Die Hard 2
Encyclopedia
Die Hard 2 is a 1990 action film
and the second in the Die Hard film series. The film was directed by Renny Harlin
, and stars Bruce Willis
as John McClane
. The film co-stars Bonnie Bedelia
(reprising her role as Holly McClane), William Sadler
, Art Evans
, William Atherton
reprising his role as Richard "Dick" Thornburg, Franco Nero
, Dennis Franz
, Fred Thompson, John Amos
, and Reginald VelJohnson
, who makes a cameo appearance
reprising his role as Sgt. Al Powell from the first film
.
The screenplay was written by Steven E. de Souza
and Doug Richardson
, adapted from the novel 58 Minutes by Walter Wager
. The novel has the same premise but differs slightly: A cop must stop terrorists who take an airport hostage while his wife's plane circles overhead. He has 58 minutes to do so before the plane crashes. Roderick Thorp
, who wrote the novel Nothing Lasts Forever
, upon which the first Die Hard film was based, receives credit for creating "certain original characters", although his name is misspelled onscreen as "Roderick Thorpe."
As with the first film, the action in Die Hard 2 takes place on Christmas Eve. McClane is waiting for his wife to land at Washington Dulles International Airport
when terrorists take over the air traffic control system. He must stop the terrorists before his wife's plane and several other incoming flights that are circling the airport run out of fuel and crash. During the night, McClane must also contend with airport police, maintenance workers, and a military commander who does not want his assistance.
The film was followed by Die Hard with a Vengeance in 1995 and Live Free or Die Hard
in 2007.
waits at the Washington Dulles International Airport
for his wife Holly to arrive from Los Angeles. Reporter Richard Thornburg, who exposed McClane's identity to Hans Gruber in the first Die Hard
, is assigned the seat next to Holly. While in the airport bar, McClane spots two men in army fatigues carrying a package; one of the men has a gun. Suspicious, he follows them into the baggage area. McClane, in a confrontation, kills one of the men while the other escapes. Learning the dead man is a mercenary thought to have been killed in action, McClane believes he's stumbled onto some nefarious plot. He relates his suspicions to airport police Captain Carmine Lorenzo, but Lorenzo refuses to listen and has McClane thrown out of his office.
Former U.S. Army Special Forces
Colonel Stuart and other former members of his unit set up a base in a church near the airport. They take over air traffic control
systems, cutting off communication to the planes, and seize control of the airport. Their goal is to rescue Ramon Esperanza, a drug lord and dictator of Val Verde
, who is flying into the US
to stand trial. They demand a Boeing 747
so they can escape to another country, and warn the Dulles controllers not to try to restore control. Upon learning of this, McClane realizes his wife is on one of the planes circling above Washington, D.C.
with too little fuel to be redirected, and will likely to crash if the terrorists remain in control. He prepares to fight the terrorists.
Dulles communications director Leslie Barnes heads to the unfinished Annex Skywalk with a SWAT team to establish communications with the planes. But Stuart's henchmen, disguised as painters and airport staff, ambush them, killing the SWAT team. Before Stuart's henchmen can kill Barnes, McClane bursts in through an air vent. In a gunfight, McClane kills Stuart's men. Stuart responds by using the instrument landing system
to crash a plane, killing everyone on board. In response, a Special Forces team is called in, led by Major Grant. A two-way radio dropped by one of Stuart's henchmen tips McClane that Esperanza is landing. McClane gets there before Stuart's henchmen, but Stuart traps him in a plane and throws grenades into the cockpit. McClane escapes via the ejection seat. Barnes is then able to help McClane locate the mercenaries' hideout and they tell Grant and his team to raid the location. However, the mercenaries escape on snowmobiles during a shootout between Grant's team and Stuart's team. McClane pursues them, killing two more mercenaries and taking a snowmobile, but the gun he picked does not work. Stuart and his men shoot McClane's snowmobile, causing him to flee just as it explodes. He realizes that the gun contained blanks
and that the mercenaries and Special Forces are working together.
McClane contacts Lorenzo to send out officers to intercept the plane, proving his story by firing at Lorenzo with the blank gun. Thornburg, after learning about the situation through a radio transmission from Barnes, barricades himself in the airplane lavatory and phones in a sensational take on what is happening at Dulles, leading to panic in the airport and preventing the officers from reaching the plane. After learning of this, Holly subdues Thornburg with a taser
.
