# 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:** 28
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2024, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/542 "2024-12-01T21:29:40Z")
I always watch it this time of year in a double feature with Gremlins. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2024, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/543 "2024-12-01T21:51:42Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > In Die Hard, Christmas is integral to the plot, and it’s a very ‘Christmas’ plot: Estranged family member comes home for Christmas. There is a big Christmas party gone wrong Which could be New Years. > [@EnolaStraight](#): > > The fact that the events of Die Hard takes place on Christmas Eve is incidental: The movie would play out the same if the holiday was Easter, Thanksgiving, Halloween, or The Fourth of July. Right. > [@rocking\_chair](#): > > Would there be an office party for those holidays? New Years, certainly. Thanksgiving, maybe. > [@Baker](#): > > I guess I’m the only one who thinks it’s not a Christmas movie. Nope, But see- no one has defined “Christmas Movie” - Is Christmas there in the background and part of the plot- but not a _critical_ part of the plot? Music, tree, Santa, trappings, etc- Does that make a film a “Christmas Movie” ? If So, _Die hard_ and _Its a WonderFul Life_ both qualify. Or is the film about the magic of Christmas? Are mythical creatures a major part of the film? Could you never possibly remove Christmas and still have a film? That is how I define a Christmas Movie. > [@smithsb](#): > > Director, screenwriters, actors (except BW who’s out of it); all agreed it a Christmas movie. _Bruce Willis firmly declares that Die Hard is not a Christmas movie, stating it is a “god-damn Bruce Willis movie” instead._ - Director John McTiernan believes it is up to the audience to decide whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie.\* \*t wasn’t intended as a Christmas movie, or the fact that it was deliberately built around Christmas, but not intended to be a Christmas movie. [https://screenrant.com/die-hard-christmas-movie-cast-crew-opinion/](https://screenrant.com/die-hard-christmas-movie-cast-crew-opinion/) So, I don’t consider it a Christmas Movie. But if you prefer the first definition I gave- then it is. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2024, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/544 "2024-12-01T22:00:02Z")
> [@detop](#): > > Silly you. Of course it is a Christmas movie as well as _Die Hard 2_, _Lethal Weapon 1_, > [@Fear\_the\_Turtle](#): > > Yes, it is a Christmas movie. And should be watched every Christmas eve as part of a double feature with Lethal Weapon. > [@Dr\_Doom](#): > > It has a few actors in common with _Die Hard_ . . . All this, and what @msmith537 says make _Die Hard_ a Christmas movie. Tripler It’s not Christmas until [Al Ka-Bong Leong](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Leong) gets his Hershey Bar. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2024, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/545 "2024-12-01T22:07:12Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Or is the film about the magic of Christmas? Are mythical creatures a major part of the film? Could you never possibly remove Christmas and still have a film? That is how I define a Christmas Movie. Which is why **White Christmas** is _not_ a Christmas movie. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2024, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/546 "2024-12-01T22:11:03Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > But see- no one has defined “Christmas Movie” - > > Is Christmas there in the background and part of the plot- but not a _critical_ part of the plot? Music, tree, Santa, trappings, etc- Does that make a film a “Christmas Movie” ? If So, _Die hard_ and _Its a WonderFul Life_ both qualify. > > Or is the film about the magic of Christmas? Are mythical creatures a major part of the film? Could you never possibly remove Christmas and still have a film? That is how I define a Christmas Movie. That all seems reasonable to me. _Die Hard_ could indeed have taken place during any other holiday, and be essentially unchanged (apart from the set decorations). You might as well say that _The Untouchables_ was a Flag Day movie, since a US flag is visible in at least one scene. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2024, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/547 "2024-12-01T22:18:08Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > > [@DrDeth](#): > > > > Or is the film about the magic of Christmas? … > > Which is why **White Christmas** is _not_ a Christmas movie. (My edit in the first quote.) I don’t think that DrDeth used “the magic of Christmas” to mean supernatural doings (though if I’m wrong about that, no doubt he will come along to say so). In _White Christmas_ the 'magic of Christmas, in the sense of people forgiving each other and prioritizing kindness–and being reminded to do so by the approaching holiday–is certainly a fundamental part of the plot. So on that basis it surely qualifies as “a Christmas movie.” ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2024, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/548 "2024-12-01T22:18:27Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Which could be New Years. I can’t think of New Year’s movies where the plot hinges around the main character relearning the importance of being with family over his career. Maybe there are some, but that’s a classically Christmas movie thing. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2024, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/549 "2024-12-01T22:22:19Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > I don’t think that DrDeth used “the magic of Christmas” to mean supernatural doings (though if I’m wrong about that, no doubt he will come along to say so). In _White Christmas_ the 'magic of Christmas, in the sense of people forgiving each other and prioritizing kindness–and being reminded to do so by the approaching holiday–is certainly a fundamental part of the plot. Mostly supernatural even if not obvious. (a lot of Hallmark films are like that -“was that really?”) White Christmas is kinda either. Hard to imagine rewriting it as a New years film, but not impossible. > [@RickJay](#): > > I can’t think of New Year’s movies where the plot hinges around the main character relearning the importance of being with family over his career. Not really. He stays a cop- in fact they made sequels based on that. It is just a “nice little romantic touch”. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2024, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/550 "2024-12-01T22:29:49Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > He stays a cop- in fact they made sequels based on that. It is just a “nice little romantic touch”. The sequels aren’t relevant to the first movie; it’s a stand alone story. (And in any case, the sequel has him move to LA to be with his family. Then for reasons unexplained he moves back to New York, and then at some point he fights Russians and blows up a fighter plane with a car. Made-for-cash sequels do that kinda stuff.) ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2024, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/551 "2024-12-01T22:39:42Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Mostly supernatural even if not obvious. (a lot of Hallmark films are like that -“was that really?”) So how would you classify _A Charlie Brown Christmas_? TV show not movie, of course, but it still should be able to be categorized using your criteria. Some might place the ‘tree ends up looking full despite starting out spindly’ as having been a supernatural effect, I guess. I’d call it more of a **human perception effect** , as in the climax of _The Music Man_ (the love of the people for their children makes them see the children as playing beautifully in splendid uniforms, despite the reality being that they were playing badly in shabby uniforms). (I’m going to hope that these are not considered to be spoilers.) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2024, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/552 "2024-12-01T22:54:25Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > So how would you classify _A Charlie Brown Christmas_? TV show not movie, of course, but it still should be able to be categorized using your criteria. > > Some might place the ‘tree ends up looking full despite starting out spindly’ as having been a supernatural effect, I guess. Well, there is that, and iirc a Light coming down from a star? Not to mention, actual long quotes from the Gospels. Okay I admit- YMMV. If you prefer my first definition, then Die Hard qualifies. I am not saying DH isnt a Christmas Movie, i am saying it depends on the defintion. Here are what I consider Christmas movies _A Christmas Carol_ \*Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer. \* _Miracle on 34th street._ _The Santa Clause -and sequels_ - The Nightmare Before Christmas\* \*Polar Express. \* _The Year Without a Santa Claus._ Now, can anyone deny those would be classed as Christmas films- first? And that Die Hard would be classed first as an Action Film? Of course it is. Action first. Christmas? Maybe secondarily. Interesting Film- V_iolent Christmas._ Yes- a Christmas movie no matter the definition, but is it first an action film? > [@Sherrerd](#): > > as in the climax of _The Music Man_ (the love of the people for their children makes them see the children as playing beautifully in splendid uniforms, Or is that- as some have claimed- just many years down the line when River City has a top flight Marching band? ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2024, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/553 "2024-12-01T23:18:25Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Or is that- as some have claimed- just many years down the line when River City has a top flight Marching band? Interesting theory (which I’d never heard before), but Robert Preston and the other characters don’t look ‘many years’ older in that scene. Also that theory is contradicted by the scene inside, before they all go out and march down the street. The parents are all crying out with pride ‘that’s my Timmy!’ and such, even though the kids’ playing is terrible. Anyway, back to Christmas movie definitions: if we’re talking “action” or violence, there are still degrees of Christmasy-ness. For example I’d argue that 2015’s _Krampus_ IS a Christmas movie as the theme of family is so important in it. But none of the three versions of _Black Christmas_ qualify because there is nothing in them, really, about the positive aspect of family\* or of forgiveness or of kindness toward one’s fellow-humans, etc. \*There are some very _negative_ aspects of “family” in the second of the three. ---
