Holy Nakatomi Plaza! July 15 marks the 25th anniversary of the release of the original Die Hard, a movie that occupies a revered place in my pantheon of smart-ass films. And with the latest sequel, A Good Day to Die Hard, hitting theaters on Feb. 14, Fox has released the Die Hard: 25th Anniversary Collection on Blu-Ray.
In addition to the first four Die Hard movies, the set includes a Decoding Die Hard bonus disc of featurettes. Included is Bad to the Bone, posted below, which celebrates the various villains that Bruce Willis' character, John McClane, has gone up against over the course of his totally implausible but highly entertaining life of coincidental run-ins with evil terrorists and master criminals.
You really don't need to watch the clip to understand this about the franchise: Alan Rickman, who played deliciously contemptuous Hans Gruber n the first film, remains, far and away, the best Die Hard baddie of the franchise. His simpering imitation of an American hostage when McClane first encounters him is a thing of enduring beauty.
Why Rickman hasn't been made a Bond villain by now is beyond me.
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