Top July 4 Movies Of All Time-Number 5…How Does This Happen To The Same Guy Twice?
Summer in general, in the time that movie studios unleashed their biggest, loudest, and most expensive blockbuster films. In recent years, they have released them earlier and earlier (now the…
Summer in general, in the time that movie studios unleashed their biggest, loudest, and most expensive blockbuster films. In recent years, they have released them earlier and earlier (now the first two weeks in May are big) to try and take advantage of as much summertime viewing opportunities as possible.
However, for most of my life, it was July 4th Weekend that was HUGE for releases. Just how huge? Well, for the next couple of days, I'm gonna count down what are-to me-the top Independence Day movies of all-time.
And today, we begin with Number 5: "Die Hard 2: Die Harder," released on July 4, 1990.
The first "Die Hard," released in the summer of 1988, was sort of a surprise hit in that Bruce Willis was a TV star on a romantic dramedy, "Moonlighting," and was truly an unproven box offic commodity.
That quickly changed as his "John McClane's" one-man war against a terrorist group at a building in LA was then, and still holds up today, as a great, fun, loud film.
Like the first, the sequel was set at Christmas time (remember, it's July 4). This time the setting is Washington DC's Dulles Airport on Christmas Eve. Terrorists are trying to secure freedom for a "Castro-like" military figure and using a sky full of planes that can't land as hostages to negotiate with. One problem, John McClane is in DC.
That was EASILY one of the best teaser trailers I was ever surprised with in a movie theater. The entire place erupted when Willis uttered his line. "Die Hard 2: Die Harder" made almost $240 million worldwide-making it a rarity...a sequel that outperforms the original (nearly doubling "Die Hard in box office take).
Oh, one thing to watch for early on is a production mistake that no one caught. Willis goes to a pay phone in the first few minutes of the movie-a movie that is set in Washington DC. The pay phone is clearly labeled "Pacific Bell." Oops.
Tomorrow, July 4 movie number 4. It made audiences HOWL with laughter back then and still does today.
