Directed by John McTiernan. Written by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza.

Hans Gruber

• [to hostages] I wanted this to be professional. Efficient, adult, cooperative, not a lot to ask. Alas, your Mr. Takagi did not see it that way, so he won't be joining us for the rest of his life.

• [As the vault doors begin to open, courtesy of the electricity being cut off] You ask for miracles, Theo: I give you the F...B...I.

Other

• Chief Dwayne T. Robinson: [Watching as the FBI helicopter is destroyed] We're gonna need some more FBI guys, I guess.

• Sgt. Al Powell: [to Chief Robinson] The man is hurting! He's alone, he's tired, he hasn't seen diddly squat from anyone down here... and you're going to stand there and tell me that he's going to give a damn about what you do to him, if he makes it out of there alive? Why don't you wake up and smell what you shovel'n?

Dialogue

McClane: Drop it, dickhead. It's the police.

Tony: You won't hurt me.

McClane: Oh, yeah? Why not?

Tony: Because you're a policeman. There are rules for policemen.

McClane: Yeah. That's what my captain keeps telling me. [Elbows Tony in the ear]

McClane: Mayday, Mayday, Emergency anyone copy, Channel Nine, terrorists have seized the Nakatomi Building, Century City, I repeat, unknown number of terrorists, six or more armed with automatic weapons on the thirtieth floor of Nakatomi Plaza.

LAPD Operator: [To other operator] I'll take this.

McClane: Somebody answer me, goddamn it!

LAPD Operator: This frequency is reserved for emergency communications...

McClane: No fucking shit, lady! Do I sound like I'm ordering a pizza!?

Hans: I thought I told all of you, I want radio silence until further...

McClane: Ooooh, I'm very sorry Hans. I didn't get that memo. Maybe you should've put it on the bulletin board. I figured since I've waxed Tony and Marco and his friend here, I figured you and Karl and Franco might be a little lonely, so I decided to give you a call.

Hans: Eh, that's... very kind of you, considering you are a mysterious party crasher. You are most troublesome, for a security guard.

McClane: Bzzzt. Sorry Hans, wrong guess. Would you like to go for Double Jeopardy where the scores can really change?

Hans: Who are you then?

McClane: Just a fly in the ointment, Hans. The monkey in the wrench. The pain in the ass.

Hans: Mr. Mystery Guest? Are you still there?

McClane: Yeah, I'm still here. Unless you wanna open the front door for me.

Hans: Uh, no I'm afraid not. But you have me at a loss. You know my name but who are you? Just another American who saw too many movies as a child? Another orphan of a bankrupt culture who thinks he's John Wayne? Rambo? Marshall Dillon?

McClane: Was always kinda' partial to Roy Rogers actually. I really dig those sequined shirts.

Hans: Do you really think you have a chance against us, Mister Cowboy?

[Elevator rings as Hans's minions arrive on John's floor]

McClane: [Quietly, as he backs through a door] Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker.

McClane: [After McClane causes an explosion with C4 in the building]Is the building on fire?

Al: No, but it's gonna need a paint job and a shit load of screen doors.

Deputy Chief Robinson: I got a hundred people down here and they're all covered in glass.

McClane: Glass? Who gives a shit about glass? Who the fuck is this?

Deputy Chief Robinson: This is Deputy Chief Dwayne T. Robinson, and I am in charge here.

McClane: Oh you're in charge? Well I got news for you Dwayne, from up here it doesn't look like you're in charge of jack shit.

Deputy Chief Robinson: You listen to me you little asshole—!

McClane: Asshole? I'm not the one who just got butt-fucked on national TV, Dwayne! Now, you listen to me, jerk-off, if you're not a part of the solution, you're a part of the problem. Quit being a part of the fucking problem and put the other guy back on!

Big Johnson: [Whooping as their helicopter buzzes along just above street level] Just like fuckin' Saigon! Eh, Slick?

Little Johnson: [grins back] I was in junior high, dickhead!

Taglines

• High above the city of L.A. a team of terrorists has seized a building, taken hostages and declared war. One man has managed to escape. An off-duty cop hiding somewhere inside. He's alone, tired... and the only chance anyone has got.

• Twelve terrorists. One cop. The odds are against John McClane... That's just the way he likes it.

• He's the only chance anyone has got.

• It's Christmas Eve In L.A. And The Party Action's About To Explode... On The Fortieth Floor!

• Suspense, Excitement, Adventure, On every level!

• 40 Stories High — with Suspense, Excitement and Adventure on every level!

• 40 Stories of Sheer Adventure

Cast

• Bruce Willis — John McClane
• Alan Rickman — Hans Gruber
• Bonnie Bedelia — Holly Gennero McClane
• Reginald VelJohnson — Sgt. Al Powell
• Paul Gleason — Deputy Police Chief Dwayne T. Robinson
• James Shigeta — Joseph Takagi
• Alexander Godunov — Karl
• Clarence Gilyard Jr. — Theo
• De'voreaux White - Argyle
• Hart Bochner — Harry Ellis
• Grand L. Bush — FBI Agent Johnson
• Robert Davi — FBI Special Agent Johnson