Here is a test for the civility on BlueSky: A movie cannot be a Christmas movie unless Christmas plays a central mechanism in the transition of the narrative from A to B. So Die Hard is clearly NOT a Christmas movie because Christmas changes nothing in the story.
I feel we’re getting somewhere here, people. Many making the ‘McClane wouldn’t have been there if it wasn’t for Christmas’ argument. Well Superman wouldn’t be on Earth if Krypton hadn’t exploded, but that doesn’t make it a doomsday movie… (Except the one with Doomsday in it)
It would make it a doomsday movie if you were on Krypton. Its all a matter of perception!
Cinematic theory of relativity holds up after all these years. Einstein would be proud.
Exactly! John McClain is always going to think of Hans Gruber on Christmas BECAUSE it was Christmas when he met Hans Gruber
Well also Hans picked Christmas because no one was going to be there and police wouldnt be around. Better than a weekend or middle of the night!
Ipso facto, if Home Alone 2 is a Christmas film, then so must Die Hard be! If Die Hard isn’t a Christmas film then neither is Home Alone 2! /s
Except for the time he thought of him in the summer when he was solving Hans’ brother’s riddles.
Is Nightmare Before Christmas a Christmas movie or a Halloween movie?
"Before Christmas"? So, a Christmas' Eve movie?
Pretty decent movie. I watch it twice a year. I put it on whilst cleaning after Thanksgiving friends finally gtfo of my home, and again while I'm wrapping presents, about a week before Christmas day 🙂
Yes
Both.
ew.com/article/2015...
By this logic, Christmas. My husband says Thanksgiving tho. Just split the dif. Lmao
It takes place after Halloween ends before Christmas starts. It is a Thanksgiving movie if we follow the time period association rules.
The movie starts ON Halloween and ends AFTER Christmas. It's unfortunate that the only Thanksgiving reference we see is the Thanksgiving Door, despite the timeline of the movie clearly encompassing Thanksgiving.
It ends Christmas Day technically since Christmas Eve is a cluster of deliveries and santa is done with them when he visits Halloween town
I like this answer the best.
Yup!
Both
Both!
Both
It's about the meaning of Christmas from Halloween's perspective. It is a Christmas movie.
I say it's both. Merry ChristmaHalloween 🤣
Yes
Both ☺️
It's actually both of them simultaneously.
You get the best of both worlds Chill it out, take it slow Then you rock out the show 🎶🎶🎶🎶
NICE! High five!
If you had to pick?
Definitely Christmas. If it were a Halloween movie, there'd be no conflict. Just another year for Jack and them.
It's a Christmas movie because, just like in Die Hard, you cannot remove Christmas and have the same movie
But can you remove Halloween from it?
I would say so. You could replace it with “Halloween guy has midlife crisis” to “guy has midlife crisis” and get the same plot. (Also love ur pfp)
Absolutely not. They're literally from Halloween town. And the movie begins on Halloween night.
Of course. They actually do it within the movie itself, at the very beginning. It starts on Halloween and they have a very clear conversation that Halloween is over and they are sad because of that. Without Halloween, Jack would still be sad because he doesn't have something to celebrate.
No, he's sad because he's bored of Halloween and wants something new.
But then that makes Halloween and removing Halloween central to the plot of the film, if it was removed from the movie that would mean it's not there in the first place to be removed from the world the movie takes place in.
Cook these idiots
You can remove Christmas from die hard. He's just going to visit his family.
Explain why people are in the office that shouldnt have been there and are taken hostage. WHY WERE THEY THERE IF NOT FOR A CHRISTMAS PARTY!? Its the whole premise of John saving people!
It could be any reason. It's a company party.
yippee ki-yay, motherfuker! You tell em, bb! 🖖
You absolutely can remove Christmas from die hard. In fact they did exactly that in a later die hard
You can but why would you want to?
Protagonist trying to get home for Christmas and hijinks ensue is one of the most common Christmas movie tropes. Diehard is a Christmas movie.
Superman ending up on Earth was (in cosmological terms) purely random, whereas McClane being where he was at Christmas was specifically because it was Christmas.
By this logic Love Actually is also not a Christmas movie.
If Christmas could be exchanged by any other holiday, why did McClane not visit on any of those and wait until the end of the year? You might say as he likely wouldn't be flying back before NYE it's a two-fer, but McClane never mentions NYE bc the focus of the visit is his wife and kid bc it's xmas
Also John is clearly in the xmas spirit the entire film
Yeah, but it makes it an alien movie so it’s relevant.
