When a group of terrorists seize control of the building he's in, New York cop John McClane is forced to take matters into his own hands.
Classification Issues
- Violence
- There are scenes in which men are shot, resulting in brief blood spurts. There is also a scene in which a man is shot in the head by one of the terrorists, causing blood to splatter onto a glass door panel. There is an extended fight sequence that includes a headbutt and repeated heavy punches and kicks, as well as a terrorist being hanged from a length of chain.
- Threat and horror
- The hero is forced to walk bare-footed on glass when the terrorists deliberately shoot out some window panels. The hero then has to remove the shards from his feet.
- Language
- There are several uses of strong language ('f**k' and 'motherf**ker'). There is also moderate and mild bad language (for example, 'pricks', 'dickhead', 'jerking me off', ‘shit’, ‘asshole’, and ‘pissed’).
- Additional issues
- In one scene a woman whose breasts are exposed is found by the terrorists when they enter an office in which she appears to be having sex with a man. There is also occasional sight of topless women in magazine pin-up photos. Adult characters drink and smoke and one negatively presented character is briefly seen snorting cocaine.
Cinema classification
The Christmas film of choice for action fans, Die Hard was first submitted to the BBFC in July 1988.
The film contained a number of potential classification issues, as noted by the Examiners in their reports. Sex, nudity, drug use and violence all make an appearance at various levels.
The depiction of violence was the main focus for the BBFC, and the reports explain clearly how the careful choreography of the action worked at the 18 category – “Much is left to the imagination” and Bruce Willis “diffuses much of the violence with his persona”. Whilst there are some close-up shots of injury detail, the Examiners recognised that these do not “revel in sadism for the sake of it”. A fight between McClane and a terrorist “skilfully suggests considerable toughness without appearances of blood or slow motion or close-up”. Often the climactic moments are “perpetrated by an inanimate object, i.e. falling through glass at the end of a fight”. Overall, the depiction of violence avoids any harmful “selling of brutality”, and the team were confident that Die Hard could sit comfortably at the 18 category without any cuts.
Subsequent submissions
Die Hard was also rated 18 for its video release 1989 and remained at that category until 2008, when it was resubmitted and considered under the Classification Guidelines in effect at the time.
Upon re-submission in 2008, the new examining team agreed with the observations of the 1988 reports, chiefly that much of the violence is implied and presented without strong, gory detail. In 2008, however, this meant that the BBFC could now accommodate the action at 15, as the Guidelines at that category stated “violence may be strong but may not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury”.
Die Hard was also classified 15 for theatrical re-release in 2013.
