What the corpus says about Die Hard (1988)

What was said about it (19)

1. [The Rewatchables · ‘Die Hard 2’ · 0:15:44 · Chris Ryan (0.80)] Die Hard 2 ↔ Die Hard · lineage · Ryan says the first and third Die Hard are baked into their locations, while this one is more generic action movie-ish. · "the 1st Die Hard and the 3rd Die Hard are characterized by their, like, this is really baked in."
2. [The Big Picture · ‘Resident Evil’ Absolutely Rips! · 1:00:42 · Sean Fennessey (0.50)] Die Hard ⇒ Resident Evil (the host's read) · lineage · The shoes-melting beat is called a Die Hard nod (walking on broken glass). · "You have that wonderful diehard nod where his shoes are starting to melt and he has to take his shoes off."
3. [Blank Check — Patreon · The Killing · 0:14:30 · David Sims (0.45)] The Detective ⇒ Die Hard (the host's read) · lineage · Sinatra's rights deal on The Detective gave him first refusal on follow-ups, so Die Hard had to be offered to him. · "something in the deal for when Sinatra had bought the rights to the detective, gave him right of 1st refusal on any of the follow-ups"
4. [The Rewatchables · ‘Working Girl’ · 1:20:17 · unknown (0.50)] Working Girl ↔ Die Hard · theme · Another absurd-premise movie that works; used to defend Working Girl's far-fetched merger plot. · "So is Die Hard."
5. [The Rewatchables · ‘Panic Room’ (Plus a Mini Will Smith–Oscars Recap) · 0:58:14 · Chris Ryan (0.50)] Panic Room ↔ Die Hard · theme · Bearer bonds as plot device: not since Die Hard has there been 25 minutes on bearer bonds. · "Not since Die Hard have we spent 25 minutes on bear bonds."
6. [The Big Picture · ‘Resident Evil’ Absolutely Rips! · 0:29:24 · Sean Fennessey (0.55)] Resident Evil ↔ Die Hard · theme · Abrams's Brian reminded the speaker of John McClane, with humor built from the experience; the elevator shoe-melting is a Die Hard nod. · "He's not as cool and he's not as accomplished with a gun, but he kind of reminded me a little John McClain at times."
7. [Blank Check — Patreon · Paths of Glory · 0:30:13 · Sarah Marshall (0.60)] Paths of Glory ↔ Die Hard · theme · The FBI men in Die Hard accept losing 25 percent of the hostages, the same numbers-game thinking as the generals. · "the FBI are like, yeah, we're going to lose 25% of the hostages, but like, that's pretty good for us."
8. [Blank Check · Raiders of the Lost Ark · 2:45:06 · unknown (0.40)] Raiders of the Lost Ark ↔ Die Hard · craft · The hero who is capable but visibly working it out is what the imitators miss; same as John McClane. · "it's the same thing that works about John McLean in the 1st Die Hard."
9. [The Rewatchables · ‘Working Girl’ · 0:48:40 · unknown (0.40)] Working Girl ↔ Die Hard · contrast · Die Hard would not be nominated the way Working Girl was with six Oscar nominations. · "Die Hard's not going to get nominated for something, but working girl is such an improbable."
10. [Blank Check — Patreon · Paths of Glory · 0:31:40 · Sarah Marshall (0.50)] Paths of Glory ↔ Die Hard · contrast · Die Hard asks how much good one good guy can do and answers all of it; Paths of Glory answers none of it. · "the whole premise of Die Hard is like, how much good can like one good guy manage to get done?"
11. [The Rewatchables · A CR Month Mailbag! · 1:13:18 · Bill Simmons (0.50)] Heat ↔ Die Hard · industry · Bearer bonds: the tax-lawyer listener accepts them in post-82 movies like Beverly Hills Cop and maybe Die Hard but not in Heat or Panic Room. · "he can look past it for some post 82 movies like Beverly Hills cop, maybe even die hard."
12. [Blank Check — Patreon · Alien: Resurrection · 1:52:06 · David Sims (0.60)] Alien ↔ Die Hard · industry · Alien will be remade without its original star the way Die Hard will without Bruce Willis; the xenomorph design is too powerful to leave dormant. · "In the same way, they'll make another diehard without Bruce Willis."
13. [The Rewatchables · ‘Do The Right Thing’ · 0:32:50 · Wesley Morris (0.60)] Do the Right Thing ↔ Die Hard · pop answer · Die Hard is the pop answer to best American movie of the 80s but would not make Wesley's top ten. · "I wouldn't put die hard in my top 10."
14. [The Rewatchables · ‘Twister’ · 0:27:13 · Chris Ryan (0.40)] Jan de Bont ↔ Die Hard · craft · De Bont as cool DP turned maker of accessible action films was a model of who filmmakers wanted to be. · "Cool ass DP that comes from doing that and makes these awesome, ridiculously accessible action films"
15. [Blank Check — Patreon · The 13th Warrior · 1:37:52 · unknown (0.55)] John McTiernan ↔ Die Hard · craft · McTiernan's quiet genius is dialogue scenes as exciting as action; the best-cited Die Hard moments are not action. · "So much of what we, you know, all the great moments from Die Hard are actually not even the action"
16. [Blank Check · Raiders of the Lost Ark · 0:06:07 · unknown (0.40)] Harrison Ford ↔ Die Hard · career · Ford's Indiana Jones is a definitive movie-star performance, like Bruce Willis in Die Hard and John Wayne in Stagecoach. · "kind of like Bruce Willis and Die Hard."
17. [The Rewatchables · ‘Weird Science’ · 0:53:36 · Kyle Brandt (0.45)] Kim Malin ↔ Die Hard · career · The piano girl's second credit is the Die Hard hostage found with a goon. · "she's the hostage that Hans Gruber's Goon find having sex back in the office"
18. [The Rewatchables · ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ · 1:10:06 · Chris Ryan (0.50)] Alan Rickman ↔ Die Hard · what-if · Bill's recast pick for Rooney; Hans Gruber as Shermer High assistant principal. · "Hans Gruber, as the Shermer High assistant principal, whatever, I also would have voted for Alan Richmond."
19. [The Rewatchables · ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ · 1:12:32 · unknown (0.40)] Die Hard ↔ Eddie Murphy · what-if · Die Hard would be an Eddie Murphy movie in the what-if game. · "I mean, Diehard is an Eddie Murphy movie."