Has no-one mentioned the kids waiting for their parents to come home for Christmas Eve yet - or the giant teddy bear 😂
THEY DONNOT put their SHOES and SOCKS ON their feet like US!!
That's a bad example. There aren't really any other holidays (in mainstream western culture) that loom large both in family life and in the workplace the way Christmas does. You can't transpose the same themes to, say, Valentine's day or the 4th of July or Halloween and have the same story.
Die Hard isn't a Christmas movie, it is simply a movie that takes place during Christmas, which references Christmas constantly, and in which cultural norms around Christmas are part of the behavior and motivation of practically every character in the movie.
Almost the entire plot is pushed forward by Christmas, just like Iron Man 3 it is 100% a Christmas movie
From the perspective of Superman it is. From the perspective of Military, Police, and all those that earn their income protecting people it is. From the perspective of dictators it is.
By this logic we would disqualify Home Alone
Nope... Christmas is the reason they are traveling. It qualifies. It centers around family and being together for the holidays.
👆👆 proof that Gremlins IS a Christmas movie.
Gizmo was a xmas present
Eyes Wide Shut is ze very best Christmas movie 👌🏻🔥
A fun movie night for the whole family 😅
The kids love it! :)
Exactly right. But anyone who disagrees is welcome to do so.
Disagree. If there's Christmas in it at all, it can be considered a Christmas movie. And honestly the less Christmas is featured the better . That's what I say.
What about Its a Wonderful life?
Respectfully, I disagree.
Disney disagrees - it’s in their Christmas Movie section….
Interesting point. But Die Hard is a Christmas movie.
But that would mean Home Alone isn’t a Christmas movie either, right?
‘Now I have a machine gun, ho ho ho’ begs to differ…
terrifier 3 tho
Set at Christmas, almost entirely at a Christmas party, with a soundtrack of Christmas carols, Santa is there and there’s much talk of Christmas miracles. It’s absolutely a Christmas movie. Here’s the real argument: The Holiday is NOT a Christmas movie.
Counterpoint: pineapple is a perfectly cromulent pizza topping.
Then what is Nightmare Before Christmas
Halloween, or at least I think so because I understand the movie as "Jack is sick of the same old Halloween and tried to borrow Christmas to brand it as the new Halloween"
A big component is still Christmas though
Not according to Jack
It's also not a good movie. So there's that too.
How DARE you?!
“Now I have the detonators” would not give Hans quite the same chill without the Santa hat and the “Ho Ho Ho” in red lipstick…so I beg to respectfully differ. Also: Christmas is the reason everyone is IN the building.
If there hadn’t of been the Christmas party there would have been no movie.
But he survives due to a Christmas miracle and Santa is there
I will attempt to show all civility in disagreement. The only reason John McClane flies out to see his family is that his wife wanted him to come for Christmas. He’d been refusing to take time off from work and refusing to moving to California despite his spouse landing an amazing job.
What else would he have written after “Now I have a machine gun?” Happy 4th of July, Happy Thanksgiving , or even Happy Arbor Day doesn’t work. “Ho, Ho, Ho” works the best.
I'm still watching Die Hard
I perfer movies that shy away from the Christmas themes and represent more of a diverse OPINION! Especially after seeing DRUMPF in the great home alone!
McLane being in the right place at the right time and surviving was a Christmas Miracle. *cue Santa crossing his fingers schemingly*
Another test is if it snows at the end and the closing song is Let It Snow
Wow! I did not expect the War on Christmas to break out here on BlueSky.
Counterpoint: The vault opens for the bad guys because of a Christmas miracle.
I think If it wasn't christmas, that party wouldn't have happened. Which would change the whole movie.
Hmm. Does that mean "It's A Wonderful Life" isn't a Christmas movie? Sure, George Bailey realized his worth on Christmas Eve, but that could have happened on any day of the year.
I’m late to this discussion, but (1) he wouldn’t even be in LA but for the fact that it was Christmas, and (2) his wife and her colleagues wouldn’t have been alone in the building after hours but for the fact that they were at a company Christmas party.
Great topic! Let’s all discuss it. I’ve ordered pizza with pineapple on top
No opinion. But go see RED ONE. Christmas movie with elements of Toy Story, Star Wars, MIB and Game of Thrones. Not for the littles
Hang on a second, I need find my can opener.
Hum. Beg to differ. In many Hallmark Christmas movies, Christmas does nothing except be there to create pretty sceneries. The plot is always the same anyway :).
"It's Christmas, Theo, it's the time of miracles"-Hans Gruber Without the Christmas miracle, the vault would not have opened
This is certainly a Christmas movie because the entire plot is dependent on the setting being a Christmas party.
