Top 200 Pre-Die Hard Films/Shows
Various pre-dated Die Hard type blockbusters as well as films that have influenced those type of films prior to 1988.
Films similar to other type of blockbusters like Dog Day Afternoon, High Noon, Towering Inferno and more are also included here.
Films similar to other type of blockbusters like Dog Day Afternoon, High Noon, Towering Inferno and more are also included here.
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210 titles
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsAustin StokerDarwin JostonLaurie ZimmerA Highway Patrol Officer, two criminals and a station secretary defend a defunct Los Angeles precinct office against a siege by a bloodthirsty street gang.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsAl PacinoJohn CazalePenelope AllenThree amateur bank robbers plan to hold up a bank. A nice simple robbery: Walk in, take the money, and run. Unfortunately, the supposedly uncomplicated heist suddenly becomes a bizarre nightmare as everything that could go wrong does.
- DirectorNicholas MeyerStarsWilliam ShatnerLeonard NimoyDeForest KelleyWith the assistance of the Enterprise crew, Admiral Kirk must stop an old nemesis, Khan Noonien Singh, from using the life-generating Genesis Device as the ultimate weapon.
- DirectorJun'ya SatôStarsKen TakakuraShin'ichi ChibaKei YamamotoCriminals plant a bomb on a high-speed train. It will explode when the train slows down, unless a ransom is paid.
- DirectorJohn GuillerminStarsPaul NewmanSteve McQueenWilliam HoldenAt the opening party of a colossal, but poorly constructed, office building, a massive fire breaks out that threatens to destroy the tower and everyone in it.
- DirectorBruce MalmuthGary NelsonSylvester StalloneStarsSylvester StalloneRutger HauerBilly Dee WilliamsWhen one of Europe's most lethal terrorists shows up in New York, an elite undercover cop is assigned to take him down by any means necessary.
- DirectorMark L. LesterStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerRae Dawn ChongDan HedayaA retired Special Forces colonel tries to save his daughter, who was abducted by his former subordinate.
- DirectorJames CameronStarsSigourney WeaverMichael BiehnCarrie HennDecades after surviving the Nostromo incident, Ellen Ripley is sent out to re-establish contact with a terraforming colony but finds herself battling the Alien Queen and her offspring.
- DirectorJohn McTiernanStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerCarl WeathersKevin Peter HallA team of commandos on a mission in a Central American jungle find themselves hunted by an extraterrestrial warrior.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsHumphrey BogartEdward G. RobinsonLauren BacallA man visits his war buddy's family hotel and finds a gangster running things. As a hurricane approaches, the two end up confronting each other.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsJohn WayneDean MartinRicky NelsonA small-town sheriff in the American West enlists the help of a disabled man, a drunk, and a young gunfighter in his efforts to hold in jail the brother of the local bad guy.
- DirectorFerde Grofé Jr.StarsRichard EganMartha HyerRick JasonGang tries to take over small town to rob its banks.
- DirectorOrson WellesStarsCharlton HestonOrson WellesJanet LeighA stark, perverse story of murder, kidnapping and police corruption in a Mexican border town.
- DirectorHenri-Georges ClouzotStarsYves MontandCharles VanelPeter van EyckIn a decrepit South American village, four men are hired to transport an urgent nitroglycerine shipment without the equipment that would make it safe.
- DirectorTed KotcheffStarsSylvester StalloneBrian DennehyRichard CrennaA veteran Green Beret is forced by a cruel Sheriff and his deputies to flee into the mountains and wage an escalating one-man war against his pursuers.
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsSpencer TracyRobert RyanAnne FrancisA one-armed stranger comes to a tiny town possessing a terrible past they want to keep secret, by violent means if necessary.
- DirectorTerry LeonardStarsFred DryerBrian KeithJoseph GianGunnery Sergeant Burns reports for duty to an American Embassy in the Middle East. However due to the 'enlightened' views of the Ambassador, the marine security detachment he is in charge of is severely restricted in their functions and presence to avoid upsetting the host government. As a result, when terrorists attack the compound, they are able to kidnap hostages and escape with little opposition. Burns ignores the Ambassador's restrictions, and throws the rule books out the window, as he becomes a one man army in an attempt to rescue the hostages, and wipe out the terrorists.
