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Die Hard: John McClane And Al Turn Into Psychopaths
20th Century Fox
Die Hard tells the story of wisecracking New York police detective John McClane justice-murdering his way through a group of sophisticated European master thieves and their king, Hans Gruber. They take the headquarters of the Nakatomi corporation hostage, intending to crack the building's hidden safe and make off with a fortune in untraceable bearer bonds. McClane shoots them all until they knock it off, rescues his wife from the clutches of the villainous Gruber, and staggers out of the building as a triumphant hero.
But They Cut ...
Part of Die Hard's appeal is how perfectly its villains embodied the essence of sleazy-slick 1980s greed. They're basically a bunch of Gordon Gekkos, masquerading as freedom fighters in order to cover their billion dollar heist. However, in Roderick Thorp's Nothing Lasts Forever, which Die Hard was based on (what, you didn't know Die Hard was a novel first?), Gruber and co. really are gun-toting political activists. And they're also sort of the good guys.
20th Century Fox
"Who said we were terrorists? No, seriously, you're rewriting history."
The book opens with the John McClane character (Joe Leland in the book), heading to L.A. to visit his daughter Stephanie for Christmas. But when a group of terrorists, headed by Anton "Little Tony The Red" Gruber, seize the Klaxon Oil Building, where Stephanie works, a shoe-less Leland has to fight them to save her. However, it turns out that Klaxon Oil is secretly making millions of dollars illegally selling arms to the fascist Chilean government, and Gruber plans to steal documents to expose them before cracking their safe and literally throwing their blood money out the damn window. Also, Stephanie is a coked-out space cadet in a relationship with Ellis, whom you may remember from Die Hard as the most legendary douchebag in film history.
But hey, so what if the book had a little more moral complexity than the film -- what else would you expect? But everything finally goes batshit at the book's climax. Gruber falls out of the window holding onto Stephanie's bracelet, which is pretty much exactly what happens in the movie. However, unlike the movie, both Gruber and Stephanie plummet to their deaths.
20th Century Fox
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