McClane hitches a ride on a news helicopter that drops him off on the wing of the plane, and he blocks the ailerons with his jacket, preventing the plane from taking off. Grant emerges and fights McClane, but is sucked into the engine. Stuart comes out to fight next, and succeeds in knocking McClane off the plane, but not before McClane knocks open the fuel hatch. After landing, McClane uses his cigarette lighter to ignite the trail of leaking fuel, which travels back to the plane, ignites the rest of the fuel and destroys the jet, killing all on board. The other planes, circling in the air, use the lighted trail to land, and McClane and his wife are reunited.
. Roger Ebert
, while noting the substantial credibility problems with the plot, described the film as "terrific entertainment."
The film had a budget of $
70 million and had a wide release
in 2,507 theaters, making $21.7 million its opening weekend. Die Hard 2 has domestically made $117.5 million and $239.5 million worldwide, almost doubling that of the first film.
Maxim
magazine named the plane crash as #2 on its list of "Greatest Movie Plane Crashes".
. It was used for the last scene, which took place on a runway. Industrial Light and Magic
supplied the film's visual effects.
, the composer for the first film, also composed the score for Die Hard 2. Kamen reprises several music cues from his Die Hard score (most notably during the action sequences), as well as adapting Jean Sibelius
's "Finlandia
" (in a similar fashion to his incorporation of Beethoven's 9th Symphony
into the score of the first Die Hard). The end credits of the film begin with the Christmas song "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" (performed by Vaughn Monroe
), as they did in Die Hard.
Unlike the previous film, a soundtrack album was released by Varese Sarabande
.
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
and the second in the Die Hard film series. The film was directed by Renny Harlin
Renny Harlin
Renny Harlin is a Finnish-American film director and producer. He is best known for Die Hard 2 , Cliffhanger , The Long Kiss Goodnight and Deep Blue Sea...
, and stars Bruce Willis
Bruce Willis
Walter Bruce Willis , better known as Bruce Willis, is an American actor, producer, and musician. His career began in television in the 1980s and has continued both in television and film since, including comedic, dramatic, and action roles...
as John McClane
John McClane
John McClane is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Die Hard film series, portrayed by Bruce Willis.-Development and description:...
. The film co-stars Bonnie Bedelia
Bonnie Bedelia
Bonnie Bedelia Culkin is an American actress best known for her supporting roles in the action film Die Hard and the courtroom drama Presumed Innocent...
(reprising her role as Holly McClane), William Sadler
William Sadler (actor)
William Thomas Sadler is an American actor who works in film and television. His television and motion picture roles have included Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller in The Pacific, Luther Sloan in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Sheriff Jim Valenti in Roswell, convict Heywood in The Shawshank Redemption,...
, Art Evans
Art Evans
Arthur James "Art" Evans is an American actor who has made multiple film and television program appearances over the span of three decades....
, William Atherton
William Atherton
William Atherton , born William Atherton Knight II, is an American film, stage and television actor.-Early life:Atherton was born in Orange, Connecticut, the son of Roby and Robert Atherton Knight...
reprising his role as Richard "Dick" Thornburg, Franco Nero
Franco Nero
Franco Nero is an Italian actor.-Early life:Nero was born Francesco Sparanero in San Prospero Parmense , the son of a sergeant in the...
, Dennis Franz
Dennis Franz
Dennis Franz is an American actor best known for his role as Andy Sipowicz, a hard-boiled police detective in the television series NYPD Blue. He previously appeared as Lt...
, Fred Thompson, John Amos
John Amos
John Amos is an American actor and former football player. His television work includes roles in The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Good Times, the miniseries Roots, and a recurring role in The West Wing. He has also appeared on Broadway and in numerous motion pictures in a career that spans four decades...
, and Reginald VelJohnson
Reginald VelJohnson
Reginald VelJohnson is an American actor of film, stage and television, well known for his role as Carl Winslow on the sitcom Family Matters, where he was the only cast member to appear in every single episode. He also portrayed LAPD Sgt...
, who makes a cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
reprising his role as Sgt. Al Powell from the first film
Die Hard
Die Hard is a 1988 American action film and the first in the Die Hard film series. The film was directed by John McTiernan and written by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza. It is based on a 1979 novel by Roderick Thorp titled Nothing Lasts Forever, itself a sequel to the book The Detective, which...
.
