowman Sean. He keeps asking me about Rod's Roadhouse. Oh no, he's like, what's this Rod's Roadhouse? And blah blah. So I had to explain to him what Rod's Roadhouse is.

Speaker 3: 52:00

We actually went there for your bachelor party, didn't we?

Speaker 2: 52:02

That's where we started, we might have started there with beers and stuff. I think it's now called Rod's Cafe.

Speaker 1: 52:08

It might be Rod's Cafe. So I had to explain to him like this is what Rod's and he loves it. So now every time he texts me or something, he'll bring up Rod's Roadhouse.

Speaker 2: 52:16

You know what's cool about Rod's? We might actually fit in there now.

Speaker 1: 52:19

Yeah, that's actually where we probably belong Actually we're still young for Rod's.

Speaker 3: 52:23

I'm just saying.

Speaker 1: 52:24

I think we're still a little young.

Speaker 3: 52:25

We might be.

Speaker 1: 52:26

But what I was thinking, guys, is we should try to work on an episode where we go A to Z yeah, with everything we talk about that's local, yeah, so that these listeners from all over the world for that matter, country get the references.

Speaker 2: 52:37

I get the same thing, man. I get people asking me who are like from Philly or Boxco or whatever. Dude, they won't even say anything, they'll just say could you like? You don't you know, you understand that this is broadcast more than just to you. Know you're not on short band radio here, right? Could you please explain what you guys are talking about? Otherwise could you shut the hell up about all these local references. Nobody cares like. We love that. You guys are all friends and stuff, but nobody knows what the hell you're talking about.

Speaker 3: 53:03

I don't think we got too local in the last couple podcasts. No, no, there hasn no, there hasn't been anything like no, no, this is just in general.

Speaker 1: 53:08

over the whole span of our episodes, we'll bring up uh, you know, st Lawrence club. Well, you know.

Speaker 3: 53:14

Oh, so somebody says St Lawrence club. It's a small club in Stilton PA.

Speaker 1: 53:26

It's what's a you know, when we talk about this, and then we can go back a little banner explaining it and then, if they want to reference on it, hey, what are they talking about? That rods? Oh, go back to that episode.

Speaker 3: 53:36

You can hear what it is. Or you mean like Harrisburg or something in high spire or something in Middletown, whatever wants to know. Yeah, but anyway, shout out the snowman on that. He was talking about rods and got me to thinking about stuff we talked about in these episodes on a roadhouse. They probably let us in there to do a podcast. Wow, what channel.

Speaker 1: 53:57

Is this on?

Speaker 3: 53:57

yeah, what channel is that?

Speaker 1: 53:58

107.3 are you guys on? Is that? Yeah, yeah, that's what matt's uh dad early on when we did the podcast. He's like what station you guys?

Speaker 3: 54:07

like yo, this podcast man. What station, what's? I'm on it right now.

Speaker 1: 54:11

I'm like that it's not on the radio it's a stone cold groove man that's it, but yeah, anyway, man, we uh, we appreciate you guys listening, we love the feedback and we love when you guys reach out to us like that, so keep doing it. You guys got anything else in closing?

Speaker 3: 54:25

nope, not looking forward to the next one. That was fun. Thank you for the diehard, yeah, awesome.

Speaker 1: 54:30

So uh, don't forget to find us on facebook and instagram at old dirty basement, on tiktok, at old dirty basement podcast. I guess that's it for now, so we'll catch you where on the flip side, if we don't see you sooner, we'll see you

Speaker 3: 54:45

later peace thanks for listening to the vintage cinema review in the old dirty basement. If you dig our theme music like we do, check out the tsunami experiment, find them on facebook.

Speaker 1: 54:59

Their music is streaming on spotify and apple and where great music is available you can find us at old dirty basement on facebook and instagram and at old dirty basement podcast on tiktok. Peace, we outtie 5000.