Die Hard
1988 · Movie · R · 132 min · ★ 7.8 · 83% critics
A NYPD cop’s attempt to reconnect with his estranged wife at her office Christmas party goes badly when terrorists take over the building. With little help from local authorities, he must use his wits and limited resources to rescue the hostages and stop the attackers.
Based on Nothing Lasts Forever
Where to watch
Streaming on AMC+, Amazon Prime Video and Philo — or rent from $3.99.
2 hours to watch.
Stream (included)
Rent
Streaming availability and prices may be inaccurate or change — verify with the provider before subscribing.
unSUB's subscription recommendations are informational only, not financial advice.
More value for your money
Similar titles, ranked by watch-hours per subscription dollar.
Details
- Years
- 1988
- Release date
- 1988-07-15
- Language
- English
- Rated
- R
- Runtime
- 132 min
- Max quality
- UHD
- Critic score
- 83/100
- TMDB rating
- 7.8/10 (12,310 votes)
- Box office
- $141,603,197
- Budget
- $28,000,000
About
You’ll like Die Hard if you want a holiday-set action thriller with a regular-guy hero fighting back nonstop; Not for you if you dislike Christmas-themed danger, heavy violence, or tense hostage situations.
Pros: holiday atmosphere; quotable wisecracks; tense hostage stakes | Cons: dated details; brutally violent tone
Themes
- husband wife relationship
- based on novel or book
- s.w.a.t.
- fbi
- christmas party
- vault
- heist
- murder
- shootout
- los angeles, california
- terrorism
- one man army
- +15 more
Awards & recognition
- Japan Academy Prize — Outstanding Foreign Language Film · 1990
- Academy Award — Best Sound Editing · 1989 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Visual Effects · 1989 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Film Editing · 1989 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Sound · 1989 · nominated
Cast & crew
Bruce Willis
as John McClane
Alan Rickman
as Hans Gruber
Alexander Godunov
as Karl
Bonnie Bedelia
as Holly Gennaro McClane
Reginald VelJohnson
as Al Powell
Paul Gleason
as Dwayne Robinson
De'voreaux White
as Argyle
William Atherton
as Richard Thornburg
Hart Bochner
as Harry Ellis
James Shigeta
as Joseph Yoshinobu Takagi
Directed by John McTiernan