Is it though? Would it not be exactly the same if it was a July 4th party or something? 🤔
Maybe, maybe not. It’s irrelevant though, because it didn’t take place on July 4. It happened at Christmas, so it’s a Christmas movie. 😝
A Fourth of July "party" is actually a picnic. No skyscraper, no movie.
Die hard is a Christmas movie. That is all. Enjoy your day.
This is, inexplicably, a question central to the plot of Love Hard, a Netflix romcom starring Nina Dobrev and Jimmy Yang. I encourage you to watch the entire film and provide us with an update.
We all know that Batman Forever is the best Christmas movie 🦇🐈⬛🐧
Nope it just needs to take place around the holidays so you are wrong sir
Also, it was released on July 22, 1988.
To be diplomatic how about a “Christmas Time” movie? Like not full on but nice to help feel the spirit.
Ignoring other replies, sure it's been pointed out, but Die Hard is most definitely an xmas film. Just look at some of the dialogue! “Now I Have A Machine Gun. Ho Ho Ho.”, "“I Got Invited To The Christmas Party By Mistake", “Just Once, I’d Like A Regular, Normal Christmas!” - to quote but a few.
I disagree with this test because if the writer chose the Christmas setting, it was for a reason. Likely to evoke a specific feeling, and without that feeling, the story suffers. If the movie has a Christmas setting it’s a Christmas movie.
Wow just joined and already want to throw hands! lol
Christmas changes everything in the movie. It’s at the crux of everything. If not for Christmas, John McClane wouldn’t be visiting Los Angeles to attend a Christmas party.
I posit that John McLean would not have been in the Nakatomi Tower at all unless he was trying to reconcile with his wife, Holly Gennero, because it was Christmas
And, Christmas changes nothing in reality - what's your point?
Damn I never thought it that way...
Christmas is the only reason John goes to LA. It IS the driving force of the plot.
I respectfully disagree with your specifications of what constitutes a Christmas movie, your belief that you are the FA on this topic as well as your final ruling but I wish you a good day just the same.
Christmas movies are movies that are on every Christmas or were originally released at Christmas. Those are the only criteria!
WHAT?! This is insanity. Gremlins 1 and 2 arent Christmas movies now?! Oh this is true madness!
But what if they are released in let's say the summer time. So they can do home release at Holiday time. Rather than after. Or waiting almost a whole year to release to film on VHS/ DVD/ DIGITAL at Holiday time.
If it's on regularly at Christmas it becomes a Christmas movie!
I respect your right to have this perfectly valid opinion that I personally do not agree with.
Blocked
Still a good movie
But I watch it every Christmas!?!?
Terrifier 3 is a Christmas movie by this definition, and I’m here for it.
It’s a Christmas movie 100%
If that is your barometer, then I agree Die Hard is not a Christmas movie. I still watch it around Christmas to break up the Home Alone, Elf, etc marathon. BUT, on your logic, Love Actually is not a Christmas movie either and I feel like it’s been getting a few pass in this debate all these years.
This thread has blown up !
You motherf@&£er! 😆🤣
whoever said “if you’re watching die hard in June I’m like cool, die hard! if you’re watching muppet christmas carol in June I’d worry about you” won the argument but. with that said. if watching it on Christmas is a fun treat, it’s a Christmas movie. life is short. hell, put the tree up in October
Or work smarter and not harder by just leaving it up year round.
“we could leave the christmas lights up ‘til january” is my all time favorite taylor swift lyric bc she’s trying so hard to be normal and yet what kind of psycho thinks taking the lights down the day after new years is rebellious. did she mean february
These are the important things we need to be asking ourselves!!!
i know people that take them down on Christmas night like wtaf psychos
If you subscribe to idea of a literal 12 days of Christmas, you're not supposed to take your lights down before January!
I'm never sure whether Twelfth Night is on the 5th or 6th January! 🙄🤔
If Wikipedia is to be believed, the OG definition ends on the 5th but in the last 1,500 years, things got weird
Honest question, is it religion based for how long it’s supposed to last?
Yes it is. The three wise men visited the baby Jesus on the Twelfth day after Christmas.
The more you know!! Thanks!!!
My Great Uncle left his lights up year round. Just turned them on during the Christmas season.
Ours generally stay up through February into March or April too cold to take them down sometimes.
I have thought far too much about this
And the way it’s phrased it seems like the beginning of January, she doesn’t even let it stay up until the 15th.