The screenplay was written by Steven E. de Souza
Steven E. de Souza
Steven E. de Souza is an American producer, director and screenwriter. He is among a handful of screenwriters whose films have earned over two billion dollars at the worldwide box office.-Life and career:...
and Doug Richardson
Doug Richardson
Doug Richardson is an American screenwriter known for his ability to write action movies.He first made an impression with his so-far unproduced spec script Hell Bent... and Back which sold for one million dollars...
, adapted from the novel 58 Minutes by Walter Wager
Walter Wager
Walter Herman Wager was an American novelist.-Early life:Walter Wager grew up in the East Tremont section of The Bronx, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants; his father, Max, was a doctor, and his mother, Jessie, was a nurse...
. The novel has the same premise but differs slightly: A cop must stop terrorists who take an airport hostage while his wife's plane circles overhead. He has 58 minutes to do so before the plane crashes. Roderick Thorp
Roderick Thorp
Roderick Mayne Thorp, Jr. was an American novelist specializing mainly in crime novels.As a young college graduate, Thorp worked at a detective agency owned by his father...
, who wrote the novel Nothing Lasts Forever
Nothing Lasts Forever (1979 novel)
Nothing Lasts Forever is a 1979 thriller novel by Roderick Thorp. It is mostly known through its film adaptation, Die Hard.-Plot introduction:...
, upon which the first Die Hard film was based, receives credit for creating "certain original characters", although his name is misspelled onscreen as "Roderick Thorpe."
As with the first film, the action in Die Hard 2 takes place on Christmas Eve. McClane is waiting for his wife to land at Washington Dulles International Airport
Washington Dulles International Airport
Washington Dulles International Airport is a public airport in Dulles, Virginia, 26 miles west of downtown Washington, D.C. The airport serves the Baltimore-Washington-Northern Virginia metropolitan area centered on the District of Columbia. It is named after John Foster Dulles, Secretary of...
when terrorists take over the air traffic control system. He must stop the terrorists before his wife's plane and several other incoming flights that are circling the airport run out of fuel and crash. During the night, McClane must also contend with airport police, maintenance workers, and a military commander who does not want his assistance.
The film was followed by Die Hard with a Vengeance in 1995 and Live Free or Die Hard
Live Free or Die Hard
Live Free or Die Hard , is a 2007 American action film, and the fourth installment in the Die Hard series. The film was directed by Len Wiseman and stars Bruce Willis as John McClane. The name was adapted from the state motto of New Hampshire, "Live Free or Die"...
in 2007.
Plot
On Christmas Eve, two years after the Nakatomi Tower Incident, LAPD detective John McClaneJohn McClane
John McClane is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Die Hard film series, portrayed by Bruce Willis.-Development and description:...
waits at the Washington Dulles International Airport
Washington Dulles International Airport
Washington Dulles International Airport is a public airport in Dulles, Virginia, 26 miles west of downtown Washington, D.C. The airport serves the Baltimore-Washington-Northern Virginia metropolitan area centered on the District of Columbia. It is named after John Foster Dulles, Secretary of...
for his wife Holly to arrive from Los Angeles. Reporter Richard Thornburg, who exposed McClane's identity to Hans Gruber in the first Die Hard
Die Hard
Die Hard is a 1988 American action film and the first in the Die Hard film series. The film was directed by John McTiernan and written by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza. It is based on a 1979 novel by Roderick Thorp titled Nothing Lasts Forever, itself a sequel to the book The Detective, which...
, is assigned the seat next to Holly. While in the airport bar, McClane spots two men in army fatigues carrying a package; one of the men has a gun. Suspicious, he follows them into the baggage area. McClane, in a confrontation, kills one of the men while the other escapes. Learning the dead man is a mercenary thought to have been killed in action, McClane believes he's stumbled onto some nefarious plot. He relates his suspicions to airport police Captain Carmine Lorenzo, but Lorenzo refuses to listen and has McClane thrown out of his office.
Former U.S. Army Special Forces
United States Army Special Forces
The United States Army Special Forces, also known as the Green Berets because of their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force tasked with six primary missions: unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, special reconnaissance, direct action, hostage rescue, and...
Colonel Stuart and other former members of his unit set up a base in a church near the airport. They take over air traffic control
Air traffic control
Air traffic control is a service provided by ground-based controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and in the air. The primary purpose of ATC systems worldwide is to separate aircraft to prevent collisions, to organize and expedite the flow of traffic, and to provide information and other...
systems, cutting off communication to the planes, and seize control of the airport. Their goal is to rescue Ramon Esperanza, a drug lord and dictator of Val Verde
Val Verde (fictional country)
Val Verde is a fictional country or city used by Hollywood filmmakers when they require a South/Central American locale without getting into legal or diplomatic disputes.-Appearances:...
