Retroist Die Hard Podcast

Dec 18, 2020

In this episode of the Retroist Podcast, I discuss the 1988 action classic, Die Hard. This film has become iconic since its release in 1988 and is almost universally beloved. I have attempted to cover the film correctly a few times and I am happy to finally release this episode.

I begin the episode by talking about when I saw the film in the theater and how much it suspended my disbelief. I have only had a handful of movie-going experiences like this in my life and I will treasure it forever.

After the story, I move onto the film itself. I talk about the people in front of and behind the camera, the music, the book, the Christmas “controversy” and much more.

Die Hard was a genre-changing film, that is worth your time. Hopefully, you find the stuff I talk about in this super-sized episode interesting.

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Production Notes

This is one of the longest episodes I have put out in a while at almost 40 minutes. It was originally 77 minutes, so I cut it down a lot.
I removed a lot about the cast and crew. I was very glad metagirl was involved with the show to bring some attention to that area in a fresher way than my standard delivery.
I had done the Christmas section originally as a point/counterpoint. That was terrible. So I switched it to a standard breakdown. I personally believe that it IS a Christmas film, but it doesn’t bother me that other people do not.
This is one of those shows I have tried to record several times. I think the first time was about a decade ago. I am glad to finally release one, it was very overdue.
I had a section about the art direction in the film. Mostly around Nakatomi Plaza. It didn’t add anything to the show.
I had a section that discussed tv edits. It was short and felt inserted. It was less funny than I thought it would be. So I cut it out.
It might not sound possible, but I praised Alan Rickman for another 90 seconds before I cut it down.
I talked about sequels a bit more. I think I will eventually cover Die Hard 2 at some point. So I cut it down.
I cut out a section about Alexander Gudonoff’s defection to the US.
I removed a few mentions of improvisation in the film.
I removed a section that talked about who lived and dies in the film.
The touch screens at Nakatomi Plaza really does bother me.
Had more info about the architects of Fox Plaza. Was only 70 seconds or so, but I cut it out.
Does anyone read these notes? It is unclear to me. I will keep adding them though.
This might be my last episode of 2020. If so, I look forward to being back in 2021.

Thanks for listening to the show and I hope you have a great weekend.