**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 2, 2024, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/554 "2024-12-02T00:59:03Z")
The key is that all the other offices in the tower are gone. Only Holly’s company is in the tower, making the theft easier. The heist is planned for a time when only one company is in the tower; making it easy to control the people in the tower. They are all in one area and not scattered throughout the various floors due to the party. There is only one time of year there would be a party and other businesses closed…a winter/holiday/ Christmas party. Hence Christmas movie. Also Alexander godunov has angel hair. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2024, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/555 "2024-12-02T01:15:54Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > New Years, certainly. Thanksgiving, maybe. Uh, no. \*5 different government and private companies that I worked for showed me that new year and thanksgiving are not given such a big party… Potlucks if any. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2024, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/556 "2024-12-02T02:23:19Z")
> [@rocking\_chair](#): > > There is only one time of year there would be a party and other businesses closed…a winter/holiday/ Christmas party. Or New Years. > [@GIGObuster](#): > > Uh, no. > > \*5 different government and private companies that I worked for showed me that new year and thanksgiving are not given such a big party… Party- maybe yes, maybe no, I worked for a place that did the party- band and everything. But closed? Certainly. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2024, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/557 "2024-12-02T02:36:00Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > In _White Christmas_ the 'magic of Christmas, in the sense of people forgiving each other and prioritizing kindness–and being reminded to do so by the approaching holiday Disagree. You could center the movie around Mardi Gras keeping the same basic plot (going up to Vermont, helping old General, etc.) and everything is the same. I feel the same way about the song “Last Christmas” by Wham! You can replace the word “Christmas” with “Flag Day” and the song stays the same. That being said, main parts happen at and around Christmas, and it should be considered a Christmas movie. Now, I don’t think White Christmas is a _musical_. Yes, there’s a lot of musical numbers in the movie, but they’re mostly done as stage acts. None of the songs are relevant to the plot. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2024, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/558 "2024-12-02T02:39:08Z")
> [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](#): > > Disagree. You could center the movie around Mardi Gras keeping the same basic plot (going up to Vermont, helping old General, etc.) and everything is the same. Yep. Not a Christmas film by my 2nd definition. Which is the one I prefer. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2024, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/559 "2024-12-02T06:06:20Z")
IMO, “Christmas Movie” and “Violent action movie with multiple on-screen deaths” are mutually exclusive categories (just like “Christmas movie” and “Horror film” are mutually exclusive.) A movie can be set at Christmas but not be a “Christmas movie”, is how I see it. ---
**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:** [December 2, 2024, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/560 "2024-12-02T06:08:30Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > IMO, “Christmas Movie” and “Violent action movie with multiple on-screen deaths” are mutually exclusive categories (just like “Christmas movie” and “Horror film” are mutually exclusive.) Both “Violent Night” and “Red One” would like to have a word. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2024, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283/561 "2024-12-02T06:16:10Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > Both “Violent Night” and “Red One” would like to have a word. I have watched Violent Night twice. I see his point. Certainly it is an action film first. I have heard Red One is really bad. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283.md?page=27) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-die-hard-a-christmas-movie/675283.md?page=29)