, who is flying into the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to stand trial. They demand a Boeing 747
Boeing 747
The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first wide-body ever produced...
so they can escape to another country, and warn the Dulles controllers not to try to restore control. Upon learning of this, McClane realizes his wife is on one of the planes circling above Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
with too little fuel to be redirected, and will likely to crash if the terrorists remain in control. He prepares to fight the terrorists.
Dulles communications director Leslie Barnes heads to the unfinished Annex Skywalk with a SWAT team to establish communications with the planes. But Stuart's henchmen, disguised as painters and airport staff, ambush them, killing the SWAT team. Before Stuart's henchmen can kill Barnes, McClane bursts in through an air vent. In a gunfight, McClane kills Stuart's men. Stuart responds by using the instrument landing system
Instrument Landing System
An instrument landing system is a ground-based instrument approach system that provides precision guidance to an aircraft approaching and landing on a runway, using a combination of radio signals and, in many cases, high-intensity lighting arrays to enable a safe landing during instrument...
to crash a plane, killing everyone on board. In response, a Special Forces team is called in, led by Major Grant. A two-way radio dropped by one of Stuart's henchmen tips McClane that Esperanza is landing. McClane gets there before Stuart's henchmen, but Stuart traps him in a plane and throws grenades into the cockpit. McClane escapes via the ejection seat. Barnes is then able to help McClane locate the mercenaries' hideout and they tell Grant and his team to raid the location. However, the mercenaries escape on snowmobiles during a shootout between Grant's team and Stuart's team. McClane pursues them, killing two more mercenaries and taking a snowmobile, but the gun he picked does not work. Stuart and his men shoot McClane's snowmobile, causing him to flee just as it explodes. He realizes that the gun contained blanks
Blank (cartridge)
A blank is a type of cartridge for a firearm that contains gunpowder but no bullet or shot. When fired, the blank makes a flash and an explosive sound . Blanks are often used for simulation , training, and for signaling...
and that the mercenaries and Special Forces are working together.
McClane contacts Lorenzo to send out officers to intercept the plane, proving his story by firing at Lorenzo with the blank gun. Thornburg, after learning about the situation through a radio transmission from Barnes, barricades himself in the airplane lavatory and phones in a sensational take on what is happening at Dulles, leading to panic in the airport and preventing the officers from reaching the plane. After learning of this, Holly subdues Thornburg with a taser
Taser
A Taser is an electroshock weapon that uses electrical current to disrupt voluntary control of muscles. Its manufacturer, Taser International, calls the effects "neuromuscular incapacitation" and the devices' mechanism "Electro-Muscular Disruption technology"...
.
McClane hitches a ride on a news helicopter that drops him off on the wing of the plane, and he blocks the ailerons with his jacket, preventing the plane from taking off. Grant emerges and fights McClane, but is sucked into the engine. Stuart comes out to fight next, and succeeds in knocking McClane off the plane, but not before McClane knocks open the fuel hatch. After landing, McClane uses his cigarette lighter to ignite the trail of leaking fuel, which travels back to the plane, ignites the rest of the fuel and destroys the jet, killing all on board. The other planes, circling in the air, use the lighted trail to land, and McClane and his wife are reunited.
Cast
- Bruce WillisBruce WillisWalter Bruce Willis , better known as Bruce Willis, is an American actor, producer, and musician. His career began in television in the 1980s and has continued both in television and film since, including comedic, dramatic, and action roles...
as Lieutenant John McClaneJohn McClaneJohn McClane is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Die Hard film series, portrayed by Bruce Willis.-Development and description:... - Bonnie BedeliaBonnie BedeliaBonnie Bedelia Culkin is an American actress best known for her supporting roles in the action film Die Hard and the courtroom drama Presumed Innocent...
as Holly Gennero McClane - William SadlerWilliam Sadler (actor)William Thomas Sadler is an American actor who works in film and television. His television and motion picture roles have included Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller in The Pacific, Luther Sloan in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Sheriff Jim Valenti in Roswell, convict Heywood in The Shawshank Redemption,...
as Colonel Stuart, the main terrorist - Art EvansArt EvansArthur James "Art" Evans is an American actor who has made multiple film and television program appearances over the span of three decades....
as Leslie Barnes - Dennis FranzDennis FranzDennis Franz is an American actor best known for his role as Andy Sipowicz, a hard-boiled police detective in the television series NYPD Blue. He previously appeared as Lt...
