Stories from the set

The two surviving terrorists never once showed whether they had any weapons at all, and did not make a single attempt to intimidate the hostages.

The film is based on the novel by Roderick Thorp "Nothing Lasts Forever" (Nothing Lasts Forever, 1979).

When the film first appeared in Russia, it was known under various titles, among which were "Neistrebeemy", "Uperty", "Umri tyazhelo, no dostoyno". The Russian official title of the film - "Krepkiy oreshek" - was established for it somewhat later. The literal Russian translation of the film's title sounds like this: "Resist to the end" or "Be steadfast".

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Burt Reynolds, and Richard Gere were all considered for the role of John McClane. Bruce Willis was only the fifth candidate.

The official poster for the film had no mention of Bruce Willis and no image of him. Only a huge building. The producers deliberately chose not to put the actor's face on it so as not to put off Bruce's anti-fans from watching. After it became clear that the film was a success at the box office, posters featuring the actor's image appeared as well.

The German phrases spoken by the terrorists are in places grammatically incorrect and meaningless. In the German version of the film, the terrorists are not from Germany at all, but "from somewhere in Europe."

In the film, one of the cops says that John McClane "could have been a pretty good bartender." Before starting his acting career, Bruce actually worked as a bartender.

The book on which the film is based is a sequel to the novel "The Detective," which was also adapted for the screen. The lead role in it was played by Frank Sinatra. Bruce Willis made his debut in 1980 in the film "The First Deadly Sin." In one of the episodes of the film, Bruce's character comes out of a bar, and at that same moment Sinatra's character enters the bar.

The screenplay for the film was originally written as a sequel to "Commando." However, after Arnold Schwarzenegger refused to appear in the sequel, the screenplay underwent major changes.

For his role in the film, Bruce Willis received a fee of 5 million dollars, unheard of for him at the time.