Top 49 Die Hard in a School Films/Shows
by muybueno16 | created - 08 Dec 2018 | updated - 3 weeks ago | PublicColleges and military schools included.
1 dishonorable mention & 1 pre-dating film.
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1. Toy Soldiers (1991)
R | 111 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
A group of troublemaking boys decide to take a stand when terrorists seize control of their boarding school.
Director: Daniel Petrie Jr. | Stars: Sean Astin, Wil Wheaton, Keith Coogan, Andrew Divoff
Votes: 24,999 | Gross: $15.07M
2. The Substitute (1996)
R | 114 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Shale's Mercenary team is retired after a (not so) covert mission in Cuba. He becomes a substitute teacher at his teacher fiancee's Miami high school to get those behind kneecapping her. His team helps him.
Director: Robert Mandel | Stars: Tom Berenger, Raymond Cruz, William Forsythe, Luis Guzmán
Votes: 15,668 | Gross: $14.75M
3. Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)
R | 128 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
John McClane and a Harlem store owner are targeted by German terrorist Simon in New York City, where he plans to rob the Federal Reserve Building.
Director: John McTiernan | Stars: Bruce Willis, Jeremy Irons, Samuel L. Jackson, Graham Greene
Votes: 408,028 | Gross: $100.01M
4. Detention (2003)
R | 98 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
A heroic high school teacher leads a band of students trapped in school by violent drug-runners.
Director: Sidney J. Furie | Stars: Dolph Lundgren, Alex Karzis, Kata Dobó, Corey Sevier
Votes: 2,471
5. 24: Redemption (2008 TV Movie)
TV-14 | 84 min | Action, Adventure, Crime
Jack Bauer confronts African general/aspiring dictator Benjamin Juma, whose forces have been ordered to capture the children Bauer oversees for malicious military training.
Director: Jon Cassar | Stars: Kiefer Sutherland, Cherry Jones, Bob Gunton, Colm Feore
Votes: 29,011
6. The Siege (1998)
R | 116 min | Action, Thriller
The secret U.S. abduction of a suspected terrorist leads to a wave of terrorist attacks in New York City, which leads to the declaration of martial-law.
Director: Edward Zwick | Stars: Denzel Washington, Bruce Willis, Annette Bening, Tony Shalhoub
Votes: 78,069 | Gross: $40.98M
7. Taken 3 (2014)
PG-13 | 108 min | Action, Adventure, Crime
Accused of a ruthless murder he never committed or witnessed, Bryan Mills goes on the run and brings out his particular set of skills to find the true killer and clear his name.
Director: Olivier Megaton | Stars: Liam Neeson, Forest Whitaker, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen
Votes: 204,009 | Gross: $89.26M
8. The Substitute 2: School's Out (1998 TV Movie)
R | 89 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A mercenary masquerades as a teacher in order to enter a tough urban school and wreak his revenge upon his brother's killer.
Director: Steven Pearl | Stars: Owen Stadele, Edoardo Ballerini, Christopher Cousins, Chuck Jeffreys
Votes: 3,328
9. The Peacemaker (1997)
R | 124 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
A US Army colonel and a civilian woman supervising him must track down stolen Russian nuclear weapons before they're used by terrorists.
Director: Mimi Leder | Stars: George Clooney, Nicole Kidman, Marcel Iures, Aleksandr Baluev
Votes: 62,355 | Gross: $41.26M
10. Light It Up (1999)
R | 99 min | Drama, Thriller
A group of teens are bent on improving the run-down conditions of their high-school.
Director: Craig Bolotin | Stars: Usher, Forest Whitaker, Rosario Dawson, Robert Ri'chard
Votes: 3,946 | Gross: $5.87M
11. A Deadly Obsession (2012)
Not Rated | 88 min | Action
A psychology professor lives in fear of criminality due to her mother murdering her father. A dangerous former patient who stalked her opens fire on her university, causing casualties. He seeks to declare his love.
Director: John Stimpson | Stars: Katee Sackhoff, Grant Harvey, Bart Johnson, Robyn Lively
Votes: 262
12. The Substitute 3: Winner Takes All (1999 TV Movie)
R | 89 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
At a college visit to a war buddy's professor daughter, mercenary Karl Thomasson finds her brutally beaten. He then poses as a teacher to teach a lesson, and get revenge, on the brash football jocks responsible.
