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Welcome to Commentary Commentary, where we sit and listen to filmmakers talk about their work, then share the most interesting parts. In this edition, Rob Hunter revisits Die Hard, this time to listen as writer Steven E. de Souza shares his commentary.
We started this Commentary Commentary column way back in 2009, and with over four hundred entries so far it remains one of my favorite features here at Film School Rejects. Not all commentaries are created equal, and there are great ones, bad ones, and plenty of perfectly good ones. Having done a couple myself now, it’s not as simple as simply talking for the length of a movie — you need to be engaging and informative along the way.
That’s why the best commentary tracks typically come from the filmmakers themselves, whether the director, writer, actor, producer, and so on. We listened to John McTiernan’s Die Hard (1988) track back in 2011, and while we almost never repeat films here, I’m making an exception after stumbling across an awesome new podcast called Rogue Commentary. They welcome those very talents (or the occasional film critics/historians) to come provide commentary tracks for films, and one of their early episodes features writer Steven E. de Souza talking Die Hard.
Now keep reading to see what I heard on the commentary for…
Die Hard (1988)
Commentator: Steven E. de Souza (writer)
1. He can’t vouch for “the validity of fists with your toes.” It works for him, but he doesn’t know that it’s actually a thing.
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