Die Hard With A Vengeance
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''Die Hard with a Vengeance'' is a 1995 American
action thriller film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...
directed by
John McTiernan John Campbell McTiernan Jr. (born January 8, 1951) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for his action films, especially ''Predator (film), Predator'' (1987), ''Die Hard'' (1988), and ''The Hunt for Red October (film), The Hunt for Red ...
(who directed the first installment). It was written by
Jonathan Hensleigh Jonathan Blair Hensleigh (born February 13, 1959) is an American screenwriter and film director, working primarily in the action-adventure genre, best known for writing films such as ''Jumanji'', ''Die Hard with a Vengeance'', and ''Armageddon'' ...
, based on the screenplay ''Simon Says'' by Hensleigh and on the characters created by
Roderick Thorp Roderick Mayne Thorp, Jr. (September 1, 1936 – April 28, 1999) was an American novelist specializing mainly in police procedural/crime novels. His novel '' The Detective'' was adapted into a film of the same name in 1968. Thorp is also better ...
for his 1979 novel '' Nothing Lasts Forever''. ''Die Hard with a Vengeance'' is the third film in the ''Die Hard'' film series, after ''
Die Hard 2 ''Die Hard 2'' (also known by its tagline ''Die Harder'')The film's onscreen title is ''Die Hard 2'', as also given at the initial home-video release'official website The film's original advertising used "Die Harder" as a tagline, and many rele ...
'' (1990). It is followed by ''
Live Free or Die Hard ''Live Free or Die Hard'' (released as ''Die Hard 4.0'' outside North America) is a 2007 American action-thriller film directed by Len Wiseman, and serves as the fourth installment in the ''Die Hard'' film series. It is based on the 1997 articl ...
'' (2007) and ''
A Good Day to Die Hard ''A Good Day to Die Hard'' is a 2013 American action thriller film and the fifth and final installment in the ''Die Hard'' film series. The film was directed by John Moore and written by Skip Woods, and stars Bruce Willis as John McClane in hi ...
'' (2013). The film stars
Bruce Willis Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and appeared in over a hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero a ...
as
NYPD The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
Lieutenant
John McClane John McClane is a fictional character and main protagonist of the ''Die Hard'' film series, based on Joe Leland from Roderick Thorp's action novel, '' Nothing Lasts Forever''. McClane was portrayed in all five films by actor Bruce Willis, and ...
and
Samuel L. Jackson Samuel Leroy Jackson (born December 21, 1948) is an American actor and producer. One of the most widely recognized actors of his generation, the films in which he has appeared have collectively grossed over $27 billion worldwide, making him ...
as McClane's reluctant partner Zeus Carver, who team up to stop bomb threats across
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
carried out by "Simon" (
Jeremy Irons Jeremy John Irons (; born 19 September 1948) is an English actor and activist. After receiving classical training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Irons began his acting career on stage in 1969 and has appeared in many West End theatre ...
). It was released on May 19, 1995 to mixed reviews and became the highest-grossing film of the year. The film later gained a cult following and has been considered by many critics and fans as the best sequel of the franchise.