- DirectorGeorge P. CosmatosStarsSylvester StalloneRichard CrennaCharles NapierRambo returns to the jungles of Vietnam on a mission to infiltrate an enemy base-camp and rescue the American POWs still held captive there.
- DirectorPeter MacDonaldStarsSylvester StalloneRichard CrennaMarc de JongeRambo mounts a one-man mission to rescue his friend Colonel Trautman from the clutches of the formidable invading Soviet forces in Afghanistan.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneTakashi ShimuraKeiko TsushimaFarmers from a village exploited by bandits hire a veteran samurai for protection, who gathers six other samurai to join him.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneEijirô TônoTatsuya NakadaiA crafty ronin comes to a town divided by two criminal gangs and decides to play them against each other to free the town.
- DirectorJ. Lee ThompsonStarsDavid NivenGregory PeckAnthony QuinnA team of Allied saboteurs is assigned an impossible mission: infiltrate an impregnable Nazi-held Greek island and destroy the two enormous long-range field guns that prevent the rescue of 2,000 trapped British soldiers.
- CreatorLee David ZlotoffStarsRichard Dean AndersonDana ElcarBruce McGillThe adventures of a secret Agent armed with almost infinite scientific resourcefulness.
- CreatorRick HuskyStarsWilliam ShatnerHeather LocklearAdrian ZmedThe weekly adventures of tough-as-nails veteran police officer Sgt. T.J. Hooker, who rides the beat with his rookie partner Vince Romano.
- DirectorGeorge SeatonHenry HathawayStarsBurt LancasterDean MartinGeorge KennedyA bomber on board an airplane, an airport almost closed by snow, and various personal problems of the people involved.
- DirectorRonald NeameStarsGene HackmanErnest BorgnineShelley WintersA group of passengers must embark on a harrowing struggle for survival after a rogue wave capsizes their cruise ship at sea.
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsKurt RussellLee Van CleefErnest BorgnineIn 1997, when the U.S. president crashes into Manhattan, now a giant maximum security prison, a convicted bank robber is sent in to rescue him.
- DirectorRichard LesterStarsRichard HarrisOmar SharifDavid HemmingsA blackmailer demands a huge ransom in exchange for information on how to disarm the seven bombs he placed aboard the transatlantic liner Britannic.
- DirectorAndrey KonchalovskiyStarsJon VoightEric RobertsRebecca De MornayTwo escaped convicts and a female railway worker find themselves trapped on a speeding train with no brakes and nobody driving.
- DirectorJames GlickenhausStarsKen WahlAlberta WatsonJeremiah SullivanTerrorists take over a plutonium bomb and threaten to detonate it in a Saudi Arabian oil field. A special anti-terrorist unit is sent in to stop them.
- DirectorCasper WredeStarsSean ConneryIan McShaneJeffry WickhamIn a Scandinavian country, national security chief Colonel Tahlvik is tasked to rescue the passengers of a hijacked British airliner while the British Ambassador is being held hostage at his residence by another terrorist team.
- DirectorMario BavaStarsLea LanderGeorge EastmanRiccardo CucciollaFollowing a bungled robbery, three violent criminals take a young woman, a middle-aged man, and a child hostage and force them to drive them outside Rome to help them make a clean escape.
- DirectorOtto PremingerStarsPeter O'TooleRichard AttenboroughCliff GormanRenowned producer-director Otto Preminger captures international terrorism in this film about five teenage girls who are kidnapped from a yacht by the P.L.O. Stars Peter O'Toole and Richard Attenborough.
