John McTiernan POLL

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i always think of this guy as falling off after red october, but he still did some decent stuff up until Rollerball. destroy: Basic

Poll Results

OptionVotes
1988 Die Hard 20
1987 Predator 5
1995 Die Hard: With a Vengeance 3
2003 Basic 1
1990 The Hunt for Red October 1
1993 Last Action Hero 1
2002 Rollerball 1
1992 Medicine Man 0
1999 The 13th Warrior 0
1999 The Thomas Crown Affair 0
1986 Nomads 0


xX_420_GoKu_ChRiStWaRrIoR_Xx (Princess TamTam), Friday, 17 December 2010 14:13 (fifteen years ago)

its basically impossible for me not to vote for "die hard" in any poll under virtually any circumstances, unless there were some crazy negations or w/e in the question

kanellos (gbx), Friday, 17 December 2010 14:16 (fifteen years ago)

counterpoint:

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs199.snc1/6728_131657350751_739675751_3202204_4429866_n.jpg

xX_420_GoKu_ChRiStWaRrIoR_Xx (Princess TamTam), Friday, 17 December 2010 14:33 (fifteen years ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

System, Tuesday, 21 December 2010 00:01 (fifteen years ago)

has to be die hard tho

all i gotta do is akh nachivly (darraghmac), Tuesday, 21 December 2010 00:01 (fifteen years ago)

I think I've watched Red October more times than Die Hard.

Anyway Predator 4 lyfe.

Kerm, Tuesday, 21 December 2010 00:04 (fifteen years ago)

Die Hard by a pretty large margin, but it was hard not voting for Predator. Nothing else very good in his filmography sadly.

WARS OF ARMAGEDDON (Karaoke Version) (Sparkle Motion), Tuesday, 21 December 2010 00:06 (fifteen years ago)

red october's cool; die hard 3, last action hero and 13th warrior all have their moments

the boobfinder general (Princess TamTam), Tuesday, 21 December 2010 00:07 (fifteen years ago)

Hell, I've probably seen DHw/aV more times than Die Hard...

Kerm, Tuesday, 21 December 2010 00:08 (fifteen years ago)

I'd like to see the directors cut of 13th warrior--the premise had promise...I recall seeing a trailer for it when it was still called "Eaters of the Dead".

WARS OF ARMAGEDDON (Karaoke Version) (Sparkle Motion), Tuesday, 21 December 2010 00:09 (fifteen years ago)

There's no way it can't be Die Hard. No way.

A brownish area with points (chap), Tuesday, 21 December 2010 00:35 (fifteen years ago)

Red October

boots get knocked from here to czechoslovakier (milo z), Tuesday, 21 December 2010 00:38 (fifteen years ago)

Die Hard and Red October are much better and more intelligent than anything else he did. Predator is a ton of fun but not on that level of filmmaking.

I think Die Hard is one of the greatest films ever.

Matt Armstrong, Tuesday, 21 December 2010 00:58 (fifteen years ago)

Yeah. Predator is one of my favorite movies but I don't think I could vote for anything other than DH.

ENBB, Tuesday, 21 December 2010 00:59 (fifteen years ago)

'red october' is really, really sharp. it's strange to see this PG action film with pretty much zero cheap jokes and super well-drawn characters talking and acting like actual adults (albeit w/spotty accents.) 'die hard' seems like the obvious choice but 'red october' pretty much owns.

omar little, Tuesday, 21 December 2010 01:02 (fifteen years ago)

I don't know that I've actually seen it.

ENBB, Tuesday, 21 December 2010 01:02 (fifteen years ago)

someone posted before about die hard inventing/defining and perfecting an entire subgenre all at once.

all i gotta do is akh nachivly (darraghmac), Tuesday, 21 December 2010 01:03 (fifteen years ago)

If you ignore that fact that it's called "The Thomas Crown Affair" (and all the remake baggage it carries with it), The Thomas Crown Affair is decent movie. Still voting for Die Hard of course.

Stockhausen's Ekranoplan Quartet (Elvis Telecom), Tuesday, 21 December 2010 01:04 (fifteen years ago)

red october drops points against die hard for connery's panto accent vs rickman's imo

thomas crown, predator, 13th warrior, DHWAV and even last action hero- will still sit and watch any of these on demand, tho they're definitely a level down from red october and die hard

all i gotta do is akh nachivly (darraghmac), Tuesday, 21 December 2010 01:06 (fifteen years ago)

'red october' is really, really sharp. it's strange to see this PG action film with pretty much zero cheap jokes and super well-drawn characters talking and acting like actual adults (albeit w/spotty accents.) 'die hard' seems like the obvious choice but 'red october' pretty much owns.

