Die Hard is one of the most popular action movies ever made. It’s the rare intelligent action movie whose timeless appeal stems from its subversion of the macho tropes in the Arnold Schwarzenegger or Sylvester Stallone-starring muscle flicks of its time. Die Hard is funny without sacrificing character moments; in fact, the humor only serves to flesh out the characters into human beings with real wants and needs.
While the action scenes are each memorable in their own way, Die Hard is incredibly quotable, with even the smallest character catching at least one killer line. To celebrate the Bruce Willis starring film, we look back at some of the best quotes the iconic film is still remembered for.
New York City policeman John McClane (Bruce Willis) is visiting his estranged wife (Bonnie Bedelia) and two daughters on Christmas Eve. He joins her at a holiday party in the headquarters of the Japanese-owned business she works for. But the festivities are interrupted by a group of terrorists who take over the exclusive high-rise, and everyone in it. Very soon McClane realizes that there’s no one to save the hostages — but him.
- Release Date
- July 15, 1988
- Runtime
- 132 minutes
- Writers
- Roderick Thorp , Jeb Stuart , Steven E. de Souza
- Franchise
- Die Hard
- Sequel
- Live Free or Die Hard, Die Hard With a Vengeance, Die Hard 2, A Good Day to Die Hard
- Cinematographer
- Jan de Bont
- Producer
- Lawrence Gordon, Joel Silver
- Production Company
- Silver Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox, Gordon Company
- Budget
- $28 million
10 “I read about them in Time magazine.”
Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman)
While Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) goes over his list of demands with Deputy Chief of Police Dwayne T. Robinson (Paul Gleason), the fraudulent terrorist rolls through a long list of imprisoned resistance leaders throughout the world he wishes to be freed. As Gruber gets to the Asian Dawn leaders, his second in command, Karl (Alexander Godunov), mouths silent bewilderment. Gruber takes his finger off the radio to say, “I read about them in Time,” admitting he knows very little about the things he’s asking for.
Gruber only needs to sound smart long enough to create the necessary diversion.
The character of Hans Gruber is almost constantly posturing as something he’s not, regardless of the scenario. He is playing with his food, so to speak, and he doesn’t need to be smart at this moment; Gruber only needs to sound smart long enough to create the necessary diversion. By throwing out a reference to something he casually read, the audience sees how little Gruber respects the intelligence of the men with guns outside.
9 “The quarterback is toast!”
Theo (Clarence Gilyard)
When the LAPD finally arrive at Nakatomi Plaza, the SWAT team storm the building with an overconfident approach that leaves their team wounded and their armored car smoking rubble. As the team is quickly dismantled by the criminals, Theo (Clarence Gilyard), Gruber’s tech expert, playfully commentates on their one-sided victory. The whole scene is a prime example of showing, not telling, as viewers see how amused the criminals are at what appears to be a coordinated and intimidating attack. The criminals, by all accounts, are having a great time and take pleasure in being smarter than their predictable adversaries.
Theo delivers the line with such smartass humor that he becomes relatable and identifiable as someone to get a beer with, that is, if he wasn’t trying to kill innocent people. So the next time someone says a movie needs to be three hours to give each character a moment to define their personality, remember that one well-delivered line can do the same thing.
8 “Only John can drive somebody that crazy.”
Holly Gennaro (Bonnie Bedelia)
After Gruber has an exhilarating face-to-face with John McClane (Bruce Willis), he returns to the hostages with the explosive detonators and a furious Karl. Holly Gennaro (Bonnie Bedelia) watches Karl sullenly storm away before taking out his frustration on a nearby bar. An astute study of character and behavior, Holly knows by looking at the brooding killer that her estranged husband is still alive somewhere in the building.
What Die Hard does so well in its quieter moments is creating a shared history with the characters. So often in action movies, even the best ones, the hero is meant to be cool and not much else. But John McClane isn’t a paper-thin archetype of hypermasculine escapism; he’s a regular guy whose marriage is suffering because he’s stubborn. When Holly finds out her husband is still alive because she’s felt a similar frustration dealing with him, she smiles with gratitude that John is exactly the man she knew him to be at that moment.
7 “I am an exceptional thief, Mrs. McClane, and since I’m moving up to kidnapping, you should be more polite. ”
Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman)
With the recently acquired information that Holly is McClane’s wife, Gruber takes her hostage while scrambling to grab the bonds he came for. Holly disgustedly observes him scrounging for valuables and calls him nothing more than a common thief. Insulted, Gruber stops what he’s doing to correct her judgment of him and remind her who’s in charge. Holly doesn’t push further, but it’s clear she’s struck a nerve.
His poise unwavering even when rattled, Gruber insinuates the threat of death in the same well-mannered way of speaking that makes him such a unique villain.
Even when on his back foot and forced to improvise, Gruber can’t help but give himself a compliment while threatening Holly. His poise unwavering even when rattled, Gruber insinuates the threat of death in the same well-mannered way of speaking that makes him such a unique villain. Gruber’s vanity is on display throughout the whole film, with his plan an ego-driven assumption that he could effortlessly create the perfect heist.
6 “We’re gonna need some more FBI guys, I guess.”
Dwayne T. Robinson (Paul Gleason)
The FBI team of Johnson (Grand L. Bush) and Johnson (Robert Davi) speed in their helicopter toward Nakatomi Plaza, preparing to kill the terrorists and an acceptable number of hostages. They arrive in time to see McClane waving the hostages off the roof before it can blow, and they mistakenly think he’s one of their targets. Meanwhile, Gruber orders the roof to be blown up by explosives before the hostages have a chance to clear. McClane escapes the explosion in spectacular fashion, but the FBI isn’t as lucky. When the flaming helicopter crashes on the ground, Robinson assesses the situation with the same professional excellence he’s demonstrated thus far.