- DirectorLluís Josep ComerónStarsPatxi AndiónCarme EliasHéctor AlterioA bank robbery goes wrong. The robbers, two of them unemployed family men, take two hostages, one of them needing heart medication, and leave them in an apartment, tied to a bomb. The police has to find the apartment before the bomb explodes. At the same time, in the same house, two old men are solving a jigsaw puzzle, and a female cellist practices the Bach cello suites.
- DirectorTung-Shing YeeStarsLung TiTony Leung Chiu-waiTony Ka Fai LeungA bumbling pair robs a bank, taking everyone inside hostage when it goes wrong. However, one of the hostages turns out to be a notorious wanted criminal and he takes over the hostage situation.
- DirectorGeorge MendelukStarsWilliam ShatnerHal HolbrookVan JohnsonBased on the novel by Charles Templeton, a secret service chief leads a game of cat and mouse when a gang of third-world terrorists kidnap the President.
- DirectorJohn BerryStarsJohn GarfieldShelley WintersWallace FordNick and his partner Al stage a payroll holdup. Al is shot, and Nick kills a policeman. Nick hides out at a public pool, where he meets Peg Dobbs. They go back to her apartment, and he forces her family to hide him from the police manhunt.
- DirectorPeter ManoogianStarsGary FrankRay Parker Jr.Jan-Michael VincentAn insurance salesman inadvertently gets trapped after dark in an apartment building that is terrorized by a street gang called "The Vampires."
- DirectorRudolph MatéStarsWilliam HoldenNina FochLee J. CobbAn escaped psychopathic killer who takes the family and neighbors of police psychologist hostage reveals a recurring nightmare to the doctor.
- DirectorIrwin AllenStarsMichael CaineSally FieldTelly SavalasAn extension of the previous film, wherein a group of adventurers return to the overturned ship to seek several fortunes.
- DirectorJohn HerzfeldStarsBrian DennehyRon SilverAnthony ValentineGerman terrorists kidnap the crew of an aeroplane as they leave the airport. The terrorists demand the release of two of their colleagues, who are to be extradited to the USA. The father of one of the stewardesses decides he can no longer wait for diplomacy, and so flies out to Germany. There, frustration leads him to hire a former SAS counter-terrorism expert. Together they hunt down the terrorists.
- DirectorRobert HarmonStarsRutger HauerC. Thomas HowellJennifer Jason LeighA young man who escapes the clutches of a murderous hitchhiker is subsequently stalked by the hitcher and framed for his crimes.
- DirectorJohn GlenStarsTimothy DaltonMaryam d'AboJeroen KrabbéJames Bond is sent to investigate a KGB policy to kill all enemy spies, and uncovers an arms deal that potentially has major global ramifications.
- CreatorFrank LupoStarsFred DryerStepfanie KramerCharles HallahanRick Hunter is a renegade cop who bends the rules and takes justice into his own hands. Partnered with the equally stunning and rebellious Sgt. McCall, he sets out to crack down on L.A.'s slimiest criminals.
- DirectorHenry HathawayStarsPaul DouglasRichard BasehartBarbara Bel GeddesAn unhappy man threatens suicide by standing on the ledge of a high-rise building for 14 hours.
- DirectorJohn KincadeStarsPaul L. SmithYaphet KottoHeidi HelmerThe USA are attacked by a large group of well organized terrorists who communicate through a computer network via satellite. A bunch of highschool kids has hacked the password and gained access. They believe it's a game and unknowingly cause terror acts all over the country. An anti-terror force fights against the terrorists.
- DirectorWalter HillStarsNick NolteEddie MurphyAnnette O'TooleA hard-nosed cop reluctantly teams up with a wise-cracking criminal temporarily paroled to him in order to track down a killer.
- DirectorMartin BrestStarsEddie MurphyJudge ReinholdJohn AshtonA freewheeling Detroit cop pursuing a murder investigation finds himself dealing with the very different culture of Beverly Hills.
- DirectorRichard DonnerStarsMel GibsonDanny GloverGary BuseyTwo newly paired cops who are complete opposites must put aside their differences in order to catch a gang of drug smugglers.
- DirectorCraig R. BaxleyStarsCarl WeathersCraig T. NelsonVanityVengeance drives a tough Detroit cop to stay on the trail of a power-hungry auto magnate who is systematically eliminating his competition.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsHenry FondaWalter MatthauFritz WeaverA technical malfunction sends American planes to Moscow to deliver a nuclear attack. Can all-out war be averted?
- DirectorSam PeckinpahStarsDustin HoffmanSusan GeorgePeter VaughanA young American and his English wife come to rural England and face increasingly vicious local harassment.
- DirectorRichard ComptonStarsOliver ReedDeborah RaffinJames MitchumA Native American travels around a resort town, murdering cops and rich people with a high-powered crossbow, while demanding that the town's richest residents pay him money to stop the killings.
- DirectorHal BarwoodStarsSam WaterstonKathleen QuinlanYaphet KottoA woman working as a security guard in an agricultural research facility finds herself and her co-worker Schmidt fighting to survive against their former friends.
- DirectorJames BridgesStarsJane FondaJack LemmonMichael DouglasA reporter finds what appears to be a cover-up of safety hazards at a nuclear power plant.
- DirectorKoji HashimotoR.J. KizerIshirô HondaStarsRaymond BurrKeiju KobayashiKen TanakaThirty years after the original monster's rampage, a new Godzilla emerges and attacks Japan.
- DirectorAndrew V. McLaglenStarsRoger MooreJames MasonAnthony PerkinsWhen terrorists take over two oil rigs, and threaten to blow them up if their demands are not met, an eccentric anti-terrorism expert volunteers his unique commando unit to stop them.
- DirectorJ. Lee ThompsonStarsGregory PeckRobert MitchumPolly BergenA lawyer's family is stalked by a man he once helped put in jail.
- DirectorGuy HamiltonStarsHarrison FordRobert ShawEdward FoxDuring World War II, several oddly assorted military experts are teamed in a mission to raid and destroy a bridge vital to enemy strategy.
- DirectorRudolph MatéStarsEdmond O'BrienPamela BrittonLuther AdlerFrank Bigelow, told he's been poisoned and has only a few days to live, tries to find out who killed him and why.
- DirectorPeter HyamsStarsSean ConneryMark HarmonMeg RyanA San Francisco civilian police detective is forced to work on a series of murders with his former enemy commanding officer while dating his daughter.
- DirectorLewis AllenStarsFrank SinatraSterling HaydenJames GleasonIn the city of Suddenly, three gangsters trap the Benson family in their own house, on the top of a hill nearby the railroad station, with the intention of killing the president of the USA.
- DirectorJohn FrankenheimerStarsFrank SinatraLaurence HarveyJanet LeighAn American POW in the Korean War is brainwashed as an unwitting assassin for an international Communist conspiracy.
- DirectorWalter GraumanStarsOlivia de HavillandJames CaanJennifer BillingsleyA woman trapped in a home elevator is terrorized by a group of vicious hoodlums.
- DirectorJohn SchlesingerStarsDustin HoffmanLaurence OlivierRoy ScheiderAfter the shocking murder of his older brother, a New York history student finds himself inexplicably hounded by shadowy government agents on the trail of a Nazi war criminal who is trying to retrieve smuggled diamonds.
- DirectorAshley LazarusFreddie FrancisStarsRichard HarrisAnn TurkelGordon JacksonOn a cargo ship converted into a cruise-liner, First Officer John Carter foils the plan of international hijackers to use his vessel as bait for a passing U.S. Treasury ship carrying gold bullion.
- DirectorJohn O'ConnorStarsDavid JanssenKarin DorChristopher StonePalestinian guerrillas, Israeli commandos and an American colonel fight to keep a nuclear warhead mistakenly dropped in the Jordanian desert by a U.S. Air Force nuclear bomber.
- DirectorRobert ButlerStarsDavid JanssenDon MeredithChristopher GeorgeThe co-pilot and engineer of a passenger jet struggle to keep the plane airborne until it can reach an open airfield after a killer aboard the plane fires a gun at an engine and pilot of the plane.
