Give Hans a weapon to use like John did in the stairway? Granted he had his suspicions about Hans so he emptied the chamber but still in a real world scenario would any police give a civilian a gun so they can defend themselves in the given situation depicted in this movie?
shareGive Hans a weapon? F ckin stupid cop would probably shoot Hans for resisting, even though he's not doing anything.
Cops are stupid.
It's too bad there isn't a data base for idiots like you, so if you ever need a cop, they leave you to your own devices. If there were no cop, you'd most likely be dead.
shareI'm not really sure the full ramifications of what happened there. Was he a little suspicious and therefore the entire event was a test to root out a possible terrorist? It may have been nothing else but just a way to draw up some additional drama but if he did believe Bill Clay to be an escaped hostage why make him think he has a gun....if they encounter terrorists he may go to shoot them and just get a click and then die themselves so why would he give him an empty gun at all? It being a test is about the only thing that makes sense.
"dreiunddreißigste Stockwerk......komm sofort"
"put down the gun and give me my detonators"
It was 100% a test, and there isn't any debate about that. McClane noticed that the guy was smoking European style with thumb and pointer finger and decided to make sure, thus the empty gun.
shareSorry to put a damper on your theory but there is no such thing as "smoking European style".
I smoked for 25 years before quitting and i have never seen or heard of that.
I held a cigarette either finger and thumb as you have stated or between 2 fingers at the end of the fingers or the same technique but further down the fingers.
Same as probably every smoker on the known planet.
ohh and i iive in Europe.
Well it seemed like a good theory anyways. In the U.S. people almost always smoke cigarettes using the pointer and middle fingers except for maybe the last puff before they put out it out. Hans was smoking with the thumb and pointer finger from the outset. We do smoke our joints like that though.
shareYou are correct. Rickman's smoking was an intentional hint. I don't remember exactly but it was mentioned in an interview a while back (maybe an anniversary) The empty gun was the test to confirm his suspicions.
FYI: The directors of The Fugitive used to catch Barry Morse smoking like Rickman and have to reshoot the scenes.
In movies, American tough guys often hold cigarettes between the thumb and first finger, with the lit end back toward the palm (see Bogart, et al.), but may also hold them between the first and middle fingers. Women always hold them between the first and middle fingers.
shareThat's the reason he tested him. Many Europeans hold a cigarette differently than many Americans, so he wasn't sure if Bill Clay was Hans Gruber or the anomalous Sokar. If ALL Europeans held them one way, and ALL Americans another, he would have shot him on the spot.
To the original point, it is clear that McClane is testing "Clay." He gave him the gun to see if Clay would attempt to shoot him.
John knew something was up, also, when he handed Clay the European cigarette pack and he smoked it like no problem. As a smoker myself I'd question the label or at least say "hey cool where'd you get THIS brand"
shareIn that situation? yeah i think so. Both of them are "trapped behind enemy lines"
shareI think John knew somewhere in the back of his head that NO civilian is ever going to get away from the bad guys downstairs.. hence the whole gun trick.
In real life cops don't give guns to civilians, ever.