Entertainment
Is Die Hard a Christmas movie?
Yippee Ki Yes or Yippee Ki Ho-ho-no? (Picture: 20th Century Fox)
Oh the weather outside is frightful, and the fire is so delightful, and since we’ve no place to go, it’s time to relitigate the debate: Is Die Hard really a Christmas movie?
We all have our favourite movies to cuddle up with at Christmas time, from It’s A Wonderful Life, to The Muppet Christmas Carol, Love Actually and Home Alone.
For many people, Die Hard is one such film that makes the festive movie playlist. After all, what better way to ring in Christmas than with a healthy dose of explosions and gunfire?
The 1988 action classic follows Bruce Willis as Detective John McClane, whose hopes of reconnecting with his estranged wife over the holidays are thwarted when a group of terrorists take over the Christmas party – just the thing to make you feel all warm and fuzzy.
With the film now available on Disney Plus, it is the perfect time to settle the debate once and for all (well, at least until next year)…
Is Die Hard a Christmas film?
The hotly contested topic has endured for decades, even among our writers at Metro.co.uk.
Alicia Adejobi says that: ‘Ultimately, Die Hard has nothing to do with Christmas. The essence of a Christmas movie should be feel good and cosy even if some of the characters aren’t always morally perfect because, who really is?
‘But there’s a line – Christmas trees blowing up doesn’t exactly scream joyful days that are happy and bright.’
She also pointed out: ‘Die Hard wasn’t even released at Christmas’ as it was originally released in July 1988.
On the flipside, Rishma Dosani argued: ‘Sure, the whole ‘holding a group of people ransom’ doesn’t quite have the same festive message as Miracle On 34th Street, but neither does Alan Rickman cheating on Emma Thompson and giving her a cheap CD, and that’s part of one of the biggest Christmas movies around…
‘Also, while Die Hard is mainly an action film, it features a mushy romance of a tough New York police officer travelling across the country to be with his businesswoman wife in LA, putting aside their differences and spending the holiday together. Honestly, what is more festive than a family reuniting thanks to Christmas (and some kick-ass fight scenes). It worked for Home Alone…’
Admittedly, this poster doesn’t exactly scream ‘Christmas’ (Picture: 20th Century Fox)
People who class Die Hard as a Christmas movie will argue that pretty much the whole film takes place during a Christmas party – McClane’s wife is even called Hollie for goodness sake!
For this humble reporter, anything set during Yuletide with at least one Christmas song is enough to get a pass, no matter how many explosions.
But what do those involved with the film itself have to say about it?
Willis – who returned as McClane in four sequels – weighed in on the issue in 2018 during his roast on Comedy Central, saying: ‘Die Hard is not a Christmas movie. It’s a god damn Bruce Willis movie!’
Yet John McTiernan, the director of the film, said to the AFI that he believes it is indeed a holiday film.
‘We hadn’t intended it to be a Christmas movie, but the joy that came from it is what turned it into a Christmas movie,’ he said.
Back in 2017, one of Die Hard’s screenwriters Steven De Souza also gave his views when asked the question by CNN’s Jake Tapper on Twitter.
‘I’m sure you’ve weighed in on it before, but I’ve never heard you or Jeb Stuart offer your take on whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie,’ Tapper tweeted.
De Souza jokingly replied ‘Yes, because the studio rejected the Purim draft’ before adding the hashtag ‘DieHardIsAChristmasMovie’
The studio behind the film – 20th Century Fox – would seem to agree with the writer and director, as in a clip to celebrate the film’s 30th anniversary they called it ‘the greatest Christmas story ever told’.
So the answer to whether or not Die Hard is a Christmas film seems to be whatever your heart tells you – just come out to the coast, get together and have a few laughs.
How to stream Die Hard this Christmas
Die Hard is available to stream to Disney Plus subscribers from December 3 and can be found in the Star library, which is where more adult tiles are housed on the platform.
You could even decide to have a Die Hard marathon, as all five instalments in the franchise are currently available on Disney Plus – although only the first two are set at Christmas.
MORE : From Elf to Love Actually: The best Christmas movies on Sky Cinema over the festive season
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