Films put beside it more than once (3)

1. [pairs] Die Hard ↔ Working Girl · said 2 times in 1 episode
2. [pairs] Die Hard ↔ Resident Evil · said 2 times in 1 episode
3. [pairs] Die Hard ↔ Paths of Glory · said 2 times in 1 episode

Fun items about it (2)

1. [Blank Check — Patreon · Paths of Glory · 0:30:59 · Sarah Marshall (0.50)] Die Hard · fun · Die Hard's FBI agents: one says it reminds him of Nam, the other says he was too young. · "this reminds me of Nam. And the other guy's like, I wasn't in Nam, man."
2. [Blank Check — Patreon · The Killing · 0:15:04 · Griffin Newman (0.45)] Die Hard · fun · Sinatra's Detective rights gave him first refusal on follow-ups, so Fox had to offer Die Hard to him first; the speaker pictures the call. · "I just like imagining whoever the Fox exec was who was like, hey, Frank, I'm just calling so you can tell me to fuck off."

One hop out: what recommends the films most often joined to it (27)

1. [The Big Picture · Objection! Top 10 Courtroom Dramas | The Big Picture · 1:32:52 · Sean Fennessey (0.70)] Paths of Glory ↔ Rashomon · programming · Bonus recommendations that are not strictly courtroom movies. · "Paths of Glory the other day, which I don't think is a great courtroom movie"
2. [The Big Picture · ‘Resident Evil’ Absolutely Rips! · 0:21:02 · Sean Fennessey (0.70)] Evil Dead II ⇒ Resident Evil (the maker said so: a conversation with Cregger on the show last year) · lineage · Cregger said he wanted an Evil Dead 2 style rock-em sock-em movie and got crazy with the camera. · "I'm doing it because I think this movie is going to be fucking awesome."
3. [The Rewatchables · ‘Working Girl’ · 1:11:10 · Bill Simmons (0.70)] Working Girl ⇒ Working Girl (1990 NBC series) (the host's read) · programming · Working Girl became a 1990 NBC series, with Sandra Bullock as Tess. · "Working Girl became an NBC series in 1990"
4. [The Rewatchables · ‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ · 0:51:40 · Chris Ryan (0.50)] The Texas Chain Saw Massacre ⇒ Alien (the host's read) · lineage · Chainsaw is what inspired Ridley Scott to make Alien. · "Texas Chainsaw Basker is what inspired Ridley Scott to make alien."
5. [The Big Picture · The 1990 Movie Draft · 1:08:20 · Amanda Dobbins (0.85)] Amanda Dobbins ↔ Die Hard 2 · programming · Pick 14 (round 5), category sequel: Takes it off the board and avoids Look Who's Talking Too. · "And I'm going to take Die Hard 2."
6. [Blank Check — Patreon · Paths of Glory · 1:46:21 · David Sims (0.75)] Paths of Glory ↔ The Bridge on the River Kwai · programming · Box office game: Kwai, the 1957 Best Picture winner, was number one the week Paths of Glory went wide. · "number one at the box office, the week, the paths of glory goes wide, is the best picture winner of 1957"
7. [The Big Picture · ‘Resident Evil’ Absolutely Rips! · 0:30:19 · Chris Ryan (0.60)] Resident Evil ↔ Charlie Chaplin · lineage · The design recalls Chaplin and Keaton's slip-and-fall, rooted-for ne'er-do-well. · "there's so much Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton to me in the design of the movie"
8. [The Rewatchables · ‘Working Girl’ · 2:04:54 · unknown (0.40)] Working Girl ↔ Morning Glory · programming · Morning Glory is a triple-feature pick; Rachel McAdams as the working girl with Harrison Ford. · "Rachel McAdams working girl."
9. [The Rewatchables · ‘Species’ · 1:12:56 · Bill Simmons (0.30)] Alien ⇒ Species (the maker said so) · lineage · Giger thought Species ripped off too many other alien movies, such as the chest-burster. · "He thought the movie ripped off too many other alien movies"
10. [The Rewatchables · ‘Die Hard 2’ · 0:18:01 · Bill Simmons (0.75)] Die Hard 2 ↔ Lethal Weapon 2 · lineage · It arrived in the run-it-back era of sequels like Lethal Weapon 2. · "it is right during the era of everybody looking at each other and going, let's just run it back."
11. [Blank Check — Patreon · Paths of Glory · 0:22:29 · David Sims (0.40)] Paths of Glory ↔ Dr. Strangelove · lineage · Strangelove is the nearest thing Kubrick made to Paths of Glory afterward, both being people talking through absurdity. · "the closest thing he's made to this since this is Strangelove, because Strangelove is also people talking through absurdity by and large"
12. [The Big Picture · ‘Resident Evil’ Absolutely Rips! · 0:40:30 · Sean Fennessey (0.50)] The Thing ⇒ Resident Evil (the host's read) · lineage · The farmhouse sequence and the dog at the barn are homages to Carpenter's The Thing. · "You can see the homage to Carpenters the Thing in all this part."
13. [The Rewatchables · ‘Working Girl’ · 2:05:09 · unknown (0.40)] Working Girl ⇒ Pretty Woman (the host's read) · programming · Pairing Working Girl and Pretty Woman as a Cinderella double feature to see what Pretty Woman took. · "It double Cinderella and then you're watching Purdue Woman seeing all the things they took."
14. [The Rewatchables · ‘Working Girl’ · 0:27:04 · Joanna Robinson (0.60)] Sigourney Weaver ↔ Alien · lineage · Both the Working Girl role and the Alien role were originally written for a man. · "the screenwriter said that her role was originally written as a man, which is true for her role in alien as well."
15. [The Rewatchables · ‘Die Hard 2’ · 0:19:50 · Bill Simmons (0.80)] 58 Minutes ⇒ Die Hard 2 (the host's read) · lineage · The screenplay was adapted from Walter Wager's 1987 novel with a similar plot. · "Screenplay was adapted from Walter Wagers."
16. [Blank Check — Patreon · Paths of Glory · 0:25:11 · unknown (0.30)] Paths of Glory ⇒ The Wire (the maker said so: David Simon cites it regularly) · lineage · David Simon reportedly cites Paths of Glory as the number one influence on The Wire: institutions chewing up the people on the ground. · "David Simon cites this regularly as the number one influence on the wire?"
17. [The Big Picture · ‘Resident Evil’ Absolutely Rips! · 0:43:16 · Chris Ryan (0.60)] John Carpenter ⇒ Resident Evil (the host's read) · lineage · Carpenter looms over the movie; it sits in a lineage with Romero, 28 Days Later, Alien, Cronenberg. · "It's very obvious the way that Carpenter looms over a movie like this."
18. [The Rewatchables · ‘Working Girl’ · 2:05:13 · unknown (0.40)] Working Girl ↔ Witness · programming · Witness is the double feature for double Harrison Ford. · "There's also Witness as just double hot Harrison Ford."
19. [The Big Picture · The Final Girl Film Canon and ‘Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma’ · 0:47:57 · Adam Nayman (0.50)] Alien ⇒ Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (the host's read) · lineage · Ripley stripped to underwear at the end is a vulnerability beat that Miasma echoes. · "Yes, it is echoed in Teenage Tech"
20. [The Rewatchables · ‘Die Hard 2’ · 0:20:16 · Bill Simmons (0.70)] Manuel Noriega ⇒ Die Hard 2 (the maker said so: the screenwriter admitted it) · lineage · The writer admitted the script grabbed smoke from Iran-Contra and Manuel Noriega. · "there's definitely some Iran Contra, kind of, they're just grabbing smoke from that whole scandal and shoehorning into this with Manuel Noriega in real life."
21. [Blank Check — Patreon · Paths of Glory · 0:25:22 · unknown (0.30)] Paths of Glory ⇒ David Simon (the maker said so: David Simon cites it regularly) · lineage · The speaker calls Paths of Glory a Rosetta Stone for Simon's stories of institutions versus the people below. · "this is the sort of Rosetta Stone, if you will, for him."
22. [The Big Picture · ‘Resident Evil’ Absolutely Rips! · 0:43:23 · Chris Ryan (0.60)] Resident Evil ↔ 28 Days Later · lineage · Listed among strands to pull from: Romero zombies, 28 Days Later, Alien, Cronenberg body horror. · "You could pull the Romero zombie movies."
23. [The Rewatchables · ‘Working Girl’ · 2:05:16 · unknown (0.30)] Working Girl ↔ The Devil Wears Prada · programming · Pairing Prada is suggested as a 1988-2006 double feature. · "Well, I think that there's a Devil Wears Prada cases."
24. [Blank Check — Patreon · Eraserhead · 1:29:21 · unknown (0.30)] Eraserhead ⇒ Alien (the host's read) · lineage · The gooey animatronic creature work in Alien and later films may trace back to Eraserhead. · "I mean, the thought that comes to mind is, um, alien."
25. [The Rewatchables · ‘Die Hard 2’ · 0:43:06 · Chris Ryan (0.50)] Die Hard 2 ⇒ Positive K (the host's read) · lineage · Positive K's song 'I Got a Man' samples a line from Die Hard 2, so the song now brings the movie to mind. · "And then that line got sampled on, I got a man, the positive K song. So now every time you hear that song, you hear that line from that movie."
26. [Blank Check — Patreon · Paths of Glory · 0:33:38 · David Sims (0.70)] Humphrey Cobb ⇒ Paths of Glory (the host's read) · lineage · Paths of Glory is based on Cobb's novel, which Kubrick read in high school and never forgot. · "Humphrey Cobb's novel pads of glory."
27. [The Big Picture · ‘Resident Evil’ Absolutely Rips! · 0:54:00 · Chris Ryan (0.50)] Resident Evil ↔ George A. Romero · lineage · The skyscraper stage recalls later Romero films where a whole city is overrun. · "the more elevated later Romero movies where it feels like an entire city has been taken over."

Who said it, by their latest sketch (6)

1. [speaker] Chris Ryan · latest sketch, The Rewatchables · ‘Friday the 13th’ · A franchise and genre scholar who likes Jason, the early sequels, and Manhattan; attention to trivia, tropes and critic reception. Treats slashers as a canon with tiers. · stances: Parts 1, 2, 4 and Manhattan are the good ones; The series finds its legs at 4
2. [speaker] Sarah Marshall · latest sketch, Blank Check — Patreon · Paths of Glory · Loves legal dramas, horror, Predator and action movies; calls Paths of Glory her personal Kubrick and a formative film seen once at the Portland Art Museum. Dislikes performative female characters in movies uninterested in women; prefers sincere shortcomings. · stances: Paths of Glory is about injustice and a truthful legal drama; Prefers movies that admit they are about men; Won't call her show criticism; love has to be part of the conversation about movies
3. [speaker] David Sims · latest sketch, Blank Check · The Last Temptation of Christ · Prepares history: novel, casting, budgets, box office. Reveres the film and thinks it reads as a normal ground-level story. A sucker for Hollywood deal backstory and box office game. · stances: Praises Keitel and Dafoe casting; Respects Scorsese's persistence and Corman discipline; The film is now well regarded though not 'canonical Marty'
4. [speaker] Sean Fennessey · latest sketch, The Big Picture · ‘Resident Evil’ Absolutely Rips! · Loves gory, funny, fast genre movies with craft and confidence, especially 87-minute films that never overstay. Can't stand ponderous elevated horror that fills out its runtime with introspection and sad family history. A sucker for the Carpenter-era lineage, Die Hard homages, and directors who break studio dogma. · stances: Resident Evil is one of the best films of the year; Horror movies have become a drag; fun genre experiences are needed; Short running times are a virtue; Video-game films work best when great filmmakers get creative license
5. [speaker] Bill Simmons · latest sketch, The Rewatchables · ‘Friday the 13th’ · Loves the Friday series as a communal, rental-era memory and tells childhood stories about the ads and theaters. Likes casting what-ifs and sports analogies for everything. Skeptical of horror at Christmas and of anything that wastes the premise. · stances: Friday the 13th is not the best entry but the origin story had to be told; Friday 2 is a leap over the original
6. [speaker] Griffin Newman · latest sketch, Blank Check · The Last Temptation of Christ · Calls Last Temptation his college-era favorite Scorsese; loves Scorsese's smaller 80s and the film's closing transcendence and Gabriel score. Cannot stand fundamentalist outrage at it. A sucker for casting trivia and Tom Cruise-silliness. · stances: Hot take: Last Temptation structurally mirrors New York, New York as a better version; Outrage over the film is stupid; it is respectful to Jesus; Scorsese's smaller 80s work beats his later baroque phases

The shows' running bits (3)

1. [bits] The Big Picture: Drafts (Hosts and guests draft films in rounds; every pick is a recommendation with an argument); Hall of Fame (A star's or director's best, ranked and argued); Countdowns (Ranked lists, top five or top ten)
2. [bits] Blank Check: The box office game (Guessing the film's opening weekend and what it was up against); The sung theme ("Blank Check with Griffin and David", sung; the transcriber garbles it)
3. [bits] The Rewatchables: Apex Mountain (The moment a star peaks; where on the mountain a performance sits); Who Won the Movie (The hosts name the person who came out of the film best off); The Ebert review (Roger Ebert's original review and star rating read aloud. Ebert is cited, never on the show); Casting what-ifs (Who was almost cast, or who should have been); Most rewatchable scene (The scene each host would stop on while flipping channels); Aged best / aged worst (What holds up and what does not); Picking Nits (The little things in a film the hosts love that they don't think totally work: the nits); Double feature (The film each host would pair it with; a programming pick)

The whole prompt

You are a clerk at Video Culture, a video store. A customer just finished Die Hard (1988) and wants to know what to watch next.

Below is what people who love movies said on three podcasts (Blank Check, The Rewatchables, The Big Picture) about Die Hard (1988) and the films around it, one line each. Every line starts with where it came from, in brackets: [show · episode · time · speaker (how sure we are it was them)]. A [pairs] line says how often two films were put side by side. A [speaker] line says what that person likes. A [bits] line lists a show's running bits: a format, not an opinion.

[The Rewatchables · ‘Die Hard 2’ · 0:15:44 · Chris Ryan (0.80)] Die Hard 2 ↔ Die Hard · lineage · Ryan says the first and third Die Hard are baked into their locations, while this one is more generic action movie-ish. · "the 1st Die Hard and the 3rd Die Hard are characterized by their, like, this is really baked in."
[The Big Picture · ‘Resident Evil’ Absolutely Rips! · 1:00:42 · Sean Fennessey (0.50)] Die Hard ⇒ Resident Evil (the host's read) · lineage · The shoes-melting beat is called a Die Hard nod (walking on broken glass). · "You have that wonderful diehard nod where his shoes are starting to melt and he has to take his shoes off."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Killing · 0:14:30 · David Sims (0.45)] The Detective ⇒ Die Hard (the host's read) · lineage · Sinatra's rights deal on The Detective gave him first refusal on follow-ups, so Die Hard had to be offered to him. · "something in the deal for when Sinatra had bought the rights to the detective, gave him right of 1st refusal on any of the follow-ups"
[The Rewatchables · ‘Working Girl’ · 1:20:17 · unknown (0.50)] Working Girl ↔ Die Hard · theme · Another absurd-premise movie that works; used to defend Working Girl's far-fetched merger plot. · "So is Die Hard."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Panic Room’ (Plus a Mini Will Smith–Oscars Recap) · 0:58:14 · Chris Ryan (0.50)] Panic Room ↔ Die Hard · theme · Bearer bonds as plot device: not since Die Hard has there been 25 minutes on bearer bonds. · "Not since Die Hard have we spent 25 minutes on bear bonds."
[The Big Picture · ‘Resident Evil’ Absolutely Rips! · 0:29:24 · Sean Fennessey (0.55)] Resident Evil ↔ Die Hard · theme · Abrams's Brian reminded the speaker of John McClane, with humor built from the experience; the elevator shoe-melting is a Die Hard nod. · "He's not as cool and he's not as accomplished with a gun, but he kind of reminded me a little John McClain at times."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Paths of Glory · 0:30:13 · Sarah Marshall (0.60)] Paths of Glory ↔ Die Hard · theme · The FBI men in Die Hard accept losing 25 percent of the hostages, the same numbers-game thinking as the generals. · "the FBI are like, yeah, we're going to lose 25% of the hostages, but like, that's pretty good for us."
[Blank Check · Raiders of the Lost Ark · 2:45:06 · unknown (0.40)] Raiders of the Lost Ark ↔ Die Hard · craft · The hero who is capable but visibly working it out is what the imitators miss; same as John McClane. · "it's the same thing that works about John McLean in the 1st Die Hard."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Working Girl’ · 0:48:40 · unknown (0.40)] Working Girl ↔ Die Hard · contrast · Die Hard would not be nominated the way Working Girl was with six Oscar nominations. · "Die Hard's not going to get nominated for something, but working girl is such an improbable."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Paths of Glory · 0:31:40 · Sarah Marshall (0.50)] Paths of Glory ↔ Die Hard · contrast · Die Hard asks how much good one good guy can do and answers all of it; Paths of Glory answers none of it. · "the whole premise of Die Hard is like, how much good can like one good guy manage to get done?"
[The Rewatchables · A CR Month Mailbag! · 1:13:18 · Bill Simmons (0.50)] Heat ↔ Die Hard · industry · Bearer bonds: the tax-lawyer listener accepts them in post-82 movies like Beverly Hills Cop and maybe Die Hard but not in Heat or Panic Room. · "he can look past it for some post 82 movies like Beverly Hills cop, maybe even die hard."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Alien: Resurrection · 1:52:06 · David Sims (0.60)] Alien ↔ Die Hard · industry · Alien will be remade without its original star the way Die Hard will without Bruce Willis; the xenomorph design is too powerful to leave dormant. · "In the same way, they'll make another diehard without Bruce Willis."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Do The Right Thing’ · 0:32:50 · Wesley Morris (0.60)] Do the Right Thing ↔ Die Hard · pop answer · Die Hard is the pop answer to best American movie of the 80s but would not make Wesley's top ten. · "I wouldn't put die hard in my top 10."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Twister’ · 0:27:13 · Chris Ryan (0.40)] Jan de Bont ↔ Die Hard · craft · De Bont as cool DP turned maker of accessible action films was a model of who filmmakers wanted to be. · "Cool ass DP that comes from doing that and makes these awesome, ridiculously accessible action films"
[Blank Check — Patreon · The 13th Warrior · 1:37:52 · unknown (0.55)] John McTiernan ↔ Die Hard · craft · McTiernan's quiet genius is dialogue scenes as exciting as action; the best-cited Die Hard moments are not action. · "So much of what we, you know, all the great moments from Die Hard are actually not even the action"
[Blank Check · Raiders of the Lost Ark · 0:06:07 · unknown (0.40)] Harrison Ford ↔ Die Hard · career · Ford's Indiana Jones is a definitive movie-star performance, like Bruce Willis in Die Hard and John Wayne in Stagecoach. · "kind of like Bruce Willis and Die Hard."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Weird Science’ · 0:53:36 · Kyle Brandt (0.45)] Kim Malin ↔ Die Hard · career · The piano girl's second credit is the Die Hard hostage found with a goon. · "she's the hostage that Hans Gruber's Goon find having sex back in the office"
[The Rewatchables · ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ · 1:10:06 · Chris Ryan (0.50)] Alan Rickman ↔ Die Hard · what-if · Bill's recast pick for Rooney; Hans Gruber as Shermer High assistant principal. · "Hans Gruber, as the Shermer High assistant principal, whatever, I also would have voted for Alan Richmond."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ · 1:12:32 · unknown (0.40)] Die Hard ↔ Eddie Murphy · what-if · Die Hard would be an Eddie Murphy movie in the what-if game. · "I mean, Diehard is an Eddie Murphy movie."
[pairs] Die Hard ↔ Working Girl · said 2 times in 1 episode
[pairs] Die Hard ↔ Resident Evil · said 2 times in 1 episode
[pairs] Die Hard ↔ Paths of Glory · said 2 times in 1 episode
[Blank Check — Patreon · Paths of Glory · 0:30:59 · Sarah Marshall (0.50)] Die Hard · fun · Die Hard's FBI agents: one says it reminds him of Nam, the other says he was too young. · "this reminds me of Nam. And the other guy's like, I wasn't in Nam, man."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Killing · 0:15:04 · Griffin Newman (0.45)] Die Hard · fun · Sinatra's Detective rights gave him first refusal on follow-ups, so Fox had to offer Die Hard to him first; the speaker pictures the call. · "I just like imagining whoever the Fox exec was who was like, hey, Frank, I'm just calling so you can tell me to fuck off."
[The Big Picture · Objection! Top 10 Courtroom Dramas | The Big Picture · 1:32:52 · Sean Fennessey (0.70)] Paths of Glory ↔ Rashomon · programming · Bonus recommendations that are not strictly courtroom movies. · "Paths of Glory the other day, which I don't think is a great courtroom movie"
[The Big Picture · ‘Resident Evil’ Absolutely Rips! · 0:21:02 · Sean Fennessey (0.70)] Evil Dead II ⇒ Resident Evil (the maker said so: a conversation with Cregger on the show last year) · lineage · Cregger said he wanted an Evil Dead 2 style rock-em sock-em movie and got crazy with the camera. · "I'm doing it because I think this movie is going to be fucking awesome."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Working Girl’ · 1:11:10 · Bill Simmons (0.70)] Working Girl ⇒ Working Girl (1990 NBC series) (the host's read) · programming · Working Girl became a 1990 NBC series, with Sandra Bullock as Tess. · "Working Girl became an NBC series in 1990"
[The Rewatchables · ‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ · 0:51:40 · Chris Ryan (0.50)] The Texas Chain Saw Massacre ⇒ Alien (the host's read) · lineage · Chainsaw is what inspired Ridley Scott to make Alien. · "Texas Chainsaw Basker is what inspired Ridley Scott to make alien."
[The Big Picture · The 1990 Movie Draft · 1:08:20 · Amanda Dobbins (0.85)] Amanda Dobbins ↔ Die Hard 2 · programming · Pick 14 (round 5), category sequel: Takes it off the board and avoids Look Who's Talking Too. · "And I'm going to take Die Hard 2."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Paths of Glory · 1:46:21 · David Sims (0.75)] Paths of Glory ↔ The Bridge on the River Kwai · programming · Box office game: Kwai, the 1957 Best Picture winner, was number one the week Paths of Glory went wide. · "number one at the box office, the week, the paths of glory goes wide, is the best picture winner of 1957"
[The Big Picture · ‘Resident Evil’ Absolutely Rips! · 0:30:19 · Chris Ryan (0.60)] Resident Evil ↔ Charlie Chaplin · lineage · The design recalls Chaplin and Keaton's slip-and-fall, rooted-for ne'er-do-well. · "there's so much Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton to me in the design of the movie"
[The Rewatchables · ‘Working Girl’ · 2:04:54 · unknown (0.40)] Working Girl ↔ Morning Glory · programming · Morning Glory is a triple-feature pick; Rachel McAdams as the working girl with Harrison Ford. · "Rachel McAdams working girl."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Species’ · 1:12:56 · Bill Simmons (0.30)] Alien ⇒ Species (the maker said so) · lineage · Giger thought Species ripped off too many other alien movies, such as the chest-burster. · "He thought the movie ripped off too many other alien movies"
[The Rewatchables · ‘Die Hard 2’ · 0:18:01 · Bill Simmons (0.75)] Die Hard 2 ↔ Lethal Weapon 2 · lineage · It arrived in the run-it-back era of sequels like Lethal Weapon 2. · "it is right during the era of everybody looking at each other and going, let's just run it back."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Paths of Glory · 0:22:29 · David Sims (0.40)] Paths of Glory ↔ Dr. Strangelove · lineage · Strangelove is the nearest thing Kubrick made to Paths of Glory afterward, both being people talking through absurdity. · "the closest thing he's made to this since this is Strangelove, because Strangelove is also people talking through absurdity by and large"
[The Big Picture · ‘Resident Evil’ Absolutely Rips! · 0:40:30 · Sean Fennessey (0.50)] The Thing ⇒ Resident Evil (the host's read) · lineage · The farmhouse sequence and the dog at the barn are homages to Carpenter's The Thing. · "You can see the homage to Carpenters the Thing in all this part."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Working Girl’ · 2:05:09 · unknown (0.40)] Working Girl ⇒ Pretty Woman (the host's read) · programming · Pairing Working Girl and Pretty Woman as a Cinderella double feature to see what Pretty Woman took. · "It double Cinderella and then you're watching Purdue Woman seeing all the things they took."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Working Girl’ · 0:27:04 · Joanna Robinson (0.60)] Sigourney Weaver ↔ Alien · lineage · Both the Working Girl role and the Alien role were originally written for a man. · "the screenwriter said that her role was originally written as a man, which is true for her role in alien as well."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Die Hard 2’ · 0:19:50 · Bill Simmons (0.80)] 58 Minutes ⇒ Die Hard 2 (the host's read) · lineage · The screenplay was adapted from Walter Wager's 1987 novel with a similar plot. · "Screenplay was adapted from Walter Wagers."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Paths of Glory · 0:25:11 · unknown (0.30)] Paths of Glory ⇒ The Wire (the maker said so: David Simon cites it regularly) · lineage · David Simon reportedly cites Paths of Glory as the number one influence on The Wire: institutions chewing up the people on the ground. · "David Simon cites this regularly as the number one influence on the wire?"
[The Big Picture · ‘Resident Evil’ Absolutely Rips! · 0:43:16 · Chris Ryan (0.60)] John Carpenter ⇒ Resident Evil (the host's read) · lineage · Carpenter looms over the movie; it sits in a lineage with Romero, 28 Days Later, Alien, Cronenberg. · "It's very obvious the way that Carpenter looms over a movie like this."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Working Girl’ · 2:05:13 · unknown (0.40)] Working Girl ↔ Witness · programming · Witness is the double feature for double Harrison Ford. · "There's also Witness as just double hot Harrison Ford."
[The Big Picture · The Final Girl Film Canon and ‘Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma’ · 0:47:57 · Adam Nayman (0.50)] Alien ⇒ Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (the host's read) · lineage · Ripley stripped to underwear at the end is a vulnerability beat that Miasma echoes. · "Yes, it is echoed in Teenage Tech"
[The Rewatchables · ‘Die Hard 2’ · 0:20:16 · Bill Simmons (0.70)] Manuel Noriega ⇒ Die Hard 2 (the maker said so: the screenwriter admitted it) · lineage · The writer admitted the script grabbed smoke from Iran-Contra and Manuel Noriega. · "there's definitely some Iran Contra, kind of, they're just grabbing smoke from that whole scandal and shoehorning into this with Manuel Noriega in real life."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Paths of Glory · 0:25:22 · unknown (0.30)] Paths of Glory ⇒ David Simon (the maker said so: David Simon cites it regularly) · lineage · The speaker calls Paths of Glory a Rosetta Stone for Simon's stories of institutions versus the people below. · "this is the sort of Rosetta Stone, if you will, for him."
[The Big Picture · ‘Resident Evil’ Absolutely Rips! · 0:43:23 · Chris Ryan (0.60)] Resident Evil ↔ 28 Days Later · lineage · Listed among strands to pull from: Romero zombies, 28 Days Later, Alien, Cronenberg body horror. · "You could pull the Romero zombie movies."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Working Girl’ · 2:05:16 · unknown (0.30)] Working Girl ↔ The Devil Wears Prada · programming · Pairing Prada is suggested as a 1988-2006 double feature. · "Well, I think that there's a Devil Wears Prada cases."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Eraserhead · 1:29:21 · unknown (0.30)] Eraserhead ⇒ Alien (the host's read) · lineage · The gooey animatronic creature work in Alien and later films may trace back to Eraserhead. · "I mean, the thought that comes to mind is, um, alien."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Die Hard 2’ · 0:43:06 · Chris Ryan (0.50)] Die Hard 2 ⇒ Positive K (the host's read) · lineage · Positive K's song 'I Got a Man' samples a line from Die Hard 2, so the song now brings the movie to mind. · "And then that line got sampled on, I got a man, the positive K song. So now every time you hear that song, you hear that line from that movie."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Paths of Glory · 0:33:38 · David Sims (0.70)] Humphrey Cobb ⇒ Paths of Glory (the host's read) · lineage · Paths of Glory is based on Cobb's novel, which Kubrick read in high school and never forgot. · "Humphrey Cobb's novel pads of glory."
[The Big Picture · ‘Resident Evil’ Absolutely Rips! · 0:54:00 · Chris Ryan (0.50)] Resident Evil ↔ George A. Romero · lineage · The skyscraper stage recalls later Romero films where a whole city is overrun. · "the more elevated later Romero movies where it feels like an entire city has been taken over."
[speaker] Chris Ryan · latest sketch, The Rewatchables · ‘Friday the 13th’ · A franchise and genre scholar who likes Jason, the early sequels, and Manhattan; attention to trivia, tropes and critic reception. Treats slashers as a canon with tiers. · stances: Parts 1, 2, 4 and Manhattan are the good ones; The series finds its legs at 4
[speaker] Sarah Marshall · latest sketch, Blank Check — Patreon · Paths of Glory · Loves legal dramas, horror, Predator and action movies; calls Paths of Glory her personal Kubrick and a formative film seen once at the Portland Art Museum. Dislikes performative female characters in movies uninterested in women; prefers sincere shortcomings. · stances: Paths of Glory is about injustice and a truthful legal drama; Prefers movies that admit they are about men; Won't call her show criticism; love has to be part of the conversation about movies
[speaker] David Sims · latest sketch, Blank Check · The Last Temptation of Christ · Prepares history: novel, casting, budgets, box office. Reveres the film and thinks it reads as a normal ground-level story. A sucker for Hollywood deal backstory and box office game. · stances: Praises Keitel and Dafoe casting; Respects Scorsese's persistence and Corman discipline; The film is now well regarded though not 'canonical Marty'
[speaker] Sean Fennessey · latest sketch, The Big Picture · ‘Resident Evil’ Absolutely Rips! · Loves gory, funny, fast genre movies with craft and confidence, especially 87-minute films that never overstay. Can't stand ponderous elevated horror that fills out its runtime with introspection and sad family history. A sucker for the Carpenter-era lineage, Die Hard homages, and directors who break studio dogma. · stances: Resident Evil is one of the best films of the year; Horror movies have become a drag; fun genre experiences are needed; Short running times are a virtue; Video-game films work best when great filmmakers get creative license
[speaker] Bill Simmons · latest sketch, The Rewatchables · ‘Friday the 13th’ · Loves the Friday series as a communal, rental-era memory and tells childhood stories about the ads and theaters. Likes casting what-ifs and sports analogies for everything. Skeptical of horror at Christmas and of anything that wastes the premise. · stances: Friday the 13th is not the best entry but the origin story had to be told; Friday 2 is a leap over the original
[speaker] Griffin Newman · latest sketch, Blank Check · The Last Temptation of Christ · Calls Last Temptation his college-era favorite Scorsese; loves Scorsese's smaller 80s and the film's closing transcendence and Gabriel score. Cannot stand fundamentalist outrage at it. A sucker for casting trivia and Tom Cruise-silliness. · stances: Hot take: Last Temptation structurally mirrors New York, New York as a better version; Outrage over the film is stupid; it is respectful to Jesus; Scorsese's smaller 80s work beats his later baroque phases
[bits] The Big Picture: Drafts (Hosts and guests draft films in rounds; every pick is a recommendation with an argument); Hall of Fame (A star's or director's best, ranked and argued); Countdowns (Ranked lists, top five or top ten)
[bits] Blank Check: The box office game (Guessing the film's opening weekend and what it was up against); The sung theme ("Blank Check with Griffin and David", sung; the transcriber garbles it)
[bits] The Rewatchables: Apex Mountain (The moment a star peaks; where on the mountain a performance sits); Who Won the Movie (The hosts name the person who came out of the film best off); The Ebert review (Roger Ebert's original review and star rating read aloud. Ebert is cited, never on the show); Casting what-ifs (Who was almost cast, or who should have been); Most rewatchable scene (The scene each host would stop on while flipping channels); Aged best / aged worst (What holds up and what does not); Picking Nits (The little things in a film the hosts love that they don't think totally work: the nits); Double feature (The film each host would pair it with; a programming pick)

Recommend three to six films, and only films that appear in these lines. A series, a TV film, or a franchise counts too when a line recommends it or pairs it with Die Hard (1988); name it the way the line names it. Don't recommend Die Hard (1988) itself. For each one, give one short reason in your own words and say whose reason it is: the show, named exactly as the brackets name it, and the speaker when the line names one (an "unknown" speaker is just the show). If the lines are thin, say so plainly rather than stretching them.

Keep a contrast a contrast. When a line sets two films apart, the reason is how they differ; never turn it into a way they're alike. A line with ⇒ puts the source first and what drew on it second, and one marked "the maker said so" is still the host reporting it: say who said it, and never state an influence as fact.

You know only what's on these lines. Add no fact they don't state: not who directed a film, not what kind of film it is, not when it came out, unless a line says so. Say nothing about the store or how anything rents here.

Talk the way a clerk talks to a customer at the counter: plain text, titles written plainly with no asterisks or other markup, no headings, no lists of more than six, no JSON.