DIE HARD BACK ON THE BIG SCREEN ON NOVEMBER 11TH & 14TH, COURTESY OF FATHOM EVENTS, TCM, AND 20TH CENTURY FOX!
Article by Adam Mast
Alternative programming titans Fathom Events continue to bring classic films of yesteryear back to theaters so these movies can be seen the way they were meant to be seen: On the big screen with amazing sound! The bigger the movie the grander the experience and they don’t get much bigger and grander than the holiday-inspired actioneer that is DIE HARD!!
Yes, DIE HARD is a Christmas movie! Maybe a tad unconventional, but a Christmas movie nonetheless. While this particular debate will rage on–even Bruce Willis himself was quick to suggest this is not a Christmas movie at a Comedy Central Celebrity Roast held in his honor–I will not be persuaded otherwise!
“Ho ho ho…Now I have a machine gun.”
“If this is their idea of Christmas, I gotta be here for New Years!”
Vaughn Monroe’s perfectly fitting rendition of “Let it Snow” even closes out the film.
This is to say nothing of the fact that John McClane’s entire motivation in this movie is to keep his wife safe. If the spirit of love and unity doesn’t scream Merry Christmas than I don’t know what does.
Of course, these are just a few of the shining examples of the yuletide cheer that awaits you as you take in a screening of this unforgettable action movie which, subsequently, celebrates its 30th anniversary this year! Along with said yuletide cheer, you’ll get plenty of flying bullets, broken glass, and huge explosions, too!
For the uninitiated, the set up in DIE HARD is simple: Police detective John McClane (Bruce Willis) leaves the confines of New York for Los Angeles where he hopes to reconnect with his estranged wife (Bonnie Bedelia) at a Christmas Eve party being held in an L.A. high rise. Terrorists–led by charismatic Hans Gruber (played to the hilt by the great Alan Rickman)–eventually seize the building and it’s up to every-man McClane to single-handedly take out the bad guys and save the day.
DIE HARD was directed by the gifted John McTiernan and released in 1988. It set a standard for a genre that some thought might have already run its course. It features a few of the greatest action sequences ever committed to film, launched “Moonlighting” lead Willis to superstardom, introduced us to a then virtually unknown Rickman (who, just a few short years later, would play another iconic villain in ROBIN HOOD), and paved the way for two entertaining follow-ups and a couple of sequels that aren’t entirely worth mentioning.
What else can I say about DIE HARD that hasn’t already been said? Simply put, it’s one of the greatest action films ever made, and again…
It also happens to be one hell of a Christmas movie!
DIE HARD will play at multiple theaters throughout the U.S. on November 11th and 14th. Check your local theater listings to see if it’s playing in your neck of the woods or, CLICK HERE!
On the horizon for Fathom Events…
BATMAN: MASK OF THE PHANTASM and Richard Donner‘s SUPERMAN, which I still maintain is the strongest superhero adaptation ever brought to the big screen.
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