- DirectorRobert AldrichStarsJames StewartRichard AttenboroughPeter FinchAfter an oil company plane crashes in the Sahara, the survivors are buoyed with hope by one of the passengers, an airplane designer who plans for them to build a flyable plane from the wreckage.
- CreatorRichard LindheimMichael SloanStarsEdward WoodwardKeith SzarabajkaRobert LansingA retired Intelligence Agent turned private detective helps various threatened clients to equalize the odds.
- DirectorWilliam A. GrahamStarsDavid JanssenRalph MeekerElayne HeilveilA former fighter pilot now working as a radio station traffic reporter witnesses a bank robbery. He chases down the bank robbers and a hostage in his helicopter.
- DirectorBrian G. HuttonStarsRichard BurtonClint EastwoodMary UreAllied agents stage a daring raid on a castle where the Nazis are holding American brigadier general George Carnaby prisoner, but that's not all that's really going on.
- DirectorDon SiegelStarsCharles BronsonLee RemickDonald PleasenceA Russian officer is sent to the U.S. to try and stop sleeper agents who will mindlessly attack government entities when they hear certain coded words.
- DirectorClaudio GuzmánStarsPeter FondaMaud AdamsBilly Dee WilliamsCriminal takes hostages on the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
- DirectorTom GriesStarsCharles BronsonBen JohnsonRichard CrennaJohn Deakin is being transported, as a prisoner, on a train with supplies and medicine to Fort Humboldt, Nevada.
- DirectorGeorge LucasStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherLuke Skywalker joins forces with a Jedi Knight, a cocky pilot, a Wookiee and two droids to save the galaxy from the Empire's world-destroying battle station, while also attempting to rescue Princess Leia from the mysterious Darth Vader.
- DirectorRichard MarquandStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherAfter rescuing Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt, the Rebel Alliance attempt to destroy the second Death Star, while Luke struggles to help Darth Vader back from the dark side.
- DirectorJohn GuillerminStarsCharlton HestonJames BrolinYvette MimieuxA crazed Vietnam vet bomber hijacks a Boeing 707 in this disaster film filled with the usual early '70s stereotypes, and demands to be taken to Russia.
- DirectorRonald NeameStarsSean ConneryNatalie WoodKarl MaldenThe U.S. must join forces with the U.S.S.R. in order to destroy a gigantic asteroid heading straight for Earth.
- DirectorDaniel PetrieStarsPaul NewmanEdward AsnerKen WahlIn New York City, South Bronx's main police precinct is nicknamed Fort Apache by its employees who feel like troopers surrounded by hostiles in a wild west isolated outpost.
- DirectorMichael WinnerStarsCharles BronsonDeborah RaffinEd LauterArchitect/vigilante Paul Kersey arrives back in New York City and is forcibly recruited by a crooked police chief to fight street crime caused by a large gang terrorizing the neighborhoods.
- DirectorJ. Lee ThompsonStarsCharles BronsonKay LenzJohn P. RyanArchitect/vigilante Paul Kersey takes on the members of a vicious Los Angeles drug cartel to stop the flow of drugs after his girlfriend's daughter dies from an overdose.
- DirectorDelmer DavesStarsGlenn FordVan HeflinFelicia FarrBroke small-time rancher Dan Evans is hired by the stagecoach line to put big-time captured outlaw leader Ben Wade on the 3:10 train to Yuma but Wade's gang tries to free him.
- DirectorRoger YoungStarsPeter StraussMason AdamsLew AyresTerrorists launch an attack against the USA. Their first strike is by a suicide squad that detonates a truckload of explosives at an army base in Washington DC. FBI probes indicate that the attack is by terrorists led by Iranians. Subsequent attacks are via airplanes exploded in mid-air, crowded restaurants, and an attack on a mall. Administration cabinet heads push the President (Hal Holbrook) to retaliate. The director of the FBI (Peter Strauss) believes that there may be more to the story than the investigation has revealed and the Secretary of Defense (Paul Winfield) is the only other person urging caution.