Director: Robert Radler | Stars: Treat Williams, David Jensen, Barbara Jane Reams, Brian Simpson
Votes: 1,935
13. The Deadliest Lesson (2008 TV Movie)
TV-PG | 86 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A drug dealer with a vendetta disrupts a detention at a local school after the hosting teacher witnesses him murdering one of her students. It's up to this tough teacher and her resourcefulness to save the day.
Director: Harry Winer | Stars: Yancey Arias, Alison Brie, Abby Cooper, Shahine Ezell
Votes: 256
14. Demolition High (1996 Video)
R | 84 min | Action
A high school is taken over by terrorists with deadly far reaching intentions but one heroic, resourceful student decides to take the fight right to them.
Director: Jim Wynorski | Stars: Corey Haim, Alan Thicke, Dick Van Patten, Jeff Kober
Votes: 921
15. Sang sei kuen chuk (2000)
R | 90 min | Action, Crime
A mainland security officer must race against the clock to retrieve the son of a man who's holding an entire school hostage.
Director: Aman Chang | Stars: Wenzhuo Zhao, Anthony Chau-Sang Wong, Gigi Lai, Sam Lee
Votes: 180
16. Hard Rain (1998)
R | 97 min | Action, Crime, Drama
The partner and nephew of an armored-truck driver tries to prevent three million dollars from being taken by a gang during a catastrophic flooding caused by a severe storm.
Director: Mikael Salomon | Stars: Morgan Freeman, Christian Slater, Randy Quaid, Minnie Driver
Votes: 37,287 | Gross: $19.82M
Briefly underwater in a school.
17. The Substitute: Failure Is Not an Option (2001 Video)
R | 91 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Former mercenary Karl Thomasson returns once again as a substitute teacher, this time to infiltrate a military school's faculty to cease the actions of white supremacists.
Director: Robert Radler | Stars: Treat Williams, Angie Everhart, Patrick Kilpatrick, Bill Nunn
Votes: 1,371
18. The Unit (2006–2009)
TV-PG | 60 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
A secret US military group conducts covert operations across the world, facing several life-threatening situations during their missions.
Stars: Dennis Haysbert, Regina Taylor, Audrey Marie Anderson, Robert Patrick
Votes: 23,132
Infiltration of corrupt military academies as well as hostage crisis in a school, a military simulation and a military town under siege from a biological weapon.
19. NCIS (2003– )
TV-14 | 60 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Follows the Major Case Response Team (MCRT) from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), as they get to the bottom of criminal cases connected to Navy and Marine Corps personnel.
Stars: David McCallum, Sean Murray, Mark Harmon, Brian Dietzen
Votes: 162,915
A bunch of different school, schoolyard, schoolbus or military academy encounters.
20. Blindspot (2015–2020)
TV-14 | 42 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Jane Doe is found in Times Square with no memory and mysterious tattoos on her body.
Stars: Sullivan Stapleton, Jaimie Alexander, Audrey Esparza, Ashley Johnson
Votes: 79,017
21. 24 (2001–2010)
TV-14 | 44 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Counter Terrorism Agent Jack Bauer races against the clock to subvert terrorist plots and save his nation from ultimate disaster.
Stars: Kiefer Sutherland, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Carlos Bernard, Dennis Haysbert
Votes: 196,974
Briefly in a college and a school in season 3. Also a brief school subplot in season 10: Legacy.
22. MI-5 (2002–2011)
TV-14 | 60 min | Action, Crime, Drama
The missions of MI-5, the UK's domestic intelligence organization.
Stars: Peter Firth, Hugh Simon, Nicola Walker, Rupert Penry-Jones
Votes: 18,368
The first 3 seasons feature infiltrations of various schools, colleges and military academies.
23. Kindergarten Cop (1990)
PG-13 | 111 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A tough cop must pose as a kindergarten teacher in order to locate a dangerous criminal's ex-wife, who may hold the key to putting him behind bars.
Director: Ivan Reitman | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Penelope Ann Miller, Pamela Reed, Linda Hunt
Votes: 162,555 | Gross: $91.46M
24. Kindergarten Cop 2 (2016)
PG-13 | 100 min | Action, Comedy
Assigned to recover sensitive stolen data, a gruff FBI agent goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher, but is overwhelmed by the school's liberal, politically correct environment.
Director: Don Michael Paul | Stars: Dolph Lundgren, Darla Taylor, Bill Bellamy, Aleks Paunovic
Votes: 4,397
25. Masterminds (1997)
PG-13 | 106 min | Action, Comedy, Thriller
Trapped in a school in which a gang of criminals has seized control, a young troublemaker fights a cat and mouse battle from inside.
