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An off-duty police officer takes it upon himself to stop a gang of German terrorists who take an office Christmas party hostage in John McTiernan’s iconic action film, Die Hard. Let me put it another way: Die Hard is The Action Movie. It built a new paradigm for the genre and launched a movie star’s career. Bruce Willis can’t be given enough credit here. He doesn’t play John McClane just for the macho bravado so ubiquitous of 80s movies. He mixes in some vulnerability and humor that helps make him less ‘superman’ and more ‘everyman’. And he’s given a worthy adversary in the form of terrorist Hans Gruber, played so memorably by Alan Rickman — one of the most popular villains in movie history. The movie gets a little silly for me in the final minutes, but it’s otherwise a very tight, well-paced, immaculately crafted action/disaster film – the best that Hollywood formula could ever hope to offer.

The supporting cast includes Reginald VelJohnson as a cop on the ground who keeps McClane’s spirits up via CB radio, offering the film a warm male bonding element. Bonnie Bedelia plays McClane’s wife, one of the hostages and a exec for the company. Die Hard gets extra points for making her a strong character instead of a screaming damsel. Hart Bochner plays a smarmy coworker who thinks he can negotiate with the terrorists, and William Atherton — cast to type after his roles in Real Genius and Ghostbusters — plays a TV news reporter who’ll do anything to get the story for his own selfish gains.

Die Hard is one of those films where every creative department is firing on all cylinders. Exceptional work is contributed by production designer Jackson DeGovia, cinematographer Jan DeBont, editors John F. Link and Frank Urioste, and composer Michael Kamen.

With Paul Gleason, De’voreaux White, James Shigeta, and Alexander Godunov. Screenplay by Jeb Stuart (The Fugitive) and Stephen E. DeSouza (48 Hrs.).

Oscar Nominations: Visual Effects, Film Editing, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing