Die Hard analysis

Film Analysis - Die Hard (1988)

‘Die Hard’ is an action crime thriller, based on a New York cop who flies to LA to discover that a group of terrorists are holding people hostage, including his wife.

The target audience for this movie is older teenagers to middle-aged adults, similar to other thriller movies. The reason for this target audience id firstly because of the movies age rating, which is an 18. The ages of the main characters in the movie also reflect the target audience. The main characters are adults, so the target audience can relate to them, making the movie seem more realistic. I think that the target audience is suited to the movie, as it contains a lot of strong language and violence that is unsuitable for younger audiences.

The structure of ‘Die Hard’ is a linear narrative, similar to most other thriller movies. This means that the audience are unaware of the outcome of the movie, as events occur in a chronological order, making the movie scarier and unpredictable.

This movie contains codes and conventions that are typical of the thriller genre. One of these is a sense of urgency, caused by a time limit that the hostages have to live. This sense of urgency adds to the ‘thrill’ of the movie. Violence and murder are other themes that are included.

I am going to study the scene where the main character, John McClane, puts a bomb down a lift shaft; this is to look at the way it uses codes and conventions of the thriller genre.

Firstly, I will look at Mise-en-scene. The main colours of this section are blues and greys, setting an unpleasant, dull mood, similar to ‘Speed’. The setting of this section is in a building on a high floor, which could suggest that he could be easily captured, as there is no easy escape; this increases the tension of the scene.

There are also several different camera angles that are used in this section. Close-ups are used to show emotion, specifically of the villain who is watching the building as the bomb explodes. Close-ups also show the audience what John McClane is doing with the bomb.

High-angle shots show how far down the bottom of the lift shaft is, making the scene more intense for the audience. Long shots are used to show the damage that the bomb has caused to the building.

The editing pace in this section is fast-paced, as all of the action is happening quickly. This increases the ‘thrill’ of the movie, as the audience are not sure what is going to happen next, and whether John McClanes plan will work.

The lighting in this scene is low-key, similar to many other thriller movies. This gives the scene a dull tone, and symbolises that something bad has or will happen.

Both diegetic and non-diegetic sound is used in this section. Diegetic sounds include dialogue, as well as the sound of the bomb exploding, letting the audience know what is happening.

Non-diegetic music adds to the intensity of the scene, and lets the audience know that something important is about to happen.

Overall, this movie contains many codes and conventions that are typical of the thriller genre, as well as having a unique selling point, which is the type of characters, and the situation that John McClane is in, as one of the hostages is his wife.

Jodi Ferguson.