Today in History: Die Hard opens in theaters

The premiere was in Los Angeles 3 days prior but that doesn't apply to us peasants who would never be able to get into those events. For us "coach class" citizens this day would introduce us to a film that would go down in history as one of the greatest action films of all time.

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_{I don't know if this is genuine or not, it might be a bootleg}

The year was 1988 and I would imagine most of you were not alive. In the 80's we had become accustomed to all action films being required to star either Arnold Schwarzenegger or Sylvester Stallone, so switching over to the much smaller Bruce Willis was actually a refreshing change of pace for us normal-sized humans.

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I'm certain I don't need to explain the story to anyone and if I do, I'm a little disappointed in you. Die Hard is one of the most iconic action films of all time and is constantly referenced in pop culture even today. I hear it mentioned by Jake Perolta in Brooklyn 99 on a regular basis and a decade ago it was well-known to be Joey from FRIENDS favorite movie of all time.

Let's keep in mind that at the time Bruce Willis was mostly known for his comedic performances. This is mainly true for his co-starring role in a popular television program called "Moonlighting." He originally turned down the role due to contracts but when co-star Cybill Shepherd got pregnant, the filming of Moonlighting shut down for 11 weeks and therefore Bruce got the greenlight to do Die Hard. Thank goodness he did because it is difficult for me to imagine anyone else in the role of John McClane. Willis was paid $5 million for this role and while that is likely chump change by today's standards it was a really big deal at the time.

This was the first time that young me was introduced to Alan Rickman who played the iconic role of Hans Gruber, who was the leader of the baddies.

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The film stays captivating from start to end and that is pretty unusual in films. I was too young to see it in theaters when it was released (it was rated "R") but I have seen it at least a dozen times since then and will likely watch it again today.

The trailer is quite long and also featured the iconic narrator that did the voice for virtually all action film previews in the late 80's (his name is Don LaFontaine by the way.)

Die hard cost a then-staggering $28 million to make but in the end it made nearly $150 million at the box office. This figure would likely be scoffed at today where the blockbuster action films routinely pull in 3 -5 times that amount. Of course it likely went on to make many times that amount when we factor in royalty fees and VHS, then laserdisk, then DVD sales. It also categorically gets played every year as it is considered one of the most iconic Christmas films of all time despite the fact that it really doesn't have much of a Christmas theme other than the fact that the time-period in the film.

I love this movie and to me it is an example of a perfect action film with just the right amount of humor mixed into the action. This same formula is used in nearly any blockbuster action film that we see today.

Ho.... ho..... ho......