Bruce Willis in DIE HARD Midnights at the Tivoli This Weekend

“Now I have a machine gun. Ho ho ho.”

This is what action movies are all about. DIE HARD (1988) starred Bruce Willis as New York officer John McClane, a cop who gets trapped in a high-rise in LA when terrorists come to steal a substantial sum from the building’s safe so McClane single-handedly takes them on. Although the film’s action scenes are great (especially the classic one involving McClane jumping out of the building holding onto a fire hose), it is the interactions between McClane and Sergeant Al Powell (Reginald VelJohnson) and villain Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) that made the movie what it really is.

Even four sequels later, John McClane ‘s popularity is indelibly linked to his vulnerability: unlike Sylvester Stallone or Arnold Schwarzenegger, who walked out of their movies with no scratches and a pack of dead bodies behind them, Willis leaves the scene bruised and battered (in one installment, he even gets to say: “It looks so easy in the movies!”), even though the body count remains astronomical. Another thing that sets him apart from his predecessors is his verbosity: whereas Arnie and Sly killed without as much as whispering, McClane keeps on talking, using quick wit and effective curses to comment on his bad situation. This spawns some of the funniest dialogue ever heard in an action movie, such as when the protagonist offs a bad guy from under a table (“Next time you have a chance to kill someone, don’t hesitate” “Thanks for the advice”) or tries to contact the police (“Attention, whoever you are. This channel is reserved for emergency calls only…” “No f**king sh*t, lady! Do I sound like I’m ordering a pizza?”), and also provides the opportunity for some unseen hero/villain interaction, as Gruber (played by a spot-on Rickman) fakes an American accent and tries to con McClane, only to realize his opponent is no fool and the two start chatting about their conflicting moral values or views on American culture (Gruber: “This time John Wayne does not walk off into the sunset with Grace Kelly” McClane: “That was Gary Cooper, a**hole!”).

Now lucky St. Louisans will have a chance to experience the original DIE HARD when it screens at the Tivoli midnights this Friday and Saturday nights (May 23^rd and 24^th) at the Tivoli as part of the Reel Late at the Tivoli midnight series.

The Tivoli’s located at 6350 Delmar Blvd., University City, MO. Admission is a mere $8!

The Tivoli’s website can be found HERE

http://www.landmarktheatres.com/market/st.louis/tivolitheatre.htm

Here’s the Reel Late at the Tivoli Line-up for the next couple of months:

May 30-31           GODZILLA (JAPANESE) The original 1954 Japanese film, digital restoration, sub-titled

June 6-7               THE WARRIORS

June 13-14          CLASH OF THE TITANS (1981)

June 20-21          SPIRITED AWAY

June 27-28          THE GODFATHER

July 4-5                 JAWS

July 11-12            MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000: THE MOVIE

July 18-19            2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY

Stay tuned here at We Are Movie Geeks for an announcement of more midnight movies soon!