Plot

The
Bonwit Teller Bonwit Teller & Co. was an American luxury department store in New York City, New York, founded by Paul Bonwit in 1895 at Sixth Avenue and 18th Street, and later a chain of department stores. In 1897, Edmund D. Teller was admitted to the p ...
department store in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
is blown up by a bomb during the morning commute. A man identifying himself as "Simon" telephones the
New York City Police Department The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
(NYPD), claiming responsibility and threatens to detonate another bomb unless policeman,
John McClane John McClane is a fictional character and main protagonist of the ''Die Hard'' film series, based on Joe Leland from Roderick Thorp's action novel, '' Nothing Lasts Forever''. McClane was portrayed in all five films by actor Bruce Willis, and ...
, is sent to
Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...
wearing a
sandwich board A sandwich board is a type of advertisement tool composed of two boards with a message or graphic on it and being either carried by a person, with one board in front and one behind in a triangle shape, hinged along the top, creating a "sandwich" ...
with a racist slur on it. The NYPD comply and send McClane to Harlem, where he is confronted by an electrician and shop owner named Zeus Carver. McClane explains his situation before a nearby crowd also confronts McClane over his sign. Carver intervenes and saves McClane, and they escape in a car. They arrive at 1 Police Plaza, where Simon demands that the pair follow a timed challenge or he will set off more bombs. They agree and McClane eventually boards the 3 train heading towards the Wall Street station in order to defuse a bomb that Simon planted on it. Carver arrives at the station before McClane finds the bomb and throws it on the tracks just as it explodes. McClane and Carver regroup with the NYPD and meet some
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
and
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
agents, who initially inform the pair that Simon is "Peter Krieg", a
mercenary A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any o ...
and former
colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
in the
National People's Army The National People's Army (german: Nationale Volksarmee, ; NVA ) were the armed forces of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1956 to 1990. The NVA was organized into four branches: the (Ground Forces), the (Navy), the (Air Force) an ...
before revealing to them that Krieg is Simon Peter Gruber, the brother of
Hans Gruber Hans Gruber is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the 1988 action film ''Die Hard'' portrayed by Alan Rickman. Gruber is a cunning thief and criminal mastermind from East Germany who holds the Nakatomi Plaza hostage to steal $640 ...
, who McClane killed years earlier in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. Simon then places another call to the NYPD, informing them that he has planted an explosive in one of the city's
elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...
s which is set to explode once class ends and can be triggered by the same radio frequencies utilised by law enforcement. Simon offers to give the authorities the school's location if McClane and Carver follow another timed challenge, warning that he will detonate the explosive if any evacuation attempts are carried out. While the pair solve Simon's next challenge, the NYPD begin to search all elementary schools in the city. McClane realizes that Simon is attempting to distract the NYPD away from
Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...
, which has no schools, and travels to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York Building and discovers that Simon's men have stolen $140 billion of
gold bullion A gold bar, also called gold bullion or gold ingot, is a quantity of refined metallic gold of any shape that is made by a bar producer meeting standard conditions of manufacture, labeling, and record keeping. Larger gold bars that are produced ...
from there using
dump truck A dump truck, known also as a dumping truck, dump trailer, dumper trailer, dump lorry or dumper lorry or a dumper for short, is used for transporting materials (such as dirt, gravel, or demolition waste) for construction as well as coal. A typi ...
s. He follows the trucks into a water tunnel while Carver continues Simon's challenges. Simon blows up a
cofferdam A cofferdam is an enclosure built within a body of water to allow the enclosed area to be pumped out. This pumping creates a dry working environment so that the work can be carried out safely. Cofferdams are commonly used for construction or re ...
and floods the tunnel, but McClane escapes and reunites with Carver. Surviving a car chase with Simon's men, the pair find that they were carrying enough money to pay for a
bridge toll A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
. The pair sneak aboard a tanker docked in the
Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the Eas ...
, but Simon's associates capture them and tie them up next to a bomb. Simon explains that his school threat was fake and broadcasts a message claiming that he is planning on destroying the tanker to destabilize the
Western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and state (polity), states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania.
's economy. After he leaves, Carver and McClane free themselves and escape the tanker just before the bomb detonates. As McClane and Carver are debriefed by the NYPD, McClane informs them that none of the bullion Simon's men stole was on the tanker's
cargo hold 120px, View of the hold of a container ship A ship's hold or cargo hold is a space for carrying cargo in the ship's compartment. Description Cargo in holds may be either packaged in crates, bales, etc., or unpackaged (bulk cargo). Access to ho ...
, having deduced that Simon had intended to keep all of it for himself using his knowledge of the Gruber family's ''
modus operandi A ''modus operandi'' (often shortened to M.O.) is someone's habits of working, particularly in the context of business or criminal investigations, but also more generally. It is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as "mode (or manner) of op ...
''. While attempting to place a call to his estranged wife Holly, McClane glances at a bottle of
aspirin Aspirin, also known as acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used to reduce pain, fever, and/or inflammation, and as an antithrombotic. Specific inflammatory conditions which aspirin is used to treat inc ...
given to him by Simon onboard the tanker and notices that it was purchased at a
truck stop A truck stop, known as a service station in the United Kingdom, and a travel center by major chains in the United States, is a commercial facility which provides refueling, rest (parking), and often ready-made food and other services to motori ...
in the
Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...
of
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
on the
Canada–United States border The border between Canada and the United States is the longest international border in the world. The terrestrial boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Can ...
. McClane informs the NYPD of his discovery, and joins them and Carver as they rush towards a warehouse near the truck stop where Simon and his men are redistributing the bullion and planning their escape. The rest of Simon's men are quickly apprehended by law enforcement personnel, though Simon and his girlfriend Katya attempt to escape via a helicopter. McClane catches up to them and shoots at an overhead power line, which falls onto the helicopter, causing it to crash into the ground and explode. While they are celebrating their triumph, Carver persuades McClane to place another call to Holly again.


Cast


Production


Development and writing

As with most of the films in the series, the premise of this film was repurposed from a stand-alone project. Producer
Joel Silver Joel Silver (born July 14, 1952) is an American film producer. Life and career Silver was born and raised in South Orange, New Jersey, the son of a writer and a public relations executive. His family is Jewish. He attended Columbia High School i ...
and 20th Century Fox wanted the third ''Die Hard'' film to take place on a ship; to that effect, between 1991 and 1992 they hired screenwriter W. Peter Iliff to write a script for ''Die Hard 3'' which would take place on a cruise ship in the Caribbean, where John McClane and his wife are when it gets taken over by terrorists who threaten the passengers' lives with a bomb. Iliff had recently written ''
Point Break ''Point Break'' is a 1991 American action crime film directed by Kathryn Bigelow and written by W. Peter Iliff. It stars Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, Lori Petty and Gary Busey. The film's title refers to the surfing term " point break", wher ...
'' (1991), which turned into a huge hit and was a principal factor in his hiring. The initial version of ''Die Hard 3'' would have been based on a spec script titled ''Troubleshooter'' by James Haggin, who wrote it in late 1989 and sold it to Largo Entertainment in March 1990, before Fox bought it from them in 1991, as they considered it ideal for the next ''Die Hard'' sequel. The original script required a number of rewrites to bring it in line with the series; however, the addition of several action sequences inflated the expected budget considerably. Iliff's second re-write of the script was in progress when a similar film, titled ''Dreadnought'' and starring
Steven Seagal Steven Frederic Seagal (; born April 10, 1952) is an American actor, screenwriter and martial artist. A 7th-dan black belt in aikido, he began his adult life as a martial arts instructor in Japan and eventually ended up running his father-in-l ...
, went into production at Warner Bros. By the time Iliff completed his third re-write to remove or reduce similarities, the Seagal film was re-titled, first to ''Last To Surrender'' (because producers wanted three word title like Seagal's previous films had), and then to ''
Under Siege ''Under Siege'' is a 1992 American action thriller film directed by Andrew Davis, written by J. F. Lawton, and starring Steven Seagal as a former Navy SEAL who must stop a group of mercenaries, led by Tommy Lee Jones, after they commandeer the ...
'' (1992). Fox then decided it was pointless to keep trying to make this version of the third Die Hard film due to the perceived similarities. Ironically enough, before it was bought by Warner Bros for $1 million,
J.F. Lawton Jonathan Frederick Lawton (born August 11, 1960) is an American screenwriter, producer, and director. His screen credits include the box office hits '' Pretty Woman'', ''Mistress'', ''Blankman'', ''Under Siege'', '' Under Siege 2: Dark Territory ...
's original 1990 spec script for ''Under Siege'' (titled ''Dreadnought'') had been offered to Joel Silver to be possibly re-written into ''Die Hard 3'', but Silver had refused. During script development,
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
offered Iliff a job of re-writing ''Dreadnought'', not knowing he was already working on ''Die Hard 3''. Silver and Fox even bought another similar spec titled ''Supertanker'' in order to prevent it from being produced before ''Die Hard 3''."Confessions of a Hollywood Nobody" by Dan Bronson, Chapters 85 and 86 After the Iliff script was nixed, Largo Entertainment returned to the ''Troubleshooter'' script and tried to produce it as a feature film around 1994, without success. It was rumored that the script was later adapted and used for '' Speed 2: Cruise Control''.
Jan De Bont Jan de Bont (; born 22 October 1943) is a Dutch cinematographer, director and film producer. He is best known for directing the films ''Speed'' (1994) and ''Twister'' (1996). As a director of photography, de Bont also worked on numerous blockbus ...
, the director of ''
Speed In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a scalar quanti ...
'' and ''
Twister Twister may refer to: Weather * Tornado Aviation * Pipistrel Twister, a Slovenian ultralight trike * Silence Twister, a German homebuilt aircraft design * Wings of Change Twister, an Austrian paraglider design Entertainment * ''Twister'' (1989 ...
'' conceived the story for ''Speed 2'' independently from what was developed for the "cruise ship" version of ''Die Hard 3'', though certain elements were re-used in a minor capacity. Following all the issues during early development and previous problems he and
Bruce Willis Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and appeared in over a hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero a ...
had with one another following the very troubled production of ''
The Last Boy Scout ''The Last Boy Scout'' is a 1991 American buddy action comedy film directed by Tony Scott, written by Shane Black, and produced by Joel Silver. The film stars Bruce Willis, Damon Wayans, Chelsea Field, Noble Willingham, Taylor Negron and Danielle ...
'' (1991), Silver left the ''Die Hard 3'' production and never worked on any other ''Die Hard'' film or with Willis again, and
John McTiernan John Campbell McTiernan Jr. (born January 8, 1951) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for his action films, especially ''Predator (film), Predator'' (1987), ''Die Hard'' (1988), and ''The Hunt for Red October (film), The Hunt for Red ...
, who was going to return to direct this version of the third film, also quit the project. McTiernan disliked the concept of the entire film taking place on a ship. Director
Danny Cannon Daniel John Cannon (born 5 October 1968) is a British film and television producer, director and writer, known for executive producing the 15-season show ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' series franchise (and directed multiple episodes inclu ...
was then involved to direct the film for some time, possibly when later different scripts were in development. Between 1993 and 1994 at least three more versions of ''Die Hard 3'' were written, each one very different from the others. The first was written by
John Milius John Frederick Milius (; born April 11, 1944) is an American screenwriter, film director, and producer. He was a writer for the first two ''Dirty Harry'' films, received an Academy Award nomination as screenwriter of ''Apocalypse Now'' (1979), a ...
and it took place in a jungle, and after his version was rejected, two more were written at the same time by two different writers. One by
