Funny enough, it looked to be some of the best 6 mins of "serious" acting Willis would've ever done. I can't belive it's him on screen there, he's REALLY good!!!
Awesome ending, I would have preferred to see this instead of the helicopter scene. Mind games are always a pleasure to see , especially when performed by two great actors.
this is actually pretty good. I really like the scenes when the good guy and bad guy talk almost half casually before killing each other. They could've added some excitement parts to this and made it a perfect ending. I liked the original ending but it isn't as cool as showdown as this. This isn't as exciting as it should be either so trade
It was planned but unfilmed. In that ending, the Simon and his men escape to a plane, but John had planted one of the earlier bombs in one of the gold containers. Simon had earlier left the bomb which required the weight of four gallons to defuse, but he had only given John containers with 3 and 5 gallons, forcing him and Zeus to figure out to pour exactly four gallons into the bomb.
Few years ago i bought the dvd of this films just for the alternative ending that was advertised on the box, and it wasn't even on the dvd. Finally get to see it, good enough.
@blackshot In this ending, he was depicted as having been tipped psychologically from his disgrace at the NYPD. He became obsessed with finding Simon and getting revenge. Now, you should know that people bent on revenge - like Batman - are very calculating, where they might not have been before.
Holy shit man this is the best ending I ever seen, very small amount of effects, no Stunt BS, just perfect dark Dialog. However I see why they did not added in since it would then kill all future sequels.
That's really dark...I wish I could have seen the whole movie with this ending in it's entirety...John was pushed to the point of confusion and mayhem with Zeus being the only person keeping him level in the game. Being it would seem John lost and Simon gets away...I would imagine it mentally broke John and of course without Zeus in this whole scene, it would lead John to do whatever method of vengeance he wanted...The title really hold a whole different meaning now.
Much better ending than the one in the movie. Watching John get the best of Simon, leaving him in a hopeless situation right to his face with just the 2 of them after all Simon put him through was awesome to watch. The acting in the scene was absolutely superb!!
This is still awesome. Just like how calm Simon is calling for security. The when John McClain says he dispatched those guards he just tosses to phone aside like oh well. I think John plays it well and fed him the lie detector part just to get him to laugh. He knew he was going to laugh. Then he gets a head ache and John tosses him the bottle of aspirin. You can tell Simon's pi$$ed when John McClain knocks the stuff of his desk with the rocket launcher. But then he gets confused and intrigued when the arrow indicators are missing. Mainly what's so funny is that when he stutters, "the antidote to the brandy" after John McClain is going "what does he forget? What did he forget? What does he forget Simon?!?!" Just the way he stutters, "the antidote to the brandy," is you know for sure and he knows for sure he's wrong. And then how he says, "oh yes" when McClane asks him if he's sure that's the right way for the rocket launcher. I need more of Jeremy Irons. I enjoyed him in LAST CALL.
That's true. He's older now, and more jaded than he was back then. After all he's been through, it's a lot harder to surprise him than it was 20 years - or even 12 years - ago. I think they wrote older McClane very well, actually. :)
Although this ending wouldn't have fit the tone of the movie, I do like it from a character development angle. I completely changes John McClane's motivation and sets a very dark precedent for the character's future. It would have even opened the door to Willis playing McClane as the bad guy in "Die Hard 4," which would have been VERY interesting.
This is a better ending and when people say "this is soo out of character." My response is this : he curses heavily , drinks, smokes cigarettes, kills people, and causes massive property damage everywhere he goes yet blowing a missile through the bad guy is bad to the audience. Come on, this guy bombed random citizens in NY and almost killed McClane on multiple occasions yet this seems wrong. And also it seems fitting as he lost his job and his pension and was falsely accused. I
Wow what weird ending. I like it. It's more exciting. More thrill. Well John McLane always shoot first and ask questions later but for this he asked questions and outsmarted a guy with higher IQ.
Great ending but what would have been poetic justice would be that Zeus and John would capture simon and put him in the middle of harlem with the sign that mclane wore in the beginning
Fun fact:this scene would be taking place somewhere in Eastern Europe, specifically Hungary or Romania,as Simon thanks in Hungarian the waitress for the coffee. However,when John tells him to get the people out of the bar, he says "Pincér!Vesszetek el" which is the literal translation of the English phrase "Waiter!Get lost".This sounds silly for anyone who actually really speaks the language. I guess, the Hungarian henchmen and this scene were a nod to Andrew G. Vajna, the producer of this movie
I think anyone would be pissed off enough to do that to Simon or possibly worse. Since now he really doesn't have anyone. Not his wife, kids, etc. also going with this ending, probably would've affected DH4 heavily and probably would've made it a better Die Hard than it is now. Also would have some interesting depth to McClane as a character.