as Captain Carmine Lorenzo - Reginald VelJohnsonReginald VelJohnsonReginald VelJohnson is an American actor of film, stage and television, well known for his role as Carl Winslow on the sitcom Family Matters, where he was the only cast member to appear in every single episode. He also portrayed LAPD Sgt...
as Sergeant Al Powell - William AthertonWilliam AthertonWilliam Atherton , born William Atherton Knight II, is an American film, stage and television actor.-Early life:Atherton was born in Orange, Connecticut, the son of Roby and Robert Atherton Knight...
as Richard "Dick" Thornburg - Franco NeroFranco NeroFranco Nero is an Italian actor.-Early life:Nero was born Francesco Sparanero in San Prospero Parmense , the son of a sergeant in the...
as General Ramon Esperanza, the ruthless drug lord and dictator of the fictional country Val Verde - John AmosJohn AmosJohn Amos is an American actor and former football player. His television work includes roles in The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Good Times, the miniseries Roots, and a recurring role in The West Wing. He has also appeared on Broadway and in numerous motion pictures in a career that spans four decades...
as Major Grant, the head of Army Special Forces - Fred Thompson as Trudeau
- Tom BowerTom Bower (actor)Tom Bower is an American actor who has appeared in a wide variety of television and film roles from 1973 to present. He played physician-husband Curt on The Waltons. He has held a number of prominent supporting roles including Dan Miller in the 2000 film Pollock and the gas station attendant in...
as Marvin - Sheila McCarthySheila McCarthySheila McCarthy is a Canadian film, stage, television actress, and singer. She is one of the most honoured actors in Canada, having won two Genie Awards , two Gemini Awards , and two Dora Awards among multiple nominations. As of 2007, she can be seen on the Canadian television series Little...
as Samantha "Sam" Coleman - Don HarveyDon Patrick HarveyDonald Patrick Harvey II is an American actor and voice actor, known as Don Harvey.He was born and raised in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, the sixth of eight children. He started acting in high school. He did several shows before graduating and moving on to the University of Michigan where he studied...
as Garber, Colonel Stuart's main henchman - Tony GaniosTony GaniosTony Ganios is a Greek American actor. In 1979 he made his film debut as a heroic tough-guy named 'Perry' in The Wanderers. He is probably best known for his role as Anthony 'Meat' Tuperello in the 1982 hit comedy Porky's, the 1983 sequel Porky's II: The Next Day and the 1985 sequel Porky's...
as Baker, Colonel Stuart's henchman - Peter Nelson as Thompson, Colonel Stuart's henchman
- Robert PatrickRobert PatrickRobert Hammond Patrick, Jr. is an American actor, known for his leading and supporting roles in a number of films and television shows....
as O'Reilly, Colonel Stuart's henchman - Mick Cunningham as Sheldon, Colonel Stuart's henchman
- John LeguizamoJohn LeguizamoJonathan Alberto "John" Leguizamo is an Colombian-American actor, producer, voice artist, and comedian.-Early life:...
as Burke, Colonel Stuart's henchman - Tom VericaTom VericaTom Verica is an American actor and director, known for his role of Jack Pryor on the NBC drama American Dreams. He played Astronaut Dick Gordon in the HBO miniseries From The Earth To The Moon...
as Kahn, Colonel Stuart's henchman - John CostelloeJohn Costelloe (actor)John A. Costelloe was an American actor best known for his role as Jim "Johnny Cakes" Witowski, the gay fireman lover of Vito Spatafore, in the HBO TV series The Sopranos....
as Sergeant Oswald Cochrane, Colonel Stuart's henchman - Vondie Curtis-HallVondie Curtis-HallVondie Curtis-Hall is an American actor and film director.As an actor, he is best known for his role as Dr. Dennis Hancock on the CBS medical drama Chicago Hope created by David E. Kelley.-Early life:...
as Miller, Colonel Stuart's henchman - Mark Boone JuniorMark Boone JuniorMark Boone Junior is an American actor perhaps best known for his roles as Bobby Munson in FX's Sons of Anarchy and in two films by Christopher Nolan, Memento and Batman Begins...
as Shockley, Colonel Stuart's henchman - Ken Baldwin as Mulkey, Colonel Stuart's henchman
- Colm MeaneyColm MeaneyColm J. Meaney is an Irish actor widely known for playing Miles O'Brien in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He is second only to Michael Dorn in most appearances in Star Trek episodes. He has guest-starred on many TV shows from Law & Order to The Simpsons...
as Pilot of Windsor Airlines plane - Robert CostanzoRobert CostanzoRobert Jason Costanzo is an American actor. He has an acting career spanning over thirty years and is often found playing surly New York types such as crooks or low level workers and mixes both drama and comedy roles...
as Sergeant Vito Lorenzo, Carmine's brother
Reception
The film exceeded all expectations by actually outdoing the massive box office success of the original. The film also received a reasonably positive critical reception; it garnered a 64% 'Fresh' rating, based on 45 film critic reviews, at the aggregate site Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
. Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
, while noting the substantial credibility problems with the plot, described the film as "terrific entertainment."
The film had a budget of $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
70 million and had a wide release
Wide release
Wide release is a term in the American motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing nationally . Specifically, a movie is considered to be in wide release when it is on 600 screens or more in the United States and Canada.In the US, films holding an NC-17 rating almost never have a...
in 2,507 theaters, making $21.7 million its opening weekend. Die Hard 2 has domestically made $117.5 million and $239.5 million worldwide, almost doubling that of the first film.
Maxim
Maxim (magazine)
Maxim is an international men's magazine based in the United Kingdom and known for its pictorials featuring popular actresses, singers, and female models, sometimes pictured dressed, often pictured scantily dressed but not fully nude....
magazine named the plane crash as #2 on its list of "Greatest Movie Plane Crashes".
Production and promotion
Die Hard 2 was the first film to have a digitally manipulated matte paintingMatte painting
A matte painting is a painted representation of a landscape, set, or distant location that allows filmmakers to create the illusion of an environment that would otherwise be too expensive or impossible to build or visit. Historically, matte painters and film technicians have used various techniques...
. It was used for the last scene, which took place on a runway. Industrial Light and Magic
Industrial Light and Magic
Industrial Light & Magic is an Academy Award-winning motion picture visual effects company that was founded in May 1975 by George Lucas and is owned by Lucasfilm. Lucas created the company when he discovered that the special effects department at 20th Century Fox was shut down after he was given...
supplied the film's visual effects.
Soundtrack
Michael KamenMichael Kamen
Michael Arnold Kamen was an American composer , orchestral arranger, orchestral conductor, song writer, and session musician.-Background:...
, the composer for the first film, also composed the score for Die Hard 2. Kamen reprises several music cues from his Die Hard score (most notably during the action sequences), as well as adapting Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius was a Finnish composer of the later Romantic period whose music played an important role in the formation of the Finnish national identity. His mastery of the orchestra has been described as "prodigious."...
's "Finlandia
Finlandia
Finlandia is a symphonic poem by Jean Sibelius.Finlandia may also refer to:* Finlandia Hymn, a section of the Sibelius symphonic poem Finlandia* Finlandia University, a private university located in Hancock, Michigan, USA...
" (in a similar fashion to his incorporation of Beethoven's 9th Symphony
Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven)
The Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, is the final complete symphony of Ludwig van Beethoven. Completed in 1824, the symphony is one of the best known works of the Western classical repertoire, and has been adapted for use as the European Anthem...
into the score of the first Die Hard). The end credits of the film begin with the Christmas song "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" (performed by Vaughn Monroe
Vaughn Monroe
Vaughn Wilton Monroe was an American baritone singer, trumpeter and big band leader and actor, most popular in the 1940s and 1950s. He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for recording and radio.-Biography:...
), as they did in Die Hard.
Unlike the previous film, a soundtrack album was released by Varese Sarabande
Varèse Sarabande
Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums as well as newer releases by artists no longer under a contract...
.
- Colonel Stuart (1:28)
- Baggage Handling (3:45)
- General Esperanza (2:11)
- The Annex Skywalk
- The Church (1:12)
- The Doll (3:48)
- The Runway (3:55)
- In The Plane (1:37)
- Icicle (2:53)
- Snowmobiles (2:40)
- The Terminal (6:08)
- FinlandiaFinlandiaFinlandia is a symphonic poem by Jean Sibelius.Finlandia may also refer to:* Finlandia Hymn, a section of the Sibelius symphonic poem Finlandia* Finlandia University, a private university located in Hancock, Michigan, USA...
- Jean SibeliusJean SibeliusJean Sibelius was a Finnish composer of the later Romantic period whose music played an important role in the formation of the Finnish national identity. His mastery of the orchestra has been described as "prodigious."...
(7:29)