- DirectorBernard L. KowalskiStarsPatrick WayneChristopher MitchumFawne HarrimanA team of troubleshooters is called to a skyscraper where a plane has crashed into the 20th floor and is stuck in the side of the building.
- DirectorChalong PakdeevijitStarsOlivia HusseyChristopher MitchumPawana ChanajitIn this Hong Kong-filmed movie, Chris Mitchum plays a CIA agent who is ordered to locate a terrorist. The villain has stolen a pair of nuclear warheads and is hiding somewhere in Bangkok. Complicating matters is the fact that the terrorist is the father of Mitchum's one-time girlfriend Olivia Hussey.
- DirectorJames T. FlockerStarsRon CasteelMelvin BelliAugie TribachA terrorist organization attaches a nuclear device to the top of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, and an agent is sent to disarm it.
- DirectorRobert AldrichStarsBurt LancasterRichard WidmarkRoscoe Lee BrowneAn imprisoned rogue USAF general with a secret personal agenda, escapes the brig and takes over an ICBM silo, threatening to start WW3.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneYutaka SadaTatsuya NakadaiAn executive of a Yokohama shoe company becomes a victim of extortion when his chauffeur's son is kidnapped by mistake and held for ransom.
- StarsDavid SoulBrian KeithCathy Lee CrosbyIn 1987, Soviet paratroopers drop into Alaska to sabotage the oil pipeline in retaliation against a United States grain embargo. A skirmish occurs at a pumping station, lightly defended by Col. Jake Caffey and a National Guard recon unit. A stalemate ensues while the possibility of World War III hangs in the balance. The danger escalates as the Soviet premier and the U.S. President play a cat-and-mouse game.
- StarsKris KristoffersonRobert UrichWendy HughesAmerica has been bloodlessly taken over by the Soviet Union, leading to slave-labor camps for some, collaboration for others and rebellion for yet others.
- DirectorDon SiegelClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodAndrew RobinsonHarry GuardinoWhen a man calling himself "the Scorpio Killer" menaces San Francisco, tough-as-nails Police Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan is assigned to track down the crazed psychopath.
- DirectorJ. Lee ThompsonStarsRobert MitchumEllen BurstynRock HudsonAn American ambassador to Israel tries to bring peace to the Middle East conflict through unconventional methods, but his efforts are hampered at every turn and his personal life threatened.
- DirectorPhil KarlsonStarsJoe Don BakerElizabeth HartmanLeif GarrettBased on the life of Tennessee sheriff Buford Pusser, who almost single-handily cleaned up his small town of crime and corruption, but at a personal cost of his family life and nearly his own life.
- CreatorStephen J. CannellFrank LupoStarsGeorge PeppardMr. TDwight SchultzFour Vietnam vets, framed for a crime they didn't commit, help the innocent while on the run from the military.
- CreatorRoy HugginsStarsDavid JanssenWilliam ConradBarry MorseA doctor, wrongly convicted for a murder he didn't commit, escapes custody and must stay ahead of the police to find the real killer.
- DirectorBert I. GordonStarsVince EdwardsChuck ConnorsNeville BrandLos Angeles detectives Minelli and Blake must track down a serial rapist who may know the identity of a mentally disturbed bomber.
- DirectorStuart RosenbergStarsWalter MatthauBruce DernLouis Gossett Jr.In San Francisco, California, one victim in a mass murder is a police detective. His partner and a new partner investigate in the city's seamy side.
- DirectorGuy HamiltonStarsSean ConneryGert FröbeHonor BlackmanWhile investigating a gold magnate's smuggling, James Bond uncovers a plot to contaminate the Fort Knox gold reserve.
- DirectorFred ZinnemannStarsGary CooperGrace KellyThomas MitchellA town Marshal, despite the disagreements of his newlywed bride and the townspeople around him, must face a gang of deadly killers alone at "high noon" when the gang leader, an outlaw he "sent up" years ago, arrives on the noon train.