Die Hard is not a Christmas film. Discuss. It's just not. Okay, the end credits roll with Dean Martin crooning Let it Snow, and the film is set on Christmas eve, but other than those links. No.
It’s a great excuse to force your relatives to watch an action movie. One Easter I wanted to watch Big Trouble in Little China and I convinced my in-laws it was an Easter movie so we put it on. We were probably about 45 mins in when they finally realized I was fibbing.
You haven't convinced me yet, guys. Maybe if McClane had thrown Santa out of the window and on to the bonnet... sorry, hood, of Sgt Powell's squad car to attract his attention, instead of a dead terrorist...
Die Hard had me spending quality time with my family during Christmas laughing at all the cheesy lines and Alan Rickman's overacting. It brought us together even more closely than the holiday dinner because we had all seen it but genuinely enjoyed watching it loudly in each other's company. Yes, Die Hard is a Christmas film. I smile less than a quarter as much at A Christmas Story or anything like that. Maybe National Lampoon's Christmas, but that's about it.
What most people don't realize is, it's actually an updating of the classic The Year Without a Santa Claus. Think about it. It happened on Xmas eve. If you pay close attention to the subtext, McClain is actually Santa in his off-season persona, and he's been trapped in a building by terrorists. Oh no, what will become of Christmas this year? But with gritty chutzpah and a merry twinkle in his eye he kicked up on some terrorist ass, saved the day, and the presents all got delivered in the 'Nick' of time. Remember the street cop who helped him out? Yeah, he was obviously Rudolph giving a bit of outside assist. The tip-off is his cruiser's red lights. And the cruiser itself? Santa's sleigh, also in off-season disguise. God bless us, every one.
Definitely an Xmas film. It reunites man and wife, getting them to put aside their differences to embrace the spirit of togetherness. There's some extenuating circumstances, sure, but it's no zanier than Christmas Vacation.
It's more of a Christmas film than Frozen, which if I remember correctly was set in July. I suppose, much like The Great Escape, it has a Christmassy status based on what festive connotations it's developed over the years, and for me, it's just not Christmas until I've seen Hans Gruber fall off Nakatomi Plaza. Also Bruce Willis has said it isn't, and I inherently want to disagree with everything he says about Die Hard, because he thought it was a good idea to make the fourth and fifth......ahem.....'films'
He can blind deer by reflecting light off his head, and then he's got dinner for a year. What's to complain about?
Bruce is reportedly worth 200 million... he can't use "i needed the money" as an excuse for those turkeys
I think it being set during the season is enough for it to feel topical. But a lot of people including myself watch it for Christmas and it’s usually run on TV around the time. This association makes it a Christmas film for me.
There is an annual debate in our house about this. It's started already! I'm on the side of it not being a Christmas film. My fiancé insists that it's his favourite Christmas film ever. I guess we'll just have to watch it again to try and arrive at a conclusion.
Die Hard is not a Christmas film. Yes, it is taking place on Christmas eve, but that does not mean it is a Christmas film. Like for example, the Harry Potter films only get played on tv around Christmas time because they associate it with the Christmas scenes in the films, but they are nowhere near close to being Christmas films.
Just because the film takes place on Christmas or near Christmas doesn't necessarily mean it's a Christmas film
