Die Hard Die Hard Die Hard is a 1988 American action thriller film. It was directed by John McTiernan, and written by Steven E. de Souza and Jeb Stuart. It was produced by the Gordon Company and Silver Pictures, and distributed by 20th Century Fox. The film follows off-duty New York City Police Department officer John McClane (Bruce Willis) who is caught in a Los Angeles skyscraper during a heist led by Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman). It is based on Roderick Thorp's 1979 novel "Nothing Lasts Forever". Made for $28 million, "Die Hard" grossed over $140 million theatrically worldwide, with the film
Die Hard and feel of how action movies going forward were made, and which further changed with the evolution of CGI effects exemplified by "The Matrix" (1999). Scott Tobias of "The Guardian" observed that none of these following films readily captured the complete effectiveness of the "Die Hard" story. In 2001, "Die Hard" was listed at #39 on AFI's "100 Years... 100 Thrills", a list of America's most heart-pounding films. In 2003, Hans Gruber was listed at #46 on "the AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains" list. It was selected by "Empire" magazine as #29 on their "500 Greatest Movies of