And you know what? I agree!
Die Hard is a movie set during Christmas, not a Christmas movie.
Article:
https://comicbook.com/movies/2018/12/05/die-hard-not-christmas-movie-new-poll-says/
And hey, Bruce Willis said as much a year ago:
https://ew.com/movies/2018/07/15/bruce-willis-die-hard-not-christmas-movie/
also on the movie video box cover does this movie even just mention Christmas or have any Christmas items on it or colors? no, so obviously this is not a Christmas movie because the people who made it didn't set out to make a Christmas movie and didn't make it look like a Christmas movie on it's movie video box cover.
shareWell there's a scene where McClane yells JESUS EFFING CHRIST so that makes it entirely inappropriate to watch during Christmas for me. Something like It's a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, or The Bells of St. Mary's would be more appropriate.
It's like saying David Cronenberg's Rabid is a Christmas movie because it's set during the season and a mall Santa is massacred during one scene.
that is why this is not a Christmas film. and it's so obvious i don't know why people can't understand this and see this. i hate how they think just because a movie takes place around Christmas that it has to be a Christmas movie, this is such an idiotic and foolish thought. i mean they think like you can't make a movie set around Christmas and have it not be Christmas movie.
shareThe movie repeatedly returns to Christmas themes, and the holiday is present throughout. While it may not be a "traditional" Christmas film, it's absolutely a film in which the holiday plays an integral role. The final line of the film punctuates this truth.
And if you still doubt, the wife's name is Holly. Case closed.
Ask yourself this:
Would it be more properly shelved next to Terminator 2 and Cliffhanger, or next to A Christmas Story and Elf?
Next to Elf and a Christmas Story
shareThat's not at all informative. Where does Bad Santa belong? Next to It's a Wonderful Life and Miracle on 34th Street, or next to Borat and Friday? Sure, Die Hard is an action film, but that doesn't somehow mean it can't also be a Christmas film.
A film is considered a Christmas movie if Christmas plays a significant role in the film, and the story would have to be drastically altered were the Christmas element removed. Die Hard inarguably meets both criteria.
Compare it to, say, It's a Wonderful Life. Both films revolve about equally around Christmas, and while you could remake each and remove the holiday aspects, it would require equally significant changes to each film.
I agree with your criteria but entirely disagree with your assertion that it would require significant changes to remove the Christmas elements. The alterations would be minor and easily accomplished.
shareThey'd be about the same as the alterations needed to change Home Alone or It's a Wonderful Life into a non-holiday movie.
shareWell the interesting thing about It's a Wonderful Life is that its creator did not intend it as a Christmas movie.
It was sort of declared a Christmas movie after the fact by the people. Beyond the third act taking place during Christmastime, what I think really resonates with viewers during the holidays is its celebration of traditional family (and Christian) values. That is, values that are synonymous with the Christmas season.
Is it properly a "Christmas movie" though? Not exactly.
Better file it next to Terminator 2, another time travel film.
Really though, I think the fact you shared illustrates a point key to this discussion. A movie that centers around Christmas, and tells a story that resonates with the holiday, can well be considered a Christmas movie even if its primary genre is something else.
In much the same way that the fact that Home Alone would be the same film had the family dashed off for a summer trip to Cannes instead of a Christmas trip to Paris, Die Hard or A Wonderful Life could undergo seasonal changes that make them "not a Christmas film," but as they stand, all three rely heavily enough on the holiday to qualify for Christmas Classic Status™.
Ah yes, Christmas Classic Status. CCS for short.
Here's the concession I'll make: Because of its Christmas trappings, I can certainly understand why someone would watch Die Hard during December. It makes sense to do so.
I just can't regard it as an actual Christmas movie anymore than I regard Iron Man 3 (which was also set during Christmastime) as a Christmas movie.
see that's exactly it how can people be so stupid and easily confused into thinking die hard is a Christmas movie. just because a movie is set during Christmas or around it doesn't automatically make it a Christmas movie, that's foolish and ignorant.
shareThere's a big difference between the two films. Iron Man 3 happens to take place at Christmastime, but that's an aside. The holiday never comes up other than once or twice in passing, and the film's story and plot are in no way related to the holiday.
I wrote this in response to another post, but it pertains here as well:
Watch Die Hard again and count how many Christmas references there are, and time how long the movie goes between mentioning the holiday. Then do the same with Iron Man 3. Compare the results.
not true die hard doesn't rely heavily on Christmas things.
shareDoes Home Alone? Does It's a Wonderful Life? Does Bad Santa? Die Hard constantly comes back to the Christmas theme, while telling a story that is simultaneously a police/heist story and a rekindling of love at Christmas story.