Doug Richardson Doug Richardson is an American screenwriter and novelist who writes action movies and thrillers. He is best known for writing movies like ''Die Hard 2'', '' Bad Boys'', and ''Hostage'' and was the first Hollywood writer to sell a spec script for ...
which took place in Los Angeles subways taken over by terrorists who are actually planning to rob the federal reserve of the city, and second by
John Fasano John Michael Fasano (August 24, 1961 – July 19, 2014) was an American screenwriter, film producer and director. In the length of his career, Fasano directed six films, produced twenty more, and wrote screenplays for at least eighteen others. F ...
which took place across an entire city (New York or L.A.) as McClane chases kidnappers who took his teenage daughter, thinking she was the daughter of some rich industrialist. Both scripts were rejected by Willis, who felt they were more like ''Die Hard'' rip-offs, although the ending of Richardson's script was used for the ending of ''Speed'', which Richardson confirmed in interviews. Interestingly, the "Die Hard in the jungle" storyline was also at one point going to be used for the fourth ''Die Hard'' film which was in development around 1997, based on the original script by
Alan B. McElroy Alan B. McElroy is an American screenwriter, producer, and director of film, television, comic books, and video games. He is best known for his collaborations with Todd McFarlane on the ''Spawn'' franchise, and for penning horror films such as ...
titled ''Tears of the Sun'', about a group of people who go to the Amazon to set up a radio relay station only to end up encountering drug dealers and then having to escape through the jungle from them. Bruce Willis really liked McElroy's script, which was also considered to be re-written into a new modern ''Tarzan'' film before Willis had it changed into ''Die Hard 4'', and when the version of ''Die Hard 4'' based on it wasn't made, he requested for the title of his 2002 action war film ''Man of War'' to be renamed to ''
Tears of the Sun ''Tears of the Sun'' is a 2003 American action thriller film depicting a fictitious U.S. Navy SEAL team rescue mission amidst the 21st-century version of the civil war in Nigeria. Lieutenant A.K. Waters (Bruce Willis) commands the team sent t ...
'', which is why the film is occasionally erroneously cited as being based on the same script as the unproduced ''Die Hard 4''. Finally, after
Brandon Lee Brandon Bruce Lee (February 1, 1965 – March 31, 1993) was an American actor and martial artist. Establishing himself as a rising action star in the early 1990s, he landed his breakthrough role as Eric Draven in the dark fantasy film ''The ...
's death on set of ''
The Crow The Crow is a supernatural superhero comic book series created by James O'Barr revolving around the titular character of the same name. The series, which was originally created by O'Barr as a means of dealing with the death of his fiancée at t ...
'', Fox took another spec script titled ''Simon Says'' by
Jonathan Hensleigh Jonathan Blair Hensleigh (born February 13, 1959) is an American screenwriter and film director, working primarily in the action-adventure genre, best known for writing films such as ''Jumanji'', ''Die Hard with a Vengeance'', and ''Armageddon'' ...
, which was offered as Lee's next film and considered as a sequel to Lee's '' Rapid Fire'', and decided to adapt it into what eventually became ''Die Hard With a Vengeance''. Hensleigh's original script was about a mad bomber who wants revenge against a police detective who is forced by the bomber to find and stop his bombs from exploding, and the only help he has is a shop owner who becomes involved by accident. Originally in early 1993 Joel Silver and Warner Bros. tried to buy ''Simon Says'' to have it re-written into ''Lethal Weapon 4'', but 20th Century Fox bought it instead. The script then went through dozens of different re-writes by writers such as Hensleigh, Dan Bronson,
Lorenzo Semple Jr Lorenzo Elliott Semple III (March 27, 1923March 28, 2014) was an American screenwriter and sometime playwright, best known for his work on the campy television series ''Batman'', who also received writing credit on the political/espionage films ...
,
David Shaber David Shaber (1929 – November 4, 1999) was an American screenwriter and theatre producer, who wrote the screenplays for '' The Warriors'', '' Nighthawks'', '' Rollover'', '' Last Embrace'' and '' Flight of the Intruder''. He also wrote the fi ...
, and others. At some point during re-writes Zeus was changed into a female character which
Angela Bassett Angela Evelyn Bassett (born August 16, 1958) is an American actress. She had her breakthrough with her portrayal of singer Tina Turner in the biopic ''What's Love Got to Do with It'' (1993), which garnered her a nomination for the Academy Award ...
was in talks to play. Even after the movie was completed, a new ending had to be written and filmed to replace the darker original ending, in which McClane is blamed for everything that's happened and loses his job, but still manages to track down Simon months later and makes Simon kill himself by accident after playing a game called "McClane Says".
Andy Vajna Andrew G. Vajna (born András György Vajna; 1 August 1944 – 20 January 2019) was a Hungarian film producer whose films include the first three entries in the ''Rambo'' series, '' Total Recall'', '' Tombstone'', '' Die Hard with a Vengeance' ...
replaced
Joel Silver Joel Silver (born July 14, 1952) is an American film producer. Life and career Silver was born and raised in South Orange, New Jersey, the son of a writer and a public relations executive. His family is Jewish. He attended Columbia High School i ...
and
Larry Gordon Larry Gordon (July 8, 1954 – June 25, 1983) was an American football linebacker who played seven seasons in the National Football League for the Miami Dolphins. A member of the Dolphins' Silver Anniversary team, he was in the starting lineup ...
as the producer on the film due to a fall-out with Willis. As a result, Vajna's company, Cinergi, acquired foreign rights to the film. Through their international distribution subsidiary - Cinergi Productions N.V. Inc., they pre-sold the movie to
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
and
Summit Entertainment Summit Entertainment is an American film production and distribution company. It is a label of Lionsgate Films, owned by Lionsgate Entertainment and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California. History Independent era (1991–2012) Summit E ...
, while Fox retained North American and Japanese rights. In July 1997, Cinergi sold its 50% stake in the film to Fox for $11.25 million.


