# Is "Die Hard" a Christmas Movie? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [December 2, 2013, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283 "2013-12-02T14:48:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 17
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2020, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/322 "2020-11-29T19:23:22Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > But it is not _about_ Christmas. Rudolf, the Santa Clause, The Polar Express, White Christmas,Miracle on 34th st, etc, those are _about_ the magic of Christmas. A Christmas Story, too. > > So it is not “a Christmas movie”. It is a Christmasy film if you want. None of those films are about the birth of Jesus Christ, therefore they are Christmasy films and not a Christmas movie ;). See this can be peeled in many different ways. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2020, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/323 "2020-11-29T19:28:33Z")
Al Leong, mentioned in the post I am quoting, is remembered by many as Genghis Khan, in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2020, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/324 "2020-11-29T20:24:08Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I dont think it is. It is just one of those things that people say to get a rise out of people, without really believing it. It is trolling-lite, since it is usually meant in a jocular fashion, not to be a jerk. Like the supposed hatred of Comic sans, or Nickelback. Fiddlesticks. I am certainly NOT trolling. I do not just believe it is a Christmas film, it IS a Christmas fim. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2020, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/325 "2020-11-29T20:40:21Z")
**Modhat** : You just accused about half the posters in this thread of trolling. Do not do this again. This is a long running Café thread, not a pit thread. Oh, and I’m one of those posters not trolling that consider Die Hard a great Christmas movie. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2020, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/326 "2020-11-29T23:27:13Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Sure if it was done on a holiday Friday when everyone was sent home early, like for 4th of July, etc. Perhaps the 4th but still unlikely. It is rare for a large building like that housing a large financial company to be so empty at any time. A weekend or ordinary holiday wouldn’t do it, there would still be plenty of people at work around the clock, and plenty of security since the building is open, people would be busy cleaning as well. This was not some corner store. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2020, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/327 "2020-11-30T00:20:17Z")
This isn’t directed to any poster here, sorry about the confusion. That was directed at the link from [Stephen Follows](https://stephenfollows.com/author/stephenfollows/), posted upstream, where he “proves” it is a Christmas movie due to “popular culture”. We all admit that some people like to answer polls in insincere ways, yes? Just for the LoLs? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2020, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/328 "2020-11-30T00:26:25Z")
The actual issue is defining “what is a Christmas movie?” If you define it as a film set during the holiday season, then yes, this and Wonderful Life qualify. If you define it as a film all about Christmas, such as Rudolf, the Santa Clause, The Polar Express, White Christmas,Miracle on 34th st, then it isnt. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2020, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/329 "2020-11-30T01:47:52Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I dont think that Wonderful Life and Home Alone are “Christmas Movies” either. They are films that have a christmas setting. Sheesh, you seem like one of those guys who doesn’t think _Meet Me in St. Louis_, _Mame_, and _The Sound of Music_ aren’t Christmas movies. 🙄 ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2020, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/330 "2020-11-30T01:57:53Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > > [@DrDeth](#): > > > > I dont think that Wonderful Life and Home Alone are “Christmas Movies” either. They are films that have a christmas setting. > > Sheesh, you seem Iike one of those guys who doesn’t think _Meet Me in St. Louis_, _Mame_, and _The Sound of Music_ are Christmas movies. > > 🙄 And jftr, although I’ve never seen a Die Hard franchise film, I’m sympathetic to the argument that it’s a Christmas movie. ---
**Author:** ![FigNorton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fignorton/32/5619_2.png) [@FigNorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FigNorton)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2020, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/331 "2020-11-30T01:59:50Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > And jftr, although I’ve never seen a Die Hard franchise film, I’m sympathetic to the argument that it’s a Christmas movie. You posting in this thread makes baby Bruce Willis cry. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2020, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/332 "2020-11-30T02:22:13Z")
> [@FigNorton](#): > > > [@kaylasdad99](#): > > > > And jftr, although I’ve never seen a Die Hard franchise film, I’m sympathetic to the argument that it’s a Christmas movie. > > You posting in this thread makes baby Bruce WilIis cry. I’m not TOTALLY without feeling. I liked him in _Nancy Drew_, _The Sixth Sense_, and _North_. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2020, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/333 "2020-11-30T02:26:45Z")
As I type this, Bruce’s Die Hard battery commercial is on TV… If DH is so obviously to so many a christmas movie, why isn’t Lethal Weapon? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2020, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/334 "2020-11-30T02:36:36Z")
I’ve never seen _It’s A Wonderful Life_, but I always imagined it as broadly similar to _A Christmas Carol_, in that they show what life could be like if things continue the way things are going. In that sense, Christmas is the logical setting, and arguably makes it more of a Christmas movie than _Die Hard_, which has nothing Christmassy in it beyond superficial prop elements. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2020, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/335 "2020-11-30T03:36:36Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I’ve never seen _It’s A Wonderful Life_, but I always imagined it as broadly similar to _A Christmas Carol_, in that they show what life could be like if things continue the way things are going. [Here.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_a_Wonderful_Life#Plot) Disabuse yourself of that notion in five minutes or less. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2020, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/336 "2020-11-30T03:48:11Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > As I type this, Bruce’s Die Hard battery commercial is on TV… > > If DH is so obviously to so many a christmas movie, why isn’t Lethal Weapon? It is. Gary Busey even shouts “It’s Christmas!” as he shoots a television. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2020, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/337 "2020-11-30T03:50:44Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Suppose that, instead of a Christmas party, it had been a retirement party for someone in the company. Would anything of significance in the movie have changed? One of the main plot points is that the people at the party are “The only ones left in the building”, which allows Gruber et al. to control them so effectively. There aren’t too many other days in the year other than Christmas Eve that an entire office tower would be entirely empty but for a big office party. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2020, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/338 "2020-11-30T03:56:43Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Sure if it was done on a holiday Friday when everyone was sent home early, like for 4th of July, etc. In my experience, that doesn’t happen nearly as often as people leaving early on Christmas Eve. And it certainly doesn’t include big parties happening in the building. “Fourth of July Eve” isn’t really a thing, and the big parties on July 4th itself don’t happen at work. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2020, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/339 "2020-11-30T03:59:08Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > If DH is so obviously to so many a christmas movie, why isn’t Lethal Weapon? It is. And a viewing of _Lethal Weapon_ is very much an entrenched Christmas tradition in the **Siam\_Sam** household. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2020, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/340 "2020-11-30T04:06:47Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > If DH is so obviously to so many a christmas movie, why isn’t Lethal Weapon? Well, consider the answers above. The Christmas party of DH is an integral part of the plot. The whole robbery wouldn’t work if the senior staff members weren’t in the building, without anyone else being in the build at the same time, and that situation is largely unique to a Christmas Eve setting. Also, the events of Die Hard all occur on Christmas Eve. In terms of the movie’s timeline, it’s much more compressed than Lethal Weapon. The plot of Lethal Weapon (cops taking down a drug ring) could happen any day of the year, and the movie itself takes place over at least a few days, some of which just happen to be around Christmas. While Christmas informs the setting, it’s not essential to the setting or the plot. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2020, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/341 "2020-11-30T04:10:27Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > The plot of Lethal Weapon (cops taking down a drug ring) could happen any day of the year, and the movie itself takes place over at least a few days, some of which just happen to be around Christmas. While Christmas informs the setting, it’s not essential to the setting or the plot. I think the movie would have a very different feel if it were not set at Christmas, so different that it would be a different film altogether. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283.md?page=16) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283.md?page=18)