Like so much of the script, the line is good for a laugh to alleviate the tension after a thrilling series of events, but it also tells the audience something important.
Robinson was elated to be a spectator for the mythical FBI when they walked onto the scene, and to see them dispatched so quickly is clearly deflating. Between the options of being back in charge of what is becoming an exponentially larger disaster or grabbing another round of people to call the shots, Robinson doesn’t even consider the former. Like so much of the script, the line is good for a laugh to alleviate the tension after a thrilling series of events, but it also tells the audience something important. In this case, McClane is on his own.
5 “I’m gonna kill you! I’m gonna f**king cook you, and I’m gonna f**king eat you!”
John McClane (Bruce Willis)
McClane and Karl are finally able to have the fight that’s been building since he killed his brother. Karl gets the drop on McClane as he discovers the planted explosives, but Karl savors the moment too long, and McClane is able to fight back. The fight is exhaustively long, and during a moment when McClane gets the upper hand, he passes on to his foe what he has in store for the hulking brute in graphic detail.
Winning the fight isn’t going to be satisfying, because now their conflict has become a primal need to destroy the other person in as complete a way as possible.
This isn’t a gentlemanly duel where they hope to settle some differences; this is an ugly, brutal brawl where anything goes if it hurts the person. McClane is battling it out on an instinctual level because he’s depleted from all the damage he’s endured throughout the night. Winning the fight isn’t going to be satisfying, because now their conflict has become a primal need to destroy the other person in as complete a way as possible. Also, it sounds cool.
4 “Now I have a machine gun. Ho Ho Ho.”
Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman)
McClane may have killed a terrorist with feet smaller than his sister, but he did add a valuable piece to his limited inventory: a machine gun. McClane’s so proud of his new toy that he sends down the body of Tony (Andreas Wisniewski) on an elevator to Gruber with a message written on his chest. Looking at the body of his dead comrade with a Santa hat perched on his head, Gruber reads the message aloud with a clear level of annoyance.
This line really deserves dual credit to McClane for writing it on Tony’s sweatshirt, but Rickman’s droll delivery is the perfect interpretation of McClane’s taunt. Gruber is obviously upset that he lost the manpower he relied on for his plan to go smoothly, but there’s enough appreciation of craftsmanship hidden in his reaction to now take the mystery threat more seriously. McClane’s message is meant to rattle the group into making mistakes, and its levity is just a bonus for the audience.
3 “Come out to the coast. We’ll get together, have a few laughs.”
John McClane (Bruce Willis)
McClane has survived a few encounters with Gruber’s men, but both physical and mental fatigue are starting to set in as he works to escape an enraged Karl. Shoved into an unforgivingly tight air vent, McClane manages to ignite a lighter long enough to see how much further there is to go. Sardonically, he thinks aloud about how the night was supposed to go compared to his current situation.
He’s not a stone-cold badass ready to gun down bad guys with a sneer— McClane is a regular cop who just wanted to see his kids on Christmas.
What makes the character of John McClane so appealing is his relatable reactions to his impossible predicament. He’s not a stone-cold badass ready to gun down bad guys with a sneer— McClane is a regular cop who just wanted to see his kids on Christmas. His sarcasm is a coping skill as he continues down the path of a reluctant hero, but his snark also tells the audience why he keeps going.
2 “Welcome to the party, pal!”
John McClane (Bruce Willis)
Sgt. Al Powell (Reginald VelJohnson) drops by Nakatomi Plaza after McClane’s frantic calls to 911 elicit an annoyed response from the police, but he doesn’t find anything after a stroll around the lobby. When McClane sees the officer is about to leave, he resorts to drastic measures by dropping a recently downed “terrorist” on his car. As Powell frantically backs away from the building, McClane yells out a welcome to the Nakatomi Christmas party.
By dropping the body on Al’s squad car, McClane could finally count on some of LA’s finest to join the hell he had been living in.
McClane had been desperately trying to call for reinforcements, but a combination of ineptitude by the police force and the cunning of Hans Gruber had kept the off-duty detective a one-man show. By dropping the body on Al’s squad car, McClane could finally count on some of LA’s finest to join the hell he had been living in. McClane’s sarcastic greeting to the scared offer is victorious, but it’s also an exasperated, “What the hell took you so long?”
1 “Yippee-Ki-Yay, Motherf**ker.”
John McClane (Bruce Willis)
There was never any doubt this would be the line to top all others, but let’s set the stage. After much indirect communication, Gruber and McClane finally speak to one another over a two-way radio. Although deeply annoyed, Gruber is confident that whoever is on the other end of the radio will be a temporary distraction. Dismissively, Gruber accuses McClane of being an American who’s seen too many movies, an unqualified hero seduced by the ideals of cowboy culture. When Gruber pushes past McClane’s glib responses to ask him if he thinks he can win, Willis makes movie history with his response.
The combination of Willis operating at his best and the playful but probing banter between the two men gives the response a defiant tone of willful strength that sums up McClane as a character and why he will indeed win.
It’s important to take a step back and acknowledge that with the wrong actor, the line could have sounded very stupid. The combination of Willis operating at his best and the playful but probing banter between the two men gives the response a defiant tone of willful strength that sums up McClane as a character and why he will indeed win. It’s crass, but it’s witty and intelligent in the context of the back and forth between a criminal with every advantage and a lone man with nothing but his wits and the grit to do what needs to be done.
