Is Die Hard a Christmas movie? Eternal debate over Bruce Willis’ action film

Without doubt, one of people’s favourite activities during the festive season is to curl up on the sofa and enjoy a Christmas movie marathon. It’s a Wonderful Life, Elf and Home Alone are just some of the classics that appear on every list of films to watch at this time of year.

However, there’s another picture that is routinely referred to as a Christmas movie, but is the subject of furious debate over its suitability for such status. We’re talking about Die Hard, the hit 1980s action film starring Bruce Willis. Why do people consider it a Yuletide movie? Let’s take a look.

Why is Die Hard seen as a Christmas film?

Although Die Hard was released in summer 1988, its plot takes place on Christmas Eve and the early hours of Christmas Day. Willis plays John McClane, a New York detective who travels to Los Angeles in an effort to reconcile with his estranged wife, Holly (Bonnie Bedelia). McClane is driven to Nakatomi Plaza, the headquarters of Holly’s employer, Nakatomi Corporation, where a Christmas party is being held.

The building is then seized by a group of armed robbers posing as terrorists, who are out to steal hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of bearer bonds from Nakatomi Plaza’s vault. Led by Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman), the gang takes everyone in the building hostage except for McClane, whose presence they are unaware of. McClane realises that it is down to him to save the hostages.

Not only does Die Hard’s plot unfold at Christmas, but the score incorporates classic festive songs; the script includes jokes about Santa Claus; and the story’s happy ending, which witnesses a complete resolution of the conflict, follows the pattern of a typical Christmas movie.

Die Hard a “Christmastime family reconciliation story”

Speaking on CNN last week, the film writer and historian Jeremy Arnold told host Jake Tapper that Die Hard may be an action movie, but it also bears key hallmarks of a Christmas film. “The reason I think it is [a Christmas movie] is that it begins as the most common type of Christmas movie, which is some version of a dysfunctional or estranged family trying to reconcile on Christmas,” Arnold explains. “In this case, John and Holly McClane […].

“That is the story that is happening before the terrorists come and take over Nakatomi Plaza, and what that does is it grounds the audience to see the whole movie that follows through the prism of this Christmastime family reconciliation story.”

Arnold also notes that the use of the name Holly, which has evident festive connotations, represents a change from the book on which Die Hard is based. In Roderick Thorp’s 1979 novel Nothing Lasts Forever, McClane is visiting a daughter called Stephanie.

What do Die Hard’s filmmaker and star say?

In a video posted by the American Film Institute in 2020, Die Hard’s director, John McTiernan, said the movie was not originally intended as a film that’s commonly watched over the holiday season, but it has certainly become one. “The joy that came from it is what turned it into a Christmas movie,” McTiernan declared.

Willis, however, disagrees. Appearing at the Comedy Central Roast in 2018, the 68-year-old said: “I did this roast for one reason, and for one reason only: to settle something once and for all. Now, please listen very carefully. Die Hard is NOT a Christmas movie!” In a lighthearted speech, he added: “It’s a goddam Bruce Willis movie.”

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