Casting

Laurence Fishburne Laurence John Fishburne III (born July 30, 1961) is an American actor. He is a three time Emmy Award and Tony Award winning actor known for his roles on stage and screen. He has been hailed for his forceful, militant, and authoritative charact ...
was originally offered the co-starring role of Zeus Carver, a part also written for him, but wanted a higher fee. Producer Andy Vajna held out on the deal. Fishburne had earlier turned down the role of Jules Winnfield in ''
Pulp Fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, who conceived it with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; Starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Ving Rhame ...
'', which was eventually played by Samuel L. Jackson. Fishburne was talked out of playing Jules by his representatives who wanted him to only accept leading parts, otherwise he would be stuck career-wise as a supporting actor. Subsequently, ''Pulp Fiction'' premiered at the
Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
during the same time as Fishburne's pay negotiations. Vajna also attended the event to support Willis who was appearing in the
Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, Black comedy, dark humor, Nonlinear narrative, non-lin ...
film. Tarantino recalled that Vajna was so impressed by Jackson's performance that he offered him the part of Carver instead. Fishburne later filed a lawsuit against Vajna's company Cinergi for reneging on a verbal agreement. The lawsuit took two years and Fishburne received a settlement.


Music


Soundtrack


RCA Victor album

Michael Kamen Michael Arnold Kamen (April 15, 1948 – November 18, 2003) was an American composer (especially of film scores), orchestral arranger, orchestral conductor, songwriter, and session musician. Biography Early life Michael Arnold Kamen was born in ...
returned to score the third film, again incorporating other material into his score (most notably "
When Johnny Comes Marching Home "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" (Roud 6637), sometimes "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again", is a popular song from the American Civil War that expressed people's longing for the return of their friends and relatives who were fighting in the ...
", not included on the soundtrack album). Excerpts from his scores for ''Die Hard'' and ''
Die Hard 2 ''Die Hard 2'' (also known by its tagline ''Die Harder'')The film's onscreen title is ''Die Hard 2'', as also given at the initial home-video release'official website The film's original advertising used "Die Harder" as a tagline, and many rele ...
'' were also included in the new film. The soundtrack was released by
RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...
. # Summer in the City
The Lovin' Spoonful The Lovin' Spoonful is an American rock band popular during the mid- to late-1960s. Founded in New York City in 1965 by lead singer/songwriter John Sebastian and guitarist Zal Yanovsky, the band is widely known for a number of hits, including " ...
(2:44) # Goodbye Bonwits (6:28) # Got It Covered –
Fu-Schnickens Fu-Schnickens were an American hip-hop trio from 1988 to 1995, based in Brooklyn, New York. History Fu-Schnickens was composed of Chip Fu (Roderick Roachford), Moc Fu (Joe Jones), and Poc Fu (Lennox Maturine). ''Fu'' stood for unity and '' ...
(4:13) # John and Zeus (3:19) # In Front of Kids – Extra Prolific (2:44) # Papaya King (5:20) # Take A-nother Train (2:55) # The Iron Foundry –
Alexander Mosolov Alexander Vasilyevich MosolovMosolov's name is transliterated variously and inconsistently between sources. Alternative spellings of Alexander include Alexandr, Aleksandr, Aleksander, and Alexandre; variations on Mosolov include Mossolov and Mossol ...
(3:08) # Waltz of the Bankers (4:13) # Gold Vault (3:45) # Surfing in the Aqueduct (2:30) # Symphony No. 1
Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...
(15:00) # Symphony No. 9
Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...
(9:46)


