Yes – Die Hard Is In Fact A Christmas Movie
The Canton Emagine Theater.
Last night I took my kids to see Die Hard on the big screen. It was my wife’s idea because they’d never seen it before. One slept through some of it, while the other watched it, perhaps reluctantly.
I’m here to say, Die Hard is a Christmas movie if there was ever a doubt. Here are my reasons for stating this so strongly.
1 – It takes place on Christmas Eve. I mean, how much more Christmasy can you get? They’re at a holiday party!
2 – After John McLane kills the first terrorist, he writes on his shirt “Now I Have a Machine Gun Ho-Ho-Ho” Not exactly Santa, but close enough.
3 – There are Christmas songs that play throughout the entire movie. Even little notes here and there that add up to classic Christmas songs, playing in the background, sometimes very slightly.
4 – John McLane’s wife’s name is Holly.
5 – The fact that theaters are playing it now, and not during any other time of the year, tells me that it is a Christmas movie. That being said, it was released in mid-July in 1988.
I hadn’t watched the movie in a very long time. It brought back a lot of memories of when I saw it first, as a projectionist at a theater as a kid. I watched it over and over back then. I’ll tell you this, I still squirmed in my seat when John jumped off the top of the building with the fire hose wrapped around him, only to be almost dragged out of the window he crashed through and down to the ground, like Hans Gruber did. (Spoiler Alert)
If you get the chance, take your younger kids to see Die Hard, whether at home or in a theater, and share a movie from a time before cell phones, social media, and the like. Just a good old-fashioned shoot ’em up action movie, that does indeed say “Merry Christmas”!
That’s my take, and I’m sticking to it.
-Meltdown-
"Die Hard" And 5 Other Debatable Christmas Movies
‘Tis the season for Christmas movies, but what makes a Christmas movie a “Christmas movie?” Does it have to take place on Christmas? Must Christmas be the primary theme? Is Die Hard a Christmas movie?
It’s a question that seems to be as old as the holiday itself. Everyone has an opinion, and we could be closer to an answer than ever before.
In determining what makes a Christmas movie a “Christmas movie,” Yahoo! UK came up with a two-question litmus test. To try to determine if a movie is indeed a Christmas movie, they say you have to first ask “does watching the film at any other time of year feel weird? If no, then it’s not a Christmas movie.”
Then, they suggest you ask, “if you take Christmas out of the movie, does it still make sense? If yes, then it’s not a Christmas movie.”
Die Hard & Other Debatable Christmas Movies
I think those are fair criteria. It’s not a Christmas movie if you can watch it during the summer and have no issue. If it has the same feel in August as it does on Christmas, it shouldn’t be a Christmas movie.
Likewise, I feel like Christmas has to be the primary theme of the movie. If you can remove Christmas from the plot and it still makes sense it shouldn’t be considered a Christmas movie.
So, given these characteristics I feel like Die Hard would not be considered a Christmas movie. Despite the movie taking place on Christmas, you can watch the movie all year long. It doesn’t have to be exclusively tied to Christmas. To me, it doesn’t pass the litmus test.
In a new poll, 26% of people said that Die Hard is a Christmas movie. 50% of people surveyed said it is not. Then, 23% say they “aren’t sure.”
Die Hard isn’t the only movie that we question if it’s a Christmas movie or not. Some of the best movies of all-time could fall into this vague area. Here are five other movies that are debatable Christmas movies, just like Die Hard.
Meltdown started on the mighty WRIF on the evening of Halloween, 1995. Technically, his first on-air shift was the morning of November 1st. Moving to the Motor City from Buffalo, N.Y., he has built a career and family. Over his almost three-decade stint at RIFF, he's had the privilege to work with some of the biggest personalities in Detroit radio history. He boasts of being just the second-afternoon drive jock in the station's illustrious 53-year history.
Along with his love for rock music and attending concerts, he's also an avid Harley-Davidson enthusiast and hockey player. He plays year-round and manages to squeeze in a few charity games throughout the year. Meltdown writes about the Detroit Red Wings, rock music, and Detroit concert venues.
