Yes, 'Die Hard' is a Christmas movie

by Alex Bradshaw

There has been much debate as to the validity of Die Hard as a Christmas movie.  Here is a spoiler-free explanation as to why it is in fact a Christmas film.

The film is about a New York City policeman, John McClane, visiting his pregnant, estranged wife on Christmas Eve at an office party in the headquarters of the business she works for. But the festivities are interrupted by a group of terrorists who take over the exclusive high-rise, and everyone in it. McClane realizes that there's no one to save the hostages except him.

Let’s start with the obvious fact that Die Hard is set on Christmas Eve, as NYPD officer John McClane heads to meet his divorced wife at her office Christmas party. Christmas trees, lights and inflatable Santa's feature heavily throughout the film, constantly reiterating the christmas theme to the viewers. This is backed up by the  clearly Christmas themed soundtrack, which includes classics such as “Let it Snow”, “Winter Wonderland” and “Christmas in Hollis”.

A family theme is introduced at the very beginning, when it is made clear that John has come to the Christmas party to spend time with his estranged pregnant wife. Christmas is a time when family comes together to celebrate, so it seems a fitting theme to put in a Christmas film. McClain’s attempt at marriage reconciliation is not given much time, given the introduction of terrorist Hans Gruber, however it is clear throughout the film that the underlying motivation for John to succeed in his mission of removing the terrorists from the building, is to save his captured family. The film also emphasises the value of friendship. John McClane and PC officer Al Powell create strong a friendship over a radio John finds within the building. Their friendship blooms as Al directs John as to the whereabouts of his enemies.

Finally, there are many hints to the Christmas theme, such as classic lines like "Now I have a machine gun, ho, ho, ho." And as if that isn’t enough, screenwriter Stephen E. de Souza weighed in on the debate on Twitter to confirm that Die Hard is indeed a Christmas film. He wrote: how could it not be a Christmas movie? Plus a woman about to give birth features prominently.”

Therefore, given the clear Christmas themes, Christmas decorations, Christmas setting and fantastic Christmas-themed soundtrack, how could Die Hard not be a classic Christmas film?