But what you gotta remember is that this is the only Die Hard where McLane's ego and desire to 'beat' Simon got in his way. Remember after him and Zeus escape the ship? "There was no gold on that boat, he beat me." Think back, the only sort of rivalry McLane developed was with Hans Gruber, but that was never really anything major. And this rivalry was a lot more personal, especially with Simon's motives and reasoning for targetting McClane.
@TBStudios91 wikipedia said that "unlike the rocket launcher sequence, [the draft for the second alternate ending with mclane and zues sending back the water jug bomb] was never actually filmed" at least that what it says now
Most likely they would have shorten down the original ending and had this one was the real ending - i think that would have been awesme - a massive gunfight and then a moment of tension between the main hero and villian - ahh reminds me of the Sergio Leone films !
Yeah I understand what you mean, John Mcclane just doesn't seem like a person that would plan something to complex. He's more of a " think on the spot" kind of guy
Steve...well said. Shooting the helicoper & ending it all is what DieHard movies are all about ..this ending is just not the way a Die hard movie works ...great scene tho..lol
@kirk85kirk It was a small explosive device...there were explosive devices that could have done that. And in terms of McClane being an honest cop...does the whole 'honest cop' genre work for 5 or 6 films? No because people get bored of it. I reckon this kind of ending would have been brilliant because it would have shown more depth in McClane as a character and would have opened him up as someone else. Of course everyone has there opinions so I respect your opinion.
Well remember when Simon left McClane and Zeus handcuffed on the ship rigged to blow? Remember how McClane had been complaining about a headache throughout the film?Then just before McClane is supposed to die simon gives him the bottle of asprin as "a little irony" that McClane wouldn't be able to use the asprin. I think it was clever what they did with this ending in terms of Simon saying "enjoy life's little ironies" and how it was Simon trying to be ironic that caused his death in the end.
I don't know about everyone else, but I actually prefer this ending. The only thing is that it wouldn't have had a reference back to Holly like the theatrical did. The thing that made this ending better is the fact that McClane beats Simon with his mind (McClane's way). It only seems right to have Simon beat at his own game instead of another action sequence which was not needed.
@breisgaubrasilianer It IS Hungarian. Believe me. I am Hungarian. There are some words I can't recognise because of the accent (the accent is a little bit funny:)), but it isn't a fantasy language. The waitress says: "Kávé, uram." which means: "Coffee, sir." Simon (Jeremy Irons) : "Nagyon kedves, köszönöm." which means: "Very nice, thank you." When he shouts he must say something like: "Pincér! ??? el. ??? el. Rögtön! ???". It means exactly: "Waitresses! Go away! Get the hell outa here!"
Answers to the riddle. 1. You dont bury the living. 2. Sunday is the horse name 3. husband/wife. the husband is younger than the wife. Its really that simple 4. Flak Jacket. But even if he answered it right he still lose because McClane never said "McClane says" for 4th question like the movie.
This alternate ending probably takes place in Hungary. The waitress says "Your coffee, Sir" in clear Hungarian. And Jeremy replies "very kind, thank you".
@armageddon9999 It was a riddle about a man riding 18 hours into town on Sunday and riding 18 hours out of town on Sunday.....sound impossible but the horse's name is Sunday.
Here's my Pros and Cons about this version. Pros: McClane and Simon are face to face. McClane is more of a family man. Simon got a taste of his own medicine. Cons: Didn't take place within 24 hours of the movie. McClane is fired from NYPD. McClane isn't really threatened at all in the situation.
Actually, the good guy and bad guy would both bring weapons to the bar with which to kill the other. One is a bomb, the other is brandy. They'd both drink the brandy, and then the bad guy would administer the antidote to himself so that only the good guy was left dead. That's how I took it at least.
@warblerab Riddle: 3 years ago I busted two robbers, the youngest was the father of the other ones son (the other robber's son). The two robbers were a husband and wife couple where the husband is younger than the wife.
I cannot believe I actually forgot about this. It's a little hokey, but it is perfectly dark. I guess if some guy had ruined my life, pension, and 20-year career while doing what was right, I'd probably go to the ends of the earth to do some wrong as well.
@TisLiberte Its on the 2 Disc Special Edition of Die Hard 3 ... that dvd version is nice anyway.. dvd commentary from McTiernan, lots of making of stuff etc..
I always thought the ending to die hard 3 was too quick, I do like this ending, the fact that the bad guy got away, but this would have been an action scene, then I would have got to this scene cut it down a little, it would have been kind of like a stand off mixed with riddles.
John really cleaned up! Damn, he looks good! I heard about this ending. This was the first time, I saw it. Maybe, this would've made a better ending than the original. McClane Says! LOL!
this ending may have change the tone of the movie, but it would have been a great closing for McClane. Plus its eons better than the actual ending, which was too hollywood, IMO
