# Resolved: Die Hard 1 is not a Christmas movie, it's a Halloween movie. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 20, 2018, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-die-hard-1-is-not-a-christmas-movie-its-a-halloween-movie/826447 "2018-12-20T21:47:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2018, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-die-hard-1-is-not-a-christmas-movie-its-a-halloween-movie/826447/41 "2018-12-22T18:42:22Z")
By that standard, _Guardians of the Galaxy_ is a Christmas movie, too. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2018, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-die-hard-1-is-not-a-christmas-movie-its-a-halloween-movie/826447/42 "2018-12-22T20:21:05Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > By that standard, _Guardians of the Galaxy_ is a Christmas movie, too. If it had a Christmas tree or some carols on Awesome Mix, Vol I, I would agree. It does not, however, and is therefore just a movie about a lost man-child discovering that he actually has family, even if he has to piece it together from assassins, a dumb tree, and an angry cybernetically-enhanced raccoon. _Die Hard_ takes place on Christmas Eve, on the backdrop of a Christmas party, with multiple explicit references to Christmas (both the holiday itself and the spirit of coming together in charity and need). Alan Rickman’s character even predicts a Christmas miracle when talking to Theo. And there is, of course, all of the traditional elements of Christmas; songs, laughter, spiced wine, snow (or at least snow-like precipitation), family conflict, a roaring fire, screaming, police being called to a disturbance and only reluctantly getting engaged, and the FBI crashing a helicopter. ([“Gonna need some more FBI guys, I guess.”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVC6wbWsq3I)) What about it specifically is not Christmas? Stranger ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2018, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-die-hard-1-is-not-a-christmas-movie-its-a-halloween-movie/826447/43 "2018-12-22T20:32:10Z")
I note that so far only one vote (presumably the OP) is for horror. It’s a Xmas movie! ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2018, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-die-hard-1-is-not-a-christmas-movie-its-a-halloween-movie/826447/44 "2018-12-23T00:32:25Z")
Nope–this is backwards sdrwkcab week and the poll item with the _lowest_ number of votes wins. Thus, once again, I am the champion!!! ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2018, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-die-hard-1-is-not-a-christmas-movie-its-a-halloween-movie/826447/45 "2018-12-23T02:44:09Z")
Meme I’ve seen on Facebook: “The thing is, Die Hard wasn’t a Christmas movie originally. the script was changed by Constantine in 336 to align it with the Sol Invictus festival” “It was declared a Christmas movie at the Council of Nicea I can’t believe I have to get angry about this” \<-- in all caps Brian ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2018, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-die-hard-1-is-not-a-christmas-movie-its-a-halloween-movie/826447/46 "2018-12-23T18:57:14Z")
I came across a book titled **A Die Hard Christmas** the other day. Just sayin’. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2018, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-die-hard-1-is-not-a-christmas-movie-its-a-halloween-movie/826447/47 "2018-12-23T20:08:31Z")
I voted “Who Cares,” because I didn’t like any of the answers. It’s an action/adventure movie that happens to be set at Christmastime, but it’s _not_ a Christmas movie, dammit. ---
**Author:** ![Aquadementia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aquadementia/32/555_2.png) [@Aquadementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquadementia)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2018, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-die-hard-1-is-not-a-christmas-movie-its-a-halloween-movie/826447/48 "2018-12-24T21:21:00Z")
Scrooge, uhm, I mean _A Christmas Carol_ takes place in a haunted house full of ghosts. All of which were replaced by a printer for the remake from Bob Cratchit’s point of view, _Office Space_. _How The Grinch Stole Christmas_, a hard hitting crime drama, of course. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2018, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-die-hard-1-is-not-a-christmas-movie-its-a-halloween-movie/826447/49 "2018-12-30T04:28:07Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > A Christmas movie is a movie _about_ Christmas. It’s not one where Christmas is just an interchangeable background element. I agree. For the same reasons Planes, Trains, and Automobiles is not a “Thanksgiving Movie.” In each case, the holiday is simply a backdrop to advance the plot. In PTA, the holiday is the reason why Steve Martin doesn’t just hang out in Wichita and drink until the weather clears, the airport reopens, and he can book a flight home. Likewise in Die Hard, the fact that it is Christmas Eve allows the people to be nearly alone in the building and for there to be a skeleton security crew. It was also a reason for Bruce Willis to be at the party. In PTA, the reason for Steve Martin to get home could have just as easily been Christmas, a 50th anniversary party for his parents, a child’s birthday party, etc. These background elements to drive the plot are not a main part of the movie and therefore the movie should not be defined by them. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2018, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-die-hard-1-is-not-a-christmas-movie-its-a-halloween-movie/826447/50 "2018-12-30T06:27:19Z")
It’s a Harry Potter movie. Guy running around a tower after Alan Rickman! ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2018, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-die-hard-1-is-not-a-christmas-movie-its-a-halloween-movie/826447/51 "2018-12-30T22:40:33Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > If it had a Christmas tree or some carols on Awesome Mix, Vol I, I would agree. It does not, however, and is therefore just a movie about a lost man-child discovering that he actually has family, even if he has to piece it together from assassins, a dumb tree, and an angry cybernetically-enhanced raccoon. > > _Die Hard_ takes place on Christmas Eve, on the backdrop of a Christmas party, with multiple explicit references to Christmas (both the holiday itself and the spirit of coming together in charity and need). Alan Rickman’s character even predicts a Christmas miracle when talking to Theo. And there is, of course, all of the traditional elements of Christmas; songs, laughter, spiced wine, snow (or at least snow-like precipitation), family conflict, a roaring fire, screaming, police being called to a disturbance and only reluctantly getting engaged, and the FBI crashing a helicopter. ([“Gonna need some more FBI guys, I guess.”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVC6wbWsq3I)) What about it specifically is not Christmas? > > Stranger Exactly. Well said. Christmas themes and music are all through the movie. The whole premise starts at a Christmas party, and the hero is a man going home to be with his family at Christmas. 20th Century Fox agrees - here’s the official trailer for [A Die Hard Christmas](https://youtu.be/4Wi28Vsi_ZU) ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2018, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-die-hard-1-is-not-a-christmas-movie-its-a-halloween-movie/826447/52 "2018-12-30T22:51:52Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Exactly. Well said. Christmas themes and music are all through the movie. The whole premise starts at a Christmas party, and the hero is a man going home to be with his family at Christmas. But that is where any similarity to Christmas stops, and the only purpose of these elements is to drive the real plot. The movie is about the terrorist attack/hostage situation, not Yuletide Cheer. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2018, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-die-hard-1-is-not-a-christmas-movie-its-a-halloween-movie/826447/53 "2018-12-31T01:27:52Z")
Lots of ‘Christmas’ movies use Christmas as a framing device for something else. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2018, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-die-hard-1-is-not-a-christmas-movie-its-a-halloween-movie/826447/54 "2018-12-31T03:01:04Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > But that is where any similarity to Christmas stops, and the only purpose of these elements is to drive the real plot. The movie is about the terrorist attack/hostage situation, not Yuletide Cheer. Au contraire! The “terrorist attack/hostage situation” is actually the backdrop to a man seeking redemption and reuniting with his family. The most significant scene in the film has McClane talking with Sgt. Powell while pulling glass shards out of his feet (akin to stigmata) and telling him how he’d told his wife “She’s heard me say, ‘I love you,’ a million times; she’s never heard me say, ‘I’m sorry.’” Powell tells him he’ll live to tell his wife that himself, and McClane observes that this is up to ‘the man upstairs’, meaning God but then wonders what Hans was doing upstairs, leading him to discover the ruse of blowing up the roof. McClane’s ‘gift’ is becoming a better, more aware husband and man. Totally a Christmas movie. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2019, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-die-hard-1-is-not-a-christmas-movie-its-a-halloween-movie/826447/55 "2019-01-02T18:11:36Z")
Well, let’s guess who the sole vote for _Horror_ movie was cast by. Thread fail. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-die-hard-1-is-not-a-christmas-movie-its-a-halloween-movie/826447.md?page=2)