Watch Die Hard again and count how many Christmas references there are, and time how long the movie goes between mentioning the holiday. Then do the same with any of a number of films that you are sure are Christmas films.
no what i'm saying is with christimas movies it's obvious, you know they are christmas movies because the things the characters do always are related to Christmas, the movie revolves around christmas, whether they be a comedy, a horror movie or any kind of movie but with die hard you don't have that. john mclane doesn't do any christmas related things like buying a christmas tree, going to a christmas party, going to a relatives house, cook a meal, put decorations on a chrstimas tree. so that is why it's not a Christmas movie. like any holiday movie the movie has to have actions, emotions, a plot directions that revolve around a christmas event or object or action.
sharebingo and i mean we don't even have to think this much about it to determine if it is a Christmas movie. it's not about christmas it's about survival, killing people and saving your wife which means it could be set during any other time of year and still work which means it's not a Christmas movie because if it couldn't work as a movie if it was set at any other time of year then it would be a Christmas movie. it's about the necessity of it being set at Christmas time which makes it either a Christmas movie or not a Christmas movie.
sharebut traditional is exactly why this is not a Christmas film. you have to be traditional in that there has to be enough Christmas ideas, images, spirits, lines, actions, plot ideas which lend itself to a Christmas movie for a movie to be a Christmas movie which this film doesn't have.
don't you think that bruce willis saying this is not a Christmas movie makes this not a Christmas movie? come on, case closed. he was in it and he had to know if this is a Chrstmas movie or not because he was the main star of it.
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I also watched it when it came out, and like most everyone at the time, and thereafter, immediately realized it was a Christmas movie. I don't know what review you read, or why you think it's a recent realization, but since day one it's been apparent to anyone paying attention that Die Hard is a Christmas movie.
It's not a "traditional feel-good holiday film," but not all Christmas movies are. The Thin Man comes to mind as another such film. Not all Christmas films have to revolve around Santa Claus and ice skating.
you're wrong, no one thinks it's a christmas movie except people who are wrong. if it were then why is the video box cover not all chrstimas? why doesn't it have one color, or symbol, or indicator that it's a christmas movie?
shareHere here!
I agree with everything you said.
cool? how could being ignorant be considered cool? good, hopefully some day soon sense will take over in these idiots and they'll finally see the error of their ways. yeah, i mean there's not enough Christmas things in it's plot for it to be a Christmas movie and it's mandatory for a movie to have an obvious Christmas movie video box cover if it is a Christmas movie which this movie didn't have.
shareand there you go right there, so it came out in the summer time, which christmas movies usually aren't released at. i mean if this big movie was a christmas movie don't you think it would be released around chrstimas time? at least in november? also look at the video box cover. it doesn't have any chrstimas colors, any christmas objects, any indicators that this is a christmas movie.
shareIt's bizarre that anyone would take this as a good representation of Christmas it's about harmony, I don't see it in this film as much.
shareI think people just need to accept that not all Christmas movies are created equal. It all depends on the plot. Some plots revolve around the Holiday like A Christmas Story, and other plots don't like Home Alone. If Home Alone was changed to Thanksgiving, you could have the same movie except with less snow. I guess an added problem for Die Hard is it takes place in Los Angeles which isn't necessarily known for its winter weather.
shareI've seen this claim made about Home Alone, but the thing about Home Alone is that it's ultimately about a kid being alone on Christmas and his family's desperate attempt to get back to him.
shareIt's almost exactly the same dynamic with Die Hard, just with less snow because it's L.A.
Christmas was the excuse they used to have the family go on vacation so Kevin could be home alone to fend off burglars.
Christmas was the excuse they used to have the company party so John could visit his wife and fend off robbers/terrorists.
I can't say I find any flaws in your logic, so shit, maybe Home Alone isn't a Christmas movie either.
Though here's one thing I can tell you: I can imagine myself watching Die Hard any time of the year. I can only imagine myself watching Home Alone in December.
Probably because of the snow :)
sharewhich proves die hard is not a Christmas movie because you don't need any of the Christmas elements for this film to work.
shareThere is no proof of any such thing. The only fact that has been proven is that your opinion is an opinion.
It is your opinion that a "Christmas movie" needs Christmas elements for it to work. A "Christmas movie" to someone else could simply be a movie that takes place during Christmas. Any attempt to prove that person wrong will run you into a wall.
The fact is there is no right or wrong here.
that's not a valid point because you could make the same movie with die hard if you took out all the Christmas elements. it is after all just an above average action film, it's not a Christmas film.
shareAh, what the hell:
MERRY CHRISTMAS