Is Die Hard A Christmas Movie? Yes, And Here's Why...
- Will Johnson
- Dec 20, 2021
- 4 min read
Updated: Dec 23, 2021
It splits opinion, fractures relationships and causes heated debate between families and friends every year... no, I'm not talking about the traditional festive game of Monopoly, it's that immortal question: is Die Hard really a Christmas Movie? I'm going to analyse the subject and hopefully convince any doubters that the answer is yes... wish me luck!
We all know Die Hard – it's one of the greatest action films ever made, it turned Bruce Willis into one of Hollywood’s biggest stars and it includes a legendary performance from Alan Rickman. Even if you don't like action films, Die Hard is still brilliantly entertaining. It's become an alternative for many who want to break away from the traditional feel-good Christmas Movies, and it nearly always brings about a debate over it's festive credentials.
To answer the question it's important that we start by setting out what defines a Christmas Movie. Firstly, there are what I'll call the Primary Elements – it must take place at Christmas time, it must involve Christmas in it's plot, and it must maintain these things throughout. Then there are the Secondary Elements, which are where the debate usually opens up: the film should evoke the 'Christmas Spirit', Christmas should be an essential component in the plot, and it should actively push Christmas themes to the foreground. So how does Die Hard fit into these categorisations?
For the Primary Elements it just about ticks the boxes, as it takes place on Christmas Eve, something which is referenced throughout, and the events begin during an office Christmas party. Most people would accept that on this basis it hits the mark. However, on the Secondary Elements Die Hard might not be scoring too high. Even with it's initial setting, Die Hard doesn't really push Christmas to the foreground of it's plot and Christmas isn’t essential to the narrative, rather Christmas is used as a tool for getting the characters into their situation. There is also a lot of death, destruction and general mayhem in Die Hard, and if we're assuming that Christmas is about thoughts of peace and good will then it's hard to argue that “Yippee-Ki-Yay Motherfucker” is in the Christmas Spirit.
At this point in the debate someone might shout out “What about Home Alone?!”, and they may have a point. In theory, Home Alone could be set at any time of year, as long as the family go on holiday and accidentally leave Kevin behind. While the Christmas themes are mostly maintained, you could take them away and the film would function in essentially the same way. Yet no-one debates whether Home Alone is a Christmas Movie because Home Alone does feel more like a Christmas Movie than Die Hard does. Mostly this is down to the fun, festive and family friendly tone, something which is far more conducive to the Christmas Spirit than a violent action thriller.
This is usually where someone resigns and says “Let's just agree to disagree” to which someone else will reply “NO! This is important!!” even though it clearly isn't. Someone else may have been googling the topic in search of an objective measure, and they'll likely find one quite strong piece of evidence; in 2015 Empire magazine placed Die Hard atop their list of the greatest Christmas movies of all time. This list might be biased as it includes a number of films such as Brazil, Lethal Weapon, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Batman Returns which, like Die Hard, hit the Primary Elements and not the Secondary. It's a reader voted poll though, and if we're going by democratic values then it's the best authority on the debate so far.
Beyond all the analysis and evaluation, it's worth looking at a slightly different perspective – what makes a film a Christmas Movie is that people want it to be. Take The Great Escape or the three original Wallace & Gromit films for instance. They don’t touch any of the Elements, and yet in the UK people always want to watch them at Christmas, a phenomenon which was confirmed in a 2006 poll. They're not Christmas films by definition, but to most people in the UK they are festive TV institutions, and therefore in a certain way can be classed as Christmas Movies.
Die Hard isn't Christmasy in the traditional way and it doesn't necessarily capture the intangible Christmas Spirit, but it is about Christmas in it's Primary form. It's certainly not the only film like this, but it’s violent tendencies, typically an antithesis to Christmas, have made it divisive; and yet, for so many people it is exactly this that has turned it into a festive custom that offers entertainment in its anti-Christmas absurdity. For all these reasons, we can say that, yes, Die Hard is definitively, unequivocally and undeniably a Christmas Movie!
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