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Behind-the-scenes stories from the filming of “Die Hard” told by Jan de Bont to the author

In 2003, the author (Ozaki) had the opportunity to interview Jan de Bont, who came to Japan to promote Tomb Raider 2 . So when I brought up the topic of ``Die Hard,'' I received some interesting answers. For example, McTiernan had such great trust in him that he recalled that there were scenes in which he himself was entrusted with directing.

A typical scene in which Hans meets McClane and instructs his henchmen to shoot at a piece of glass, seriously injuring the barefoot McClane, was directed by De Bont. This approach later led to him making his directorial debut with the non-stop action film `` Speed '' (1994) starring Keanu Reeves.

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In addition, McTiernan quotes Beethoven's 9th Symphony, fourth movement ``Ode to Joy'' and Gene Kelly's musical number ``Singin' in the Rain'' as musical motifs in this work, but both This is a nod to the near-future violent film `` A Clockwork Orange '' (1971), in which the song is used, and includes respect for Stanley Kubrick, the film's director. It is said that de Bont approached this tasteful ``Kubrick Homage'' with McTiernan with a sense of complicity, and performed them as if they were competing with each other.

In fact, in the aforementioned ``Speed,'' when a runaway vehicle crashes onto the ground, a board indicating that `` 2001: A Space Odyssey '' (1968) is being shown is hung in the stopped Chinese theater, and a storm (tornado) ) In `` Twister '' (1996), which depicts the exploits of a chaser, the movie being shown at a drive-in theater is the classic horror movie `` The Shining '' (1980).

On the other hand, McTiernan quotes the march song ``When Johnny Returns in Triumph'' in `` Die Hard 3 '' (1995), which was his return to the series. The song was used effectively by Kubrick in the black comedy ` `How I Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb' ' (64).