Die Hard is an action thriller so iconic that it spawned its own subgenre of action films: “Die Hard on/in a bus, plane, ship, mountain, etc.” Writers of every genre and medium can learn from this classic.
I used Die Hard as an example of, well, almost every screenwriting concept and was amazed how well it worked. Thank you for such a comprehensive and thoughtful analysis!
The deep dive on this one is SO rewarding, isn't it? I've resisted doing a breakdown of it, I think because the action is so relentless that it's a bear to synopsize. But it's being so worth it for me to do the almost frame-by-frame watch. The whole prolonged sunset in the first sequence was something I'd never noticed before. Amazing!
We rewatched this at the start of December. Such fun and so expert. We then watched II and it paled by comparison. Die Hard really knew how to play the mythic elements.
I used Die Hard as an example of, well, almost every screenwriting concept and was amazed how well it worked. Thank you for such a comprehensive and thoughtful analysis!
The deep dive on this one is SO rewarding, isn't it? I've resisted doing a breakdown of it, I think because the action is so relentless that it's a bear to synopsize. But it's being so worth it for me to do the almost frame-by-frame watch. The whole prolonged sunset in the first sequence was something I'd never noticed before. Amazing!
We rewatched this at the start of December. Such fun and so expert. We then watched II and it paled by comparison. Die Hard really knew how to play the mythic elements.
Did it ever!
I watched this film for the second the weekend before Christmas. One of the greatest movies in cinematic history.
It's pretty amazing how very many things it does well at the same time!
Yup, and in the same place. It's brilliant how the writers kept things interesting in a building.
That is SO important in a one-location story. The movie of THE MIST is another great example of that.
I will check that out.
Thank you! I just saw this a few days ago and it’s great to see your analyzation and outline.
You're welcome! More to come...