Great Scene: “Die Hard”

Compare script to screen for the explosive rooftop sequence.

Since today is Christmas, let’s celebrate by honoring that classic holiday movie Die Hard!

Hard to believe, but it was all the way back in 1988 that the action movie was released. It grossed $138M worldwide — not bad for a movie with a production budget of just $28M. People forget, but Bruce Willis was not a huge movie star when Die Hard came out. Fresh off his success in the TV series Moonlighting, Willis had had only one starring movie role in the underwhelming Blind Date (1987). It was a gamble for 20th Century Fox to go after Willis, especially for an action movie, when he had made a name for himself as a light romantic-comedy lead. But to his credit, producer Larry Gordon finagled a $5M offer to Willis, he bit, and the rest is history.

The scene here is taken from the shooting script, but still retains some great action-writing. Note the use of intercuts between various characters and sub-locations within the primary setting — those quick bits of business help to sustain the action. Also, the writers use CAPS on key words to highlight not only sound but also movement — that is one way to ‘direct’ a script without using directing lingo (e.g., ZOOM IN, TILT UP, PAN ACROSS) as the capped words naturally draw the reader’s attention. Caps can be overdone, but used judiciously, they can help break up scene description and punch certain key actions for readers.

Here is the scene from the movie:

Notice how many complications arise, one twist after another to make McClane’s jump to safety that much more harrowing — and worth it.

A paradigmatic action movie sequence!

For more Great Scene articles, go here.

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