Editing Die Hard with a Vengeance (section)

==Release==
===Theatrical===
Unlike its predecessors, ''Die Hard with a Vengeance'' did not take place during [[Christmas]], but instead being set during the late summer. It opened in theaters on May 19, 1995, five years after ''[[Die Hard 2]]''. Despite concerns about the film portraying bomb threats and terrorism with the [[Oklahoma City bombing]] having occurred the previous month, the film was released as originally scheduled.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.spokesman.com/stories/1995/may/04/bombing-wont-delay-third-die-hard-movie/|title=Bombing Won't Delay Third 'Die Hard' Movie}}</ref>

=== Home media ===
''Die Hard with a Vengeance'' was released on [[VHS]] on December 19, 1995, in the United States by [[Fox Video]] with a [[THX]]-certified version, while it was released in international countries by [[Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment|Touchstone Home Entertainment]] and released in South Africa on VHS by [[Ster-Kinekor|Ster-Kinekor Home Video]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sIRIAAAAIBAJ&q=die+hard+with+a+vengeance+video+dec+19&pg=PA44|title=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|publisher=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|language=en|access-date=November 10, 2020|archive-date=June 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210630023652/https://books.google.com/books?id=sIRIAAAAIBAJ&q=die+hard+with+a+vengeance+video+dec+19&pg=PA44|url-status=live}}</ref> It was then released on [[LaserDisc]] on January 17, 1996, and on [[DVD]] on March 9, 1999. A special edition was released on DVD on July 10, 2001, and then re-released in February 2005 and 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dvdsreleasedates.com/movies/671/Die-Hard:-With-a-Vengeance-(1995).html|title=Die Hard: With a Vengeance DVD Release Date|access-date=April 14, 2018|archive-date=April 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180414092001/https://www.dvdsreleasedates.com/movies/671/Die-Hard:-With-a-Vengeance-(1995).html|url-status=live}}</ref> The film was released on [[Blu-ray]] in 2007 and 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Die-Hard-with-a-Vengeance-Blu-ray/559/|title=Die Hard with a Vengeance Blu-ray|website=Blu-ray.com|access-date=April 14, 2018|archive-date=April 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180414091538/http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Die-Hard-with-a-Vengeance-Blu-ray/559/|url-status=live}}</ref> A [[4K resolution|4K]] release of the film has been made available for digital purchase on services such [[Apple TV]], [[Amazon Prime Video|Amazon Video]], and the [[Microsoft Store]], plus free 4K streaming on select platforms such as [[Disney+]].<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.justwatch.com/au/movie/die-hard-3 |title=Die Hard: With a Vengeance - watch stream online |language=en |access-date=2025-01-09 |via=www.justwatch.com}}</ref>

==== Alternative ending ====
An alternative ending to the one shown in the final movie was filmed with Jeremy Irons and Bruce Willis, set some time after the events in New York. It can be found on the Special Edition DVD. In this version, it is presumed that the robbery succeeds, and that McClane was used as the scapegoat for everything that went wrong. He is fired from the NYPD after more than 20 years on the force and the FBI has even taken away his pension; it is also mentioned that McClane and his wife Holly have divorced. Nevertheless, he still manages to track Simon using the batch number on the bottle of aspirins and they meet in a bar in [[Hungary]]. In this version, Simon has double-crossed most of his accomplices, gotten the loot to a safe hiding place somewhere in Hungary, and has the gold turned into statuettes of the [[Empire State Building]] in order to smuggle it out of the country. McClane is keen to take his problems out on Simon, who he invites to play a game called "McClane Says". This involves a form of [[Russian roulette]] with a small Chinese rocket launcher that has had the sights removed, meaning it is impossible to determine which end is which. McClane then asks Simon some riddles similar to the ones he played in New York. When Simon gets a riddle wrong, McClane forces him at gunpoint to fire the launcher, which fires the rocket through Simon, killing him.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://collider.com/die-hard-with-a-vengeance-review/|title=Dying Hard: Matt Revisits DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE|work=[[Collider (website)|Collider]]|first=Matt|last=Goldberg|date=February 13, 2013|access-date=June 13, 2020|archive-date=June 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200613042808/https://collider.com/die-hard-with-a-vengeance-review/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Commentary">{{cite AV media|title=Alternate Ending with Optional Commentary with Jonathan Hensleigh|date=March 25, 2002|publisher=[[20th Century Fox]]|people=[[Jonathan Hensleigh]]|trans-title=Audio Commentary}}</ref>

In the DVD audio commentary, screenwriter Jonathan Hensleigh claims that this version was dropped because the studio thought it showed a more cruel and menacing side to McClane, a man who killed for revenge rather than in self-defense. The studio was also displeased with the lack of action in the scene, feeling that it did not fit as a "climax" and therefore chose to reshoot the finale as an action sequence at a significant monetary cost. Hensleigh's intention was to show that the events in New York and the subsequent repercussions had tilted McClane psychologically. This alternative ending, set some time after the film's main events, would have marked a serious break from the ''Die Hard'' formula, in which the plot unfolds over a period of roughly 12 hours.<ref name="Commentary"/>

According to the DVD audio commentary, a second alternative ending had McClane and Carver floating back to shore on a makeshift raft after the explosion at sea. Carver says it is a shame the bad guys are going to get away; McClane tells him not to be so sure. The scene then shifts to the boat where the terrorists find the briefcase bomb they left in the park and which Carver gave back to them (in this version it was not used to blow up the dam). The film would end on a darkly comic note as Simon asks if anyone has a four-gallon jug. This draft of the script was rejected early on – possibly due to the similarity of the ending to ''[[Die Hard 2]]'', where all the villains board a plane that later explodes – so it was never actually filmed. The rocket-launcher sequence was the only alternative ending to be filmed.<ref name="Commentary"/>