# 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:** 21
**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:** [December 24, 2020, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/402 "2020-12-24T15:17:11Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > If you are willing to disregard the word of those who are in authority to know, in favor of those who tell you what you want to hear(no matter how frivolously such “information” is tossed out), then I guess there is nothing more I can do to convince you. Right back at ya. Don’t know if you’re talking about BR or DH, but the evidence for both is right there on screen. Scott misunderstanding the writer doesn’t make Deckard a replicant, and setting a movie at Christmas does not make it a “Christmas movie”. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/403 "2020-12-24T21:30:30Z")
Ok, then what did the Directors of "_It’s A Wonderful Life"_ , _The Lion in Winter_, the _Sound Of Music,_ _The Ref_, _Eyes Wide Shut_ ,_Holiday Inn_ and so forth say? Unless you have inside info on all those films , then this is a bad definition. Especially since the star disagrees. How about the Producer? The Scriptwriter? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/404 "2020-12-24T21:32:47Z")
Yeah, I accept what the _author_ had to say. I think he is a better authority since making Deckard a replicant ruins the whole them of “Replicants are as human as we are”- if everyone is a replicant. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/405 "2020-12-24T23:00:23Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Yeah, I accept what the _author_ had to say. The book and the movie are two different entities. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/406 "2020-12-24T23:46:59Z")
How about _Bell Book and Candle_, = Christmas? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2020, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/407 "2020-12-25T01:55:55Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > How about _Bell Book and Candle_ , = Christmas? Are you suggesting it is, suggesting it isn’t, or trying to make this even more complicated? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2020, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/408 "2020-12-25T01:59:15Z")
Well, is it? What did the Director say? You seem to be basing the question on whether or not the Director says it is. So far, we have exactly one, count them- ONE- film where the director has spoken out on the subject, making this measurement signulary useless for decision making. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2020, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/409 "2020-12-25T02:15:08Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > You seem to be basing the question on whether or not the Director says it is. So far, we have exactly one, count them- ONE- film where the director has spoken out on the subject, making this measurement signulary useless for decision making. _That one film is the film this thread is all about!_ Holy fuck. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2020, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/410 "2020-12-25T02:21:17Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Well, is it? What did the Director say? Why should I care about whether some other film is a Christmas film, when BB&K has nothing to do with the film that is actually being discussed here and no one has (as far as I can recall) has ever brought up the subject about whether BB&C is a Christmas movie before. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2020, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/411 "2020-12-25T06:05:48Z")
Because before we can decide if a film is a “christmas film” we have to define what a “christmas film” is. Your definition _“if the director sez so”_ does not make for a lot of Christmas films. Esp as the Director is just that- the director. Not the producer, the wryer or the lead actor. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2020, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/412 "2020-12-25T07:00:55Z")
Did you happen to read the link I provided? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2020, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/413 "2020-12-25T07:31:04Z")
and so? “appeal to authority” eh? ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2020, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/414 "2020-12-25T15:02:45Z")
In my annual viewing of Die Hard on Christmas Eve last night I noted just how steeped in Christmas the movie is. There are constant references to it being Christmas from the protagonists and the villains. It did indeed put me in the Christmas mood. So Christmas blessings to all my fellow Die Hard is a Christmas movie friends, and Bah Humbug to the rest of you! ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2020, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/415 "2020-12-25T16:03:00Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Because before we can decide if a film is a “christmas film” we have to define what a “christmas film” is. Good luck getting this lot to come to a concensus on that. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2020, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/416 "2020-12-25T16:15:01Z")
If you can take Christmas out of the movie and it still has the same plot, characters, motivation, and resolution, then it’s not a Christmas movie. That is my rubric, and judging by that rubric, _Die Hard_ is not a Christmas movie. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2020, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/417 "2020-12-25T18:06:24Z")
Just gonna throw this out there but it has come to my attention that a lot of people now consider Lord of the Rings a Christmas movie(s) mainly because they all came out in December and it has become tradition for them to rewatch them for Christmas. ---
**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:** [December 25, 2020, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/418 "2020-12-25T22:18:08Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > If you can take Christmas out of the movie and it still has the same plot, characters, motivation, and resolution, then it’s not a Christmas movie. That is my rubric, and judging by that rubric, _Die Hard_ is not a Christmas movie. And neither is Holiday Inn. As much as Die Hard isn’t, I’m beginnng to be convinced IAWL isn’t a Christmas movie, either. It should be shown at Easter - it IS a very religious movie. A very American Protestant Christian movie, truly. And a much better Christian message movie than Left Behind, or God is Not Dead. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2020, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/419 "2020-12-25T22:39:57Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > As much as Die Hard isn’t, I’m beginnng to be convinced IAWL isn’t a Christmas movie, either. It should be shown at Easter - it IS a very religious movie. I posted in another thread, but IAWL is a border case (IMO) because being set in the Christmas season adds a lot of emotional and religious intensity that no other holiday would add. Plus, I don’t think we can ignore the fact that IAWL has been flogged nonstop every Christmas season since the licensing glitch in the 1970’s. I think that if, for whatever reason, the movie itself becomes a Christmas tradition, then it can be a Christmas movie even if it’s not even peripherally related to Christmas. That last bit could be applied to _Die Hard_, but I feel like it’s invalidated by the fact that a lot of people want _Die Hard_ to be a Christmas movie. I feel like a lot of this is pushed by people who are putting a lot of effort into being quirky and hoping it will catch on. While I certainly don’t begrudge anybody reaching for any possible way to inject some variety into the routine holiday fare, neither will I be persuaded that it’s meaningfully or organically a Christmas movie. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2020, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/420 "2020-12-26T00:29:51Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > While I certainly don’t begrudge anybody reaching for any possible way to inject some variety into the routine holiday fare, And altho I dont think it is really a Christmas film, I can see quite a bit of benefit in injecting into a list a standard Christmas fare. It is a good film. It has Alan Rickman in it, which raises it well above others of it’s ilk. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2020, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/421 "2020-12-26T02:00:15Z")
Die hard is a Christmas movie. Now the new question: is die hard 2 a Christmas movie?? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283.md?page=20) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283.md?page=22)