Director: Roger Christian | Stars: Patrick Stewart, Vincent Kartheiser, Brenda Fricker, Bradley Whitford
Votes: 3,790 | Gross: $1.89M
Dishonorable mention
26. High Risk (1995)
R | 101 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
After failing to save his wife from 'The Doctor', Kit Li is working as a bodyguard and secret stunt double for the cowardly martial arts film star Frankie Lane. Frankie attends an ... See full summary »
Directors: Jing Wong, Wai-Lun Lam | Stars: Jet Li, Chingmy Yau, Jacky Cheung, Charlie Yeung
Votes: 4,601
Briefly at beginning
27. Blast (1997)
R | 105 min | Action
Terrorists are holding the U.S. Olympic swim team hostage, and only janitor Jack Bryant (Linden Ashby) can stop them.
Director: Albert Pyun | Stars: Linden Ashby, Andrew Divoff, Kimberly Warren, Rutger Hauer
Votes: 1,743
So bad its good & set in an Olympic swimming stadium school.
28. Hard Time: The Premonition (1999 TV Movie)
TV-14 | 100 min | Crime, Drama, Sci-Fi
Logan McQueen is an ex-cop serving a prison term for a bust that had gone awry. During his stint, he learns of a death row inmate that claims he can predict the details of the next violent ... See full summary »
Director: David S. Cass Sr. | Stars: Burt Reynolds, Charles Durning, Bruce Dern, Gigi Rice
Votes: 374
29. Homeland (2011–2020)
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A bipolar CIA operative becomes convinced a prisoner of war has been turned by al-Qaeda and is planning to carry out a terrorist attack on American soil.
Stars: Claire Danes, Mandy Patinkin, Damian Lewis, Rupert Friend
Votes: 360,847
Season 2
30. Moving Target (1996 Video)
R | 106 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
A bounty hunter with a pregnant wife who is urging him to get a regular job gets framed for murder and trapped in a war between Russian gangsters.
Director: Damian Lee | Stars: Michael Dudikoff, Ardon Bess, Michelle Johnson, Billy Dee Williams
Votes: 480
31. Law & Order (1990– )
TV-14 | 45 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
New York's finest police detectives and prosecutors fight to make the city a safer place. With integrity as the guiding force from investigation to verdict, the teams weigh every perspective in their commitment to finding justice.
Stars: Jerry Orbach, Jesse L. Martin, Dennis Farina, Sam Waterston
Votes: 44,532
A few different ones including the series finale.
32. Chicago P.D. (2014– )
TV-14 | 43 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Follows District 21 of the Chicago Police Department, made up of two different groups: the uniformed cops and the Intelligence Unit.
Stars: Jason Beghe, Marina Squerciati, Patrick John Flueger, LaRoyce Hawkins
Votes: 44,790
A few different ones including S3E7 and S6E16.
33. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999– )
TV-14 | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
This series follows the Special Victims Unit, a specially trained squad of detectives in the New York City Police Department that investigate sexually related crimes.
Stars: Mariska Hargitay, Christopher Meloni, Ice-T, Dann Florek
Votes: 124,773
Mentioned in S5E2 and S7E6.
Seen in S16E4 and S20E2.
34. Homicide: Life on the Street (1993–1999)
TV-14 | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
An American police procedural television series chronicling the work of a fictional version of the Baltimore Police Department's Homicide Unit.
Stars: Richard Belzer, Clark Johnson, Yaphet Kotto, Kyle Secor
Votes: 14,180
A notable Season 5 school two parter.
35. Showdown (I) (1993)
R | 98 min | Action
An ex-policeman/school janitor (Billy Blanks) shows a new student (Kenn Scott) how to defend himself from a martial-arts bully.
Director: Robert Radler | Stars: Billy Blanks, Kenn Scott, Christine Taylor, John Asher
Votes: 1,266
36. Higher Learning (1995)
R | 128 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
People from all different walks of life, encounter racial tension, rape, responsibility, and the meaning of an education on a university campus.
Director: John Singleton | Stars: Omar Epps, Kristy Swanson, Michael Rapaport, Jennifer Connelly
Votes: 21,541 | Gross: $38.29M
37. F (2010)
R | 79 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
A group of teachers must defend themselves from a gang of murderous youths when their school comes under siege after hours.
Director: Johannes Roberts | Stars: David Schofield, Eliza Bennett, Ruth Gemmell, Finlay Robertson
Votes: 4,197
38. Bodyguard (2018)
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Troubled war veteran turned Police Officer David Budd is assigned to the Metropolitan Police's Specialist Protection Branch.