La-La Land album

In 2012, La-La Land Records released a limited edition two-disc soundtrack containing the Kamen score. All tracks composed by Michael Kamen except where noted. # Summer in the City
The Lovin' Spoonful The Lovin' Spoonful is an American rock band popular during the mid- to late-1960s. Founded in New York City in 1965 by lead singer/songwriter John Sebastian and guitarist Zal Yanovsky, the band is widely known for a number of hits, including " ...
(2:45) (by
John Sebastian John Benson Sebastian (born March 17, 1944) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and harmonicist who founded the rock band The Lovin' Spoonful. He made an impromptu appearance at the Woodstock festival in 1969Steve Boone Steve Boone (born September 23, 1943, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina) is an American bass guitarist and music producer, who is both a founding member and current member of the folk-rock group The Lovin' Spoonful. Steve co-wrote two of the groups' ...
) # Main Title (0:16) (cue deleted from final film) # Goodbye Bonwits (6:28) # John and Zeus (3:20) # Taxi (1:51) # Neat Bomb (2:11) # Papaya King (5:19) # 72nd Street Phone (3:18) # Taxi Chase (5:08) # The Subway, Pt. 1 (4:24) (final film version) # The Subway, Pt. 2 (2:15) (final film version) # Take a-nother Train (2:54) # Feds (4:42) # Rings a Bell (8:28) (features music from
Ode to Joy "Ode to Joy" (German language, German: , literally "To heJoy") is an ode written in the summer of 1785 by German poet, playwright, and historian Friedrich Schiller and published the following year in ''Thalia (magazine), Thalia''. A slightl ...
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Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...
) # Infiltration (5:33) (features music from
Ride of the Valkyries The "Ride of the Valkyries" (german: Walkürenritt Ritt der Walküren, links=no) refers to the beginning of act 3 of ''Die Walküre'', the second of the four operas constituting Richard Wagner's ''Der Ring des Nibelungen''. As a separate piece ...
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Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...
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When Johnny Comes Marching Home "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" (Roud 6637), sometimes "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again", is a popular song from the American Civil War that expressed people's longing for the return of their friends and relatives who were fighting in the ...
by Louis Lambert (
Patrick Gilmore Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore (December 25, 1829 – September 24, 1892) was an Irish-born American composer and bandmaster who lived and worked in the United States after 1848. While serving in the Union Army during the U.S. Civil War, Gilmore ...
)) # Bank Invasion (4:15) # Back to Wall Street (2:55) # Fake Cops (1:42) # The Federal Reserve (2:18) (features music from
Daisy Bell "Daisy Bell (Bicycle Built for Two)" is a song written in 1892 by British songwriter Harry Dacre with the well-known chorus "Daisy, Daisy / Give me your answer, do. / I'm half crazy / all for the love of you", ending with the words "a bicycle bu ...
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Harry Dacre Harry Dacre was the pen-name of Frank Dean (September 1857–16 July 1922), a British songwriter best known for his composition "Daisy Bell (Bicycle Built For Two)". Biography Dean was born on the Isle of Man, where he was baptised on 6 Septem ...
& When Johnny Comes Marching Home) # Bank Elevevator (2:54) (features music from When Johnny Comes Marching Home) # Gold Room Aftermath (1:36) # Panic (2:04) # Aqueduct (2:10) # Santa Claus (2:36) # Yankee Stadium & School and Tunnel (3:42) (features music from When Johnny Comes Marching Home) # Refrigerator Bomb (0:40) # Surfing in the Aqueduct (2:29) # Ticking Refrigerator (0:50) # Mercedes Chase & School Assembly (3:14) # Aftermath & Waiting and Falling (2:00) # Hooking the Boat (5:45) (final film version) # Bunny & Fire Drill (2:39) # Running in the Halls (1:42) # Bomb Goes into Hold (5:42) # John Makes it Mad (1:39) # Holly & Celebration (3:17) (features music from When Johnny Comes Marching Home) # Oh, Canada! (Showdown with a Vengeance) (3:23) (features music from
O Canada "O Canada" (french: Ô Canada, italic=no) is the national anthem of Canada. The song was originally commissioned by Lieutenant Governor of Quebec Théodore Robitaille for the 1880 Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day ceremony; Calixa Lavallée composed the mus ...
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Calixa Lavallée Calixa Lavallée (December 28, 1842 – January 21, 1891) was a French-Canadian-American musician and Union Army band musician during the American Civil War. He is best known for composing the music for "O Canada," which officially became the na ...
& Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier) # Johnny Comes Marching Home (End Credits) (1:45) (features music from When Johnny Comes Marching Home) # Regret (1:50) # Hooking the Boat (4:23) (version from earlier cut of the film) # On the Freighter & John Makes it Mad (3:33) # Wall Street Station (1:29) # The Subway, Pt. 1 (1:30) (segment deleted from final film version) # The Subway, Pt. 2 (0:47) (segment deleted from final film version) # Ode to Johnny (3:13) (features music from Ode to Joy and When Johnny Comes Marching Home) # No Rush (1:20) # Escape (2:04) # The Foundry (
Iron Foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...
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(3:09) # Waltz of the Bankers (4:17) (track original to the first soundtrack album) # Gold Vault (3:50) (track original to the first soundtrack album) # Somebody Had Fun (Wild Snare) (1:14) # Johnny Comes Marching Home (Wild Vamps) (1:28) (features music from When Johnny Comes Marching Home)


Release


Theatrical

Unlike its predecessors, ''Die Hard with a Vengeance'' did not take place during
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...
. It opened in theaters on May 19, 1995, five years after ''
Die Hard 2 ''Die Hard 2'' (also known by its tagline ''Die Harder'')The film's onscreen title is ''Die Hard 2'', as also given at the initial home-video release'official website The film's original advertising used "Die Harder" as a tagline, and many rele ...
''. Despite concerns about the film portraying bomb threats and terrorism with the
Oklahoma City bombing The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic terrorist truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, on April 19, 1995. Perpetrated by two anti-government extremists, Timothy McVeigh and Terry N ...
having occurred the previous month, the film was released as originally scheduled.