Besides, the 12 Days of Christmas doesn't end till January 5th anyway.
This is such a pet peeve of mine! Every time I hear this song it’s like why not February? 🥴🥲
be careful you will kick off a discussion about candlemass before anyone is ready for that!
I tried that once. My family revolted and took it down themselves. Best possible outcome and only took them 4 months.
It’s the original effort that really counts. Who could’ve predicted a family intervention?
Thank you! I agree. I was very surprised when they took it down.
My tree comes down once every three years or so for dusting… and gets reassembled the same day. We like it, it stays. My house, my rules.
I'd watch Reindeer Games in June tho
I had a friend that would have Christmas in July. The tree, trimmings, turkey. The whole shebang. She was fun.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy are Christmas movies for me since I watch them every Christmas. Sometimes tradition is more than enough for things to belong to a season.
Yeah Muppets, clicked like button.... Christmas tree in October??? Removes like. Nope can't agree with that lol
Christmas was the catalyst for the entire move plot. As well as the fact that Holly arranged for John to be in town to surprise the children for Christmas.
Are you playing devil’s advocate and actually feel the opposite way?
It's an opinion you are entitled to... But you are still wrong
Die Hard is a Christmas classic.
Die Hard not a chrimbo movie? Makes fists with my toes and shakes them in the air! Pal
That’s a pretty narrow take on what makes a Christmas movie. Die Hard isn’t just set at Christmas; it’s filled with Christmas themes, music, and spirit. The holiday setting influences character interactions, and the entire plot revolves around a Christmas party. It’s a Christmas movie, no doubt.
I respectfully disagree, for your very own reasons. Detective John McLane would not have been in Los Angeles, California, at Nakatomi tower, had his estranged wife, “Holly!” 🤭, not invited him.
The hostages were gathered for a CHRISTMAS party and CHRISTMAS is the only reason he was in town.
It's a Christmas movie, but not a Christmas-Focused Movie. Die Hard would still work if the holiday was Valentine's, which isn't true for, say, Muppet Christmas Carol.
Fair and reasonable.
Just spent far too long reading the replies… and I’m genuinely still not fussed whichever way you see it 😆
Die hard 2 is also a Christmas movie as it takes place during the Christmas travel season which is a major plot point in the movie
die hard 1 was at a Christmas party therefore Christmas does play a central role in the film as without a Christmas party he wouldn't have been there
Were it not for Christmas, there would have been no party at Nakatomi Tower. QED.
I completely agree, but I believe that a Christmas movie can also be a movie within a Christmas setting. But I do agree with the sentiment..
Too narrow. If Christmas heightens the tension in some way or adds to the emotions evoked, it is also a Christmas movie. Hence, Die Hard is a Christmas movie.
Without Christmas tape Mclean can't put the gun behind his back and save his wife. It's a Christmas miracle.
"Christmas plays a central mechanism in the transition of the narrative from A to B." All Det McClain wanted, was to accompany his Ex on "Christmas Eve" to a company party and spent the next 24hrs, fighting terrorist and ensuring the others had a MERRY CHRISTMAS A to B 🤷🏽♂️
I disagree that Christmas wasn't central to the story. The entire hostage situation was arranged and developed around the Nakatomi Corporation Christmas Party. If it wasn't Christmas this would never have happened. It's definitely a Christmas movie
That’s the backstory, not the actual story.
My rules are, if it's fundamental to the plot then it works. It's a Wonderful Life is about a bloke thinking of topping himself. It just happens to be at Christmas time.. he could have picked any time of year.
We all know "A Christmas Story" isn't a Christmas movie. They could have been giving gifts at another time of the year. It's just the setting 😈
Well they do have a tree in it 😀
yipee kiiyay, mother-hugger
Melonfarmer, please! youtu.be/9bJf1lkUZtE
I disagree. I understand your point, but the discussion of angels, how the town looked, and the message about giving all point toward it being a Christmas movie. Plus, the word "Christmas" appears in the script 36 times.
This is the best argument I have heard yet. I also don’t really get how “It’s a Wonderful Life” is considered a Christmas movie. Christmas is just in the last few minutes!
Literally this was the first example I thought of, too. Especially knowing how much the Americans love it as a Christmas movie.
I think it was necessary to have it at Christmas to circumvent security. I don’t know any other holiday where the entire building, the entire city of LA would be preoccupied with getting drunk. It was “Home Alone” for adults.
Die Hard is about a person, facing adversity in their attempts to reconnect with their estranged family at Christmastime. That's like, the classic Christmas movie trope, bud.
Is the backstory not a part of the story? You wouldn't have the backstory without, well, the story...
It's the setting. It's a Christmas movie.
Now I'm curious what you consider a Christmas movie.
Die Hard, clearly. (And same).
It is though, because the Christmas party itself is the reason McClane is in the building. Christmas was the reason for the party, the party was the reason the thieves showed up that night and Holly being at the party is why McClane was present. Everything happens because it's the Christmas season.
Something else I'll add: Die Hard also meets a major criteria I set for it to qualify as a Christmas movie: The characters actively reference that it's Christmas. McClane complains about Christmas music to Argyle in the limo and later writes "HO HO HO" on a corpse, directly addressing the holiday.
You're just being difficult.
The actual story is about an estranged father winning back the love of his wife in time for Christmas with the family. Overcoming a group of European thieves posing as terrorists was just a plot mechanism to make it happen.
It could have been IPO party or the Emperor’s birthday. The party was important. The kind of party was not. Also, I’m enjoying debating something that is gloriously trivial.
Yet they chose a Christmas Party.. Out of all the possible types of party available.. They chose Christmas
100%. That office suite & that office suite alone was full of Important People for the Christmas party, and the rest of the building was empty. This does not happen on Thanksgiving or Valentine's Day. The Gruber Gang chose Christmas for a reason.
Of course!
But you could change it to a Halloween story and the plot would be the exact same. You can’t replace…say…Home Alone with Halloween because then you have to rewrite a decent amount of the plot. Scenes would get cut. You replace Die Hard with Halloween and, at most, you change some dialogue.
Except they didn't make it about Halloween and if they remade the movie today they wouldn't make it Halloween either. Nobody on planet earth, other than in the US, would relate to such an extravagant corporate Halloween party. It just doesn't happen.
It was just an example. News years might be more relatable. But the overall reason he went back was because he wanted to make up to his wife who was gonna divorce him. See how I left out the part where he was going to a Christmas party? Yeah that’s because it doesn’t change the plot.
Go to many corporate NYE parties do you? Show me any movie with a corporate NYE party where the president of the company flies halfway around the world to be there?
I don’t know a lot of companies that have the president fly over for a Christmas party. I think that part is unrealistic.
Only because there was no Halloween party.
Could've been Thanksgiving, and it would've changed nothing about the plot.
Great point!
Thank you that's my whole point!
But they chose a that idea because it takes far less work as a writer to explain it's a Christmas party because it's so ubiquitous around the world. It could have also been a Halloween party, or a retirement party or birthday party but those require more backstory. They need more reason behind them.
No but they could have had a party for any reason. I could have been an Employee Appreciation party or literally any other holiday worth having a party about. It could have been an Easter party or a Don's retiring party. It could be a birthday party. There's literally any reason to have a party.
My experience of America is that employees are generally not appreciated.. On no planet would they be thrown a party 😂
But a Christmas party is still throwing employees a party, is it not?
The point is, it was a heist planned around a Xmas party because they knew it was full of the top brass. They're not going to do it in April for Vicky from accounts birthday
You don't know who Vicky knows. And again, just because it's a Christmas party does not mean it's a Christmas movie. There's an entire Thanksgiving play in Addams Family Values, that does not make it a Thanksgiving movie. And that play is the entire point of going to summer camp. Same thing.
That's because nobody cares about thanksgiving outside the US.
You can say the same about die hard.
It could have easily been the Summer Party
But it wasn't... it was Christmas It's an ideal/obvious opportunity for JMc to get his family together, it gets dark early making it easier to carry out the attack - It was meticulously planned around this time of year. also... WTF is "The Summer Party" 😂
Ok fair enough - so the fact the season is woven into the plot makes it Christmas themed. Just about every company in Europe runs a summer party - perhaps the US doesn't do that?
I'm from England.. I've also worked for international companies..and never heard of "the Summer Party". I figured you're were from the US and it was a thing for you 🤷♂️
But, it could have been any kind of celebration, like a wedding reception
Wasn’t it a work Christmas party that was held hostage in die hard? Debatable at least that it would count
Agreed, I can not express the anger I felt when someone told me Harry Potter counted as a Christmas Movie
If it had not been Christmas, no party. No party, no terrorists. Christmas was key.
I refute your definition and posit my own; A movie is a Christmas movie when the setting of the story takes place during or just before the holiday, or when motifs pertaining to the holiday are present and notable in the story. Pearl Harbor is a Christmas movie.
Sure, why not.
Excuse me Sir! Die Hard is a Christmas movie. I am absolutely seething that you would suggest otherwise.
What