Stars: Richard Madden, Sophie Rundle, Vincent Franklin, Ash Tandon
Votes: 147,699
39. Big Brother (2018)
TV-14 | 101 min | Action, Comedy, Drama
A soldier-turned-high school teacher uses unusual methods to reach to a class of poor students, while dealing with a greedy entrepreneur and his gang of fighters as well as the government.
Director: Ka-Wai Kam | Stars: Donnie Yen, Joe Chen, Ming-Kit Lok, Kang Yu
Votes: 3,560 | Gross: $0.09M
40. Andaz (1994)
Not Rated | 167 min | Action, Comedy, Drama
After completing his schooling from Nalanda, Ajay Kumar Saxena returns and is hired as a Teacher. He meets with savvy students, whose names are Jaya, Neelam, Shilpa, Sonam, Chunky, Govinda,... See full summary »
Director: David Dhawan | Stars: Anil Kapoor, Juhi Chawla, Karisma Kapoor, Raj Babbar
Votes: 505
41. Bloodfist VIII: Trained to Kill (1996)
R | 85 min | Action
A former CIA agent (Wilson) lives a suburban life as a high school teacher with his teen son (White). When the agent is attacked by former allies because of knowledge he possesses and his ... See full summary »
Director: Rick Jacobson | Stars: Don Wilson, John Patrick White, Jillian McWhirter, Warren Burton
Votes: 404
42. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008–2009)
TV-PG | 60 min | Action, Drama, Fantasy
Set after the events in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Sarah Connor and her son, John, try to stay under-the-radar from the government, as they plot to destroy the computer network, Skynet, in hopes of preventing Armageddon.
Stars: Lena Headey, Thomas Dekker, Summer Glau, Richard T. Jones
Votes: 62,815
43. The Closer (2005–2012)
TV-14 | 46 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Deputy Police Chief Brenda Johnson runs the Priority Homicide Division of the LAPD with an unorthodox style. Her innate ability to read people and obtain confessions helps her and her team solve the city's toughest, most sensitive cases.
Stars: Kyra Sedgwick, J.K. Simmons, Corey Reynolds, Robert Gossett
Votes: 28,902
Season 4 & 5.
44. Barely Lethal (2015)
PG-13 | 96 min | Action, Comedy
A teenage special ops agent coveting a "normal" adolescence fakes her own death and enrolls in a suburban high school. She quickly learns that surviving the treacherous waters of high school is more challenging than international espionage.
Director: Kyle Newman | Stars: Jaime King, Samuel L. Jackson, Madeleine Stack, Sophie Turner
Votes: 23,279
45. Wolf (2018)
80 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
Tasked with risky missions across Turkey, members of a special-operations police unit confront danger and tragedy both on the field and at home.
Stars: Ahu Türkpençe, Serkan Çayoglu, Emir Benderlioglu, Murat Arkin
Votes: 8,374
46. The Suspect (1998)
109 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Louis Koo plays an assassin who wants to go straight after getting out of prison, so he turns down a job from his former employer Simon Yam to kill a politician. Yam carries out the hit himself and manages to frame Koo for the crime.
Director: Ringo Lam | Stars: Eric Moo, Simon Yam, Louis Koo, Julian Cheung
Votes: 281
47. Third Watch (1999–2005)
TV-14 | 44 min | Action, Crime, Drama
The exploits of a group of men and women who serve New York City as police officers, firefighters, and paramedics in the fictional 55th Precinct.
Stars: Coby Bell, Skipp Sudduth, Jason Wiles, Molly Price
Votes: 11,434
Season 2 finale.
48. FBI: Most Wanted (2020– )
TV-14 | 45 min | Action, Crime, Drama
It follows the division of the FBI tasked with tracking and capturing the notorious criminals on the FBI's Most Wanted list.
Stars: Roxy Sternberg, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Alexa Davalos, Julian McMahon
Votes: 10,827
Season 1 & 2 have different school hostage scenarios and attacks.
49. Chicago Fire (2012– )
TV-14 | 43 min | Action, Drama
The story of firefighters and paramedics in the city of Chicago, both on a personal and professional level.
Stars: Taylor Kinney, Christian Stolte, Eamonn Walker, Joe Minoso
Votes: 64,485
Various eps
50. Violent Playground (1958)
108 min | Drama, Crime
The struggle between a Liverpool Juvenile Liaison officer and a dangerous young pyromaniac.
Director: Basil Dearden | Stars: Stanley Baker, Anne Heywood, David McCallum, Peter Cushing
Votes: 839
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