Home media

''Die Hard with a Vengeance'' was released on VHS on December 19, 1995 along with a
THX THX Ltd. is an American company that develops the eponymous high fidelity audio/visual reproduction standards for movie theaters, screening rooms, home theaters, computer speakers, gaming consoles, car audio systems, and video games. Founded ...
certified version. It was then released on
LaserDisc The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as DiscoVision, MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diam ...
on January 17, 1996, and on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
on March 9, 1999. A special edition was released on DVD on July 10, 2001 and then re-released in February 2005 and 2007. The film was released on
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
in 2007 and 2013.


Alternative ending

An alternative ending to the one shown in the final movie was filmed with Jeremy Irons and Bruce Willis, set some time after the events in New York. It can be found on the Special Edition DVD. In this version, it is presumed that the robbery succeeds, and that McClane was used as the scapegoat for everything that went wrong. He is fired from the NYPD after more than 20 years on the force and the FBI has even taken away his pension. Nevertheless, he still manages to track Simon using the batch number on the bottle of aspirins and they meet in a bar in Hungary. In this version, Simon has double-crossed most of his accomplices, gotten the loot to a safe hiding place somewhere in Hungary, and has the gold turned into statuettes of the
Empire State Building The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from "Empire State", the nickname of the st ...
in order to smuggle it out of the country; but he is still tracked down to his foreign hideaway. McClane is keen to take his problems out on Simon, who he invites to play a game called "McClane Says". This involves a form of Russian roulette with a small Chinese rocket launcher that has had the sights removed, meaning it is impossible to determine which end is which. McClane then asks Simon some riddles similar to the ones he played in New York. When Simon gets a riddle wrong, McClane forces him at gunpoint to fire the launcher, which fires the rocket through Simon, killing him. In the DVD audio commentary, screenwriter Jonathan Hensleigh claims that this version was dropped because the studio thought it showed a more cruel and menacing side to McClane, a man who killed for revenge rather than in self-defense. The studio was also displeased with the lack of action in the scene, feeling that it did not fit as a "climax" and therefore chose to reshoot the finale as an action sequence at a significant monetary cost. Hensleigh's intention was to show that the events in New York and the subsequent repercussions had tilted McClane psychologically. This alternative ending, set some time after the film's main events, would have marked a serious break from the ''Die Hard'' formula, in which the plot unfolds over a period of roughly 12 hours. According to the DVD audio commentary, a second alternative ending had McClane and Carver floating back to shore on a makeshift raft after the explosion at sea. Carver says it is a shame the bad guys are going to get away; McClane tells him not to be so sure. The scene then shifts to the plane where the terrorists find the briefcase bomb they left in the park and which Carver gave back to them (in this version it was not used to blow up the dam). The film would end on a darkly comic note as Simon asks if anyone has a four-gallon jug. This draft of the script was rejected early on – possibly due to the similarity of the ending to ''
Die Hard 2 ''Die Hard 2'' (also known by its tagline ''Die Harder'')The film's onscreen title is ''Die Hard 2'', as also given at the initial home-video release'official website The film's original advertising used "Die Harder" as a tagline, and many rele ...
'', where all the villains board a plane that later explodes – so it was never actually filmed. The rocket-launcher sequence was the only alternative ending to be filmed.


Reception


Box office

''Die Hard with a Vengeance'' opened in the United States on May 19, 1995 and earned $22,162,245 in its opening weekend. In Japan, it set a record opening for 20th Century Fox with a five-day gross of $13.5 million, beating ''
Return of the Jedi ''Return of the Jedi'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi'' is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand. The screenplay is by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas from a story by Lucas, who ...
'' and ranking
number one Number One most commonly refers to: * 1 (number) Number One, No. 1, or #1 may also refer to: Music Albums * ''Number 1'' (Big Bang album), and the title song * ''No. 1'' (BoA album), and the title song * ''No.1'' (EP), by CLC * ''n.1 ...
for five consecutive weeks, grossing over $81 million. Its opening in France set a summer record with a gross of $8.8 million in its first 8 days. The film went on to gross $100,012,499 in the United States and Canada, and $266,089,167 in other markets, giving it a total worldwide gross of $366,101,666 and making it the highest-grossing film of 1995.


Critical response

On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film has an approval rating of 58% based on 77 reviews, with an average rating of 6.10/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "''Die Hard with a Vengeance'' gets off to a fast start and benefits from Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson's barbed interplay, but clatters to a bombastic finish in a vain effort to cover for an overall lack of fresh ideas." On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the film has a score of 58 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by
CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
of ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
'' gave the film three stars out of four, praising the action sequences and the performances of Willis, Jackson, and Irons, concluding: "''Die Hard with a Vengeance'' is basically a wind-up action toy, cleverly made, and delivered with high energy. It delivers just what it advertises, with a vengeance." ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
''s
Owen Gleiberman Owen Gleiberman (born February 24, 1959) is an American film critic who has been chief film critic for ''Variety'' magazine since May 2016, a title he shares with . Previously, Gleiberman wrote for ''Entertainment Weekly'' from 1990 until 2014. ...
disliked the film, stating that while " ohnMcTiernan stages individual sequences with great finesse... they don't add up to a taut, dread-ridden whole".
James Berardinelli James Berardinelli (born September 25, 1967) is an American film critic and former engineer. His reviews are mainly published on his blog ''ReelViews.'' Approved as a critic by the aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, he has published two collections of r ...
thought that the explosions and fights were "filmed with consummate skill, and are thrilling in their own right".
Samuel L. Jackson Samuel Leroy Jackson (born December 21, 1948) is an American actor and producer. One of the most widely recognized actors of his generation, the films in which he has appeared have collectively grossed over $27 billion worldwide, making him ...
's performance in the film was also praised by critics.
Desson Howe Desson Patrick Thomson is a former speechwriter for the Obama administration and former Film criticism, film critic for ''The Washington Post''. He was known as Desson Howe until 2003 when he changed his name after reuniting with his birth fath ...
of ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' thought that "the best thing about the movie is the relationship between McClane and Zeus," saying that Jackson was "almost as good as he was in ''
Pulp Fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, who conceived it with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; Starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Ving Rhame ...
''." For ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'', Brian Lowry wrote the film was the "least accomplished" of the ''Die Hard'' series, but "even a subpar adventure won't kill this series, as the pic's built-in audience will make it a major summer attraction, if perhaps one lacking quite the stamina of the first two movies". ''
Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
'' magazine's Ian Nathan gave the film a three out of five stars review, stating that "''Die Hard with a Vengeance'' is better than ''Die Hard 2'', but not as good as the peerless original. Though it's breathless fun, the film runs out of steam in the last act. And Jeremy Irons' villain isn't fit to tie
Alan Rickman Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman (21 February 1946 – 14 January 2016) was an English actor and director. Known for his deep, languid voice, he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and became a member of the Royal Shakespe ...
's shoelaces." In the ''Crime Time Filmbook'', which archives various UK film reviews, the film was given a 5/5 star review citing it as "...simply the best Action film of the decade, leaving imitators like '' Bad Boys'', ''
Executive Decision ''Executive Decision'' is a 1996 American action film directed by Stuart Baird in his directorial debut. The film stars Kurt Russell, Steven Seagal, Halle Berry, John Leguizamo, Oliver Platt, Joe Morton, David Suchet, and B.D. Wong. It depict ...
'', '' The Rock'' and ''
Chain Reaction A chain reaction is a sequence of reactions where a reactive product or by-product causes additional reactions to take place. In a chain reaction, positive feedback leads to a self-amplifying chain of events. Chain reactions are one way that syst ...
'' in varying depths of shadow. ''Empire'' considered it to be one of the 50 greatest film sequels in 2009. Ben Sherlock of ''
Screen Rant ''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and film theories. ''Screen Rant'' was launched by Vic Holtreman in 2003, and originally had its primary office in Ogden, Utah. ''Scr ...
'' regarded it as the best sequel of the franchise. Johnny Hoffman from Movieweb considered it a step up from the previous film and praised Willis and Jackson's chemistry and the action scenes.


Novelization

A
novelization A novelization (or novelisation) is a derivative novel that adapts the story of a work created for another medium, such as a film, TV series, stage play, comic book or video game. Film novelizations were particularly popular before the advent of ...
by Deborah Chiel was first published on May 28, 1995. The novel is written in third person omniscient and has a somewhat darker tone in comparison to the final film. The novel provides a deeper exploration into McClane's psyche and shows how angry and broken he has become since leaving Holly and becoming an alcoholic. McClane's introduction is also different. In the film, McClane is first seen in the police van to Harlem while being briefed on what is going on. The novel includes a scene before this where Connie and Joe find McClane in his messy apartment. Simon's henchwoman Katya appears much later into the story than she does in the film. She is not involved in the Federal Reserve robbery and instead appears just before Simon and Targo take off in one of the dump trucks. Like the final film, she ends up killing Targo for Simon. The original placement of the "Yippee-Ki-Yay" line is included. Instead of being used at the end, McClane uses the line when talking to Simon over the radios while in the aqueducts. This was meant to be in the same vein as the original use of the line in the first movie. Zeus' original backstory is presented in the novel, explaining why he is looking after his nephews and why he hates white people. During the car chase, Zeus explains that his brother was killed during a drug raid. When McClane suggests that it was his brother's own fault, Zeus explains that his brother was never involved in drugs and the only reason he was there was to bring Zeus home. The novel also uses the "McClane Says" ending rather than the film's version of the finale.


References


External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Die Hard with a Vengeance 1995 films 1995 action thriller films 1990s buddy cop films 1990s English-language films 1990s heist films 20th Century Fox films American action thriller films American buddy cop films American films about revenge American heist films American sequel films Cinergi Pictures films Die Hard Fictional portrayals of the New York City Police Department Films about the New York City Police Department Films about terrorism in the United States Films directed by John McTiernan Films scored by Michael Kamen Films set in New York City Films set in Quebec Films shot in Connecticut Films shot in Maryland Films shot in New York City Films shot in South Carolina Films produced by John McTiernan 1990s American films