― omar little, Monday, December 20, 2010 8:02 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark

red october's fantastic and has one of my favorite scott glenn performances

the boobfinder general (Princess TamTam), Tuesday, 21 December 2010 01:06 (fifteen years ago)

voted die hard but love love love red october. will also rep for dh:wav and predator of course.

balls, Tuesday, 21 December 2010 04:20 (fifteen years ago)

DH: WAV is a really, really dumb movie. Like Michael Bay dumb.

Matt Armstrong, Tuesday, 21 December 2010 05:10 (fifteen years ago)

I didn't like DH:WAV at all when it came out, I haven't seen it since.

WARS OF ARMAGEDDON (Karaoke Version) (Sparkle Motion), Tuesday, 21 December 2010 06:15 (fifteen years ago)

someone posted before about die hard inventing/defining and perfecting an entire subgenre all at once.

― all i gotta do is akh nachivly (darraghmac), Monday, December 20, 2010 8:03 PM Bookmark

that was me! on this thread, which is a good one: Yippie Ki Yay! It's the Die Hard poll

I have a strong suspicion I stole that from somewhere though, it seems really too coherent and insightful and what the fuck do I know about action subgenres?

Doctor Casino, Tuesday, 21 December 2010 07:31 (fifteen years ago)

I always loved the handheld cinematography in Die Hard 3.

groovemaaan, Tuesday, 21 December 2010 13:09 (fifteen years ago)

McTiernan's Thomas Crown Affair >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> the origianl

Gus Van Sotosyn (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 21 December 2010 13:24 (fifteen years ago)

any excuse to post this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCVc5TaPpe8

dayo, Tuesday, 21 December 2010 13:44 (fifteen years ago)

"Basic." Oh, wait, I meant "Die Hard."

Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 21 December 2010 14:46 (fifteen years ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

System, Wednesday, 22 December 2010 00:01 (fifteen years ago)

Conclusive! This thread did make me want to check out Red October sometime though...

Doctor Casino, Wednesday, 22 December 2010 00:20 (fifteen years ago)

who the fuck voted for Basic

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMf0MTweXYc (Princess TamTam), Wednesday, 22 December 2010 00:21 (fifteen years ago)

two years pass...

well it's not like he'd made a good movie since 1995

let's go do some crimes (strongo hulkington's ghost dad), Tuesday, 15 January 2013 23:47 (thirteen years ago)

Scalia's all "I saw that Rollerball remake one night while I was at home eating bad pizza and scratching my balls, fuck that guy."

Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 15 January 2013 23:48 (thirteen years ago)

four months pass...

Exclusive: The Tragic Imprisonment Of John McTiernan, Hollywood Icon (heads up, it's a BuzzFeed link)

Elvis Telecom, Wednesday, 29 May 2013 06:05 (twelve years ago)

hey you guys, rollerball is kind of underrated

flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Wednesday, 29 May 2013 08:16 (twelve years ago)

.

jklol die hard 4eva

flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Wednesday, 29 May 2013 08:16 (twelve years ago)

red october is mostly awesome but has a kind of rushed and confusing climax IIRC

flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Wednesday, 29 May 2013 08:18 (twelve years ago)

three weeks pass...

That Buzzfeed piece deserves a second look -- it's one of the last pieces Michael Hastings ever wrote, if not the last major one.

Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 19 June 2013 04:43 (twelve years ago)

:( ended on a bum note. McTiernan tried to get off easy for some serious crimes, and failed.

oxygenating our wombspace (abanana), Wednesday, 19 June 2013 14:50 (twelve years ago)

eight months pass...

Served his term, headed to Wyoming.

Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 26 February 2014 15:23 (twelve years ago)

seven months pass...

Finally watched Red October. It was good, very close to great. amateurist is right that the climax is rushed, and everybody's right about the accents, and several things happen that don't really make sense if you have time to think about them, and some of the effects shots (including the closing blue-screen bit, with the fishing conversation and all) just look bad. And Baldwin kind of isn't that interesting to watch. But I do like how long they keep the ball in the air: is this guy a rogue madman or a defector or what? And yeah, not too many really dopey ridiculous lines. I like that people are always presenting their cockamamie theories and everybody is basically willing to hear them out, think hard about it, and make a decision.

Doctor Casino, Thursday, 2 October 2014 06:06 (eleven years ago)

the only real flaw of the film is the character of tupelov. i think skarsgård does a good job with the role but i'd like to see a version where he's just a dude going about a mission rather than a sweating villain in a red-hued sub. great last line from his #2 just before the torpedo hits, though.

LIKE If you are against racism (omar little), Thursday, 2 October 2014 21:40 (eleven years ago)

It's a tough call because it risks cluttering up the film a bit developing him, but it is kinda weird how he's basically got two, maybe three scenes total. He's kept at the level of a plot complication - like the saboteur - which may be part of why the climax feels a bit hollow.

Some smart use of titles and transitions in this thing though. "20 hours later..." and you kinda pass over the fact that, wait, in twenty hours this seasoned, desperate submarine captain didn't look into this saboteur thing? Like, at all?

