20 Most Iconic Movie Deaths Of All Time

1. Hans Gruber - Die Hard (1988)

Quint Jaws Death
20th Century Fox

Its only fitting that one of film's best-ever villains, from the greatest action movie of all time no less, gets one of cinema's most memorable deaths. In his feature debut, Alan Rickman does an incredible job as the bad guy despite not being a fan of either heights or firearms, ironic considering that Die Hard is an action flick set in a high-rise building.

In a seamless blend of practical and visual effects, Rickman was dropped from a 21 foot high set of the Nakatomi Plaza exterior onto an airbag, with the background added in post-production. Famously, Gruber's reaction was due to the stuntman holding the actor dropping him on the count of two instead of three, resulting in Rickman's genuinely terrified appearance as his nefarious bad guy plummets to the cold, hard concrete below.

Happy trails, Hans!

Which other memorably movie deaths deserve to be on this list? Share your own picks below in the comments thread.

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