Is Die Hard a Christmas Movie

[saevel25]

This has been a heated topic with my friends. I am of the opinion that it is not a Christmas Movie. One of the biggest reason is because the movie was released in the Summer and not in December. 

What are your takes?

Edited December 26, 2018 by saevel25

[Shindig]

A family is moving from New York to Los Angeles.  She moves with the kids, he has to stay behind to finish up some things for his job before he can transfer.  He surprises her at her office Christmas party, but he isn't the only uninvited guest.  Antics ensue, mostly at the expense of the other uninvited guests.  At one point, we are all shocked to witness a gas station selling unleaded for seventy-five cents a gallon. 

It's my favorite Christmas movie.  Part of what I think makes a holiday movie really good is if you can enjoy it when it isn't the season.  It's like good music:  there are some genres or bands that I often hear defended in context -- sure, that music would sound nice if I were on a tropical beach on a warm day with a drink in my hand and no worries on my mind.  That makes it good for context, but I'm probably not keeping the CD in the console of my car.

The various Grinch movies or Santa Clause movies aren't really enjoyable other than a narrow strip of time around December 25.  They're fine in context, but I'm not really reaching for them in July.  Die Hard, Trading Places, and The Nightmare Before Christmas can be enjoyed year round.

[Missouri Swede]

[David in FL]

Of course it is!  

[boogielicious]

We watch it around Christmas every year and never any other time. So it is a Christmas movie to us! Miracle on 34th Street was also a summer release.

I miss Alan Rickman. He was so much fun to watch in all his movies. 

[HJJ003]

Nah, and I love die hard. It wasn’t released around Christmas, the move takes place around Christmas but Christmas isn’t the theme (change the time of year within the movie and the plot still works just fine), and no elements of the “Christmas Spirit” are being taught or expressed to the audience. Great movie, but not a Christmas movie. 

[iacas]

48 minutes ago, HJJ003 said:

Nah, and I love die hard. It wasn’t released around Christmas, the move takes place around Christmas but Christmas isn’t the theme (change the time of year within the movie and the plot still works just fine), and no elements of the “Christmas Spirit” are being taught or expressed to the audience. Great movie, but not a Christmas movie. 

This is why I voted no.

[DaveP043]

I'd say Die Hard is a Christmas movie in much the same way as Alice's Restaurant is a Thanksgiving song.  That is to say, the holiday is only a peripheral part of the whole.  Still, I play Alice's Restaurant every Thanksgiving, so I understand anyone who watches Die Hard this time of year.

[Lihu]

It’s a Christmas Classic!!! Every year, when with my cousins, we watch it or it’s playing in the background! 😁

Even when I went to China on Christmas one year, it was playing in the background after Rudolf dubbed in Mandarin 😀

[saevel25]

18 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

I'd say Die Hard is a Christmas movie in much the same way as Alice's Restaurant is a Thanksgiving song.  That is to say, the holiday is only a peripheral part of the whole.  Still, I play Alice's Restaurant every Thanksgiving, so I understand anyone who watches Die Hard this time of year.

Soon every Christmas Song will be a Thanksgiving song because they keep pushing forward when they start playing them ;)

I don't think just because it's watched during the Holiday's makes it a Christmas Movie. That makes any move a possible Christmas movie, which is way too arbitrary.

[Lihu]

11 hours ago, Missouri Swede said:

Love this! 😆

[nevets88]

2 hours ago, boogielicious said:

We watch it around Christmas every year and never any other time. So it is a Christmas movie to us! Miracle on 34th Street was also a summer release.

I miss Alan Rickman. He was so much fun to watch in all his movies. z

SHOOT... THE GLASS!

I read about them in Time magazine.

I'm just glad this movie is still talked about, it's a classic. Before the movie, Willis was just in that tv show, Moonlighting, not really a big name, then, yippie kai yay, fame.

Using data to determine if Die Hard is a Christmas movie

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Ok, enough bickering and fighting. Let’s settle this once and for all in the only way I know how – going into a topic in way too much detail. As we prepare to enter the year 32 ADH (a.k.a. After Die Hard), the world is...

 

[Piz]

Maybe if Alan Rickman turned out to be a rogue elf...or Bruce Willis worked for the North Pole-ice.  Otherwise no.

[Lihu]

2 hours ago, Piz said:

Maybe if Alan Rickman turned out to be a rogue elf...or Bruce Willis worked for the North Pole-ice.  Otherwise no.

He worked for NYPD, or in other words,  a “Northeast police!” 😁

[Zengolfer]

Im going to say no for the simple reason that you can watch it any time of year and its not odd.  A true Xmas movie is one that you would only watch during the holiday season.  If you can watch it in July and its not weird, its not a Xmas movie.

[GolfLug]

Hans Gruber - "Now I have a machine gun. Ho Ho Ho", is about as close it comes to being a Christmas movie as it can. 

It would qualify as a cowboy western before it would qualify as a Christmas movie, with all the cowboy talk and all between Gruber and Mclane. 

 

[Vinsk]

5 hours ago, Lihu said:

It’s a Christmas Classic!!! Every year, when with my cousins, we watch it or it’s playing in the background! 😁

Even when I went to China on Christmas one year, it was playing in the background after Rudolf dubbed in Mandarin 😀

No.

6 hours ago, DaveP043 said:

I'd say Die Hard is a Christmas movie in much the same way as Alice's Restaurant is a Thanksgiving song.  That is to say, the holiday is only a peripheral part of the whole.  Still, I play Alice's Restaurant every Thanksgiving, so I understand anyone who watches Die Hard this time of year.

No.

[Foot Wedge]

I voted yes because it takes place during Christmas and watching it gives me the same warm fuzzies that the Christmas season always does.  My personal opinion worth absolutely nothing.