Doctor Casino, Thursday, 2 October 2014 21:47 (eleven years ago)

three years pass...

was thinking about McTiernan as one of the last great action craftsmen, like a very genuinely skilled filmmaker with a subtle eye for editing, framing, and multiple camera use in a way that is not at all flashy but really creates a large scope and sense of a very full world outside of the frame of the films he directed. I believe Die Hard and Red October are superior in this regard, DHWAV less so but still considerably excellent. I think elsewhere I called it a "The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3" for the '90s and I stand by that.

Red October remains underrated; going off what I said before upthread it's just an exceptionally well-made thriller and the casting of all the smaller roles (Richard Jordan, Joss Ackland, Jeffrey Jones, Fred Thompson(!), Courtney B. Vance, Daniel Davis, Anthony Peck) is 100% spot-on. It's a total pleasure to watch. I'd probably walk back a bit my comments re: Skarsgård and the manner in which his vessel was presented, I guess there has to be something to differentiate between three different submarines chasing each other at the end.

omar little, Tuesday, 7 August 2018 18:14 (seven years ago)

last action hero is amazing imo

princess of hell (BradNelson), Tuesday, 7 August 2018 18:21 (seven years ago)

nomads is bad

mark s, Tuesday, 7 August 2018 18:22 (seven years ago)

i'd like to see 13th Warrior at some point, it sounds like it has potential as a "reassessed years later" type film.

Last Action Hero has a lot of terrible elements but it's still decent enough and a lot of fun, or at least it was when i saw it on videocassette 25 years ago.

omar little, Tuesday, 7 August 2018 20:12 (seven years ago)

the only thing i don't really like about last action hero is it occasionally looks real cheap (new york is a set, a few(?) of the explosions are superimposed, the magic ticket effect is real hokey) but also this contributes to its "action movie gradually disintegrating into magical realist fragments" vibe

princess of hell (BradNelson), Tuesday, 7 August 2018 20:16 (seven years ago)

also: tom noonan

princess of hell (BradNelson), Tuesday, 7 August 2018 20:16 (seven years ago)

even though one setpiece is a long fart joke i'm pretty sure i think that's awesome instead of bad

princess of hell (BradNelson), Tuesday, 7 August 2018 20:17 (seven years ago)

1993-95 was peak fart joke iirc

omar little, Tuesday, 7 August 2018 20:25 (seven years ago)

have not seen LAH since liking it upon original release, maybe will when i get through all of Cagney and Tracy

(no memory of Tom Noonan in it, who is usually the best thing in any film)

a Mets fan who gave up on everything in the mid '80s (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 7 August 2018 20:27 (seven years ago)

he plays a supervillain called the ripper and also himself!

princess of hell (BradNelson), Tuesday, 7 August 2018 20:28 (seven years ago)

the meta nonsense in the second half of lah is so delightful especially schwarzenegger constantly referring to his "real" self as "arnold braunschweiger"

princess of hell (BradNelson), Tuesday, 7 August 2018 20:29 (seven years ago)

LAH is outlandish, not good necessarily but at times its like nothing else of the time.

i think of it and last boy scout as unfairly maligned as the last diagraced scions of a dying dynasty but at the same time they dont exactly hold up totally either

13th warrior is great tho!

dele alli my bookmarks (darraghmac), Tuesday, 7 August 2018 20:36 (seven years ago)

0 votes for thomas crown is understandable but thats a tidy lil piece of professionalism too

dele alli my bookmarks (darraghmac), Tuesday, 7 August 2018 21:10 (seven years ago)

LAH was edited together in a few weeks with no completed test screenings because Jon Peters.

adam the (abanana), Wednesday, 8 August 2018 19:11 (seven years ago)

Someday I’m going to sit my son down and tell him about a magical creature who directed Die Hard, and “get this: what if I told you this same creature directed both Predator and Hunt for Red October?”

Anyway who’s the McTiernan of today?

omar little, Wednesday, 8 August 2018 19:46 (seven years ago)

i don’t think there is one tbh

a space stewardess (bizarro gazzara), Wednesday, 8 August 2018 20:15 (seven years ago)

I thought you were asking "where is McTiernan today" and I was, like, in jail?

Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 8 August 2018 21:00 (seven years ago)

i could make a case for thomas crown as the only decent film on the list (i haven't actually seen "13th warrior" but this fact wd feature in my case)

mark s, Wednesday, 8 August 2018 21:02 (seven years ago)

lol that i have all the other films jesus

mark s, Wednesday, 8 August 2018 21:02 (seven years ago)

challopsiren.wav

a space stewardess (bizarro gazzara), Wednesday, 8 August 2018 21:05 (seven years ago)

^^^meddling kid

mark s, Wednesday, 8 August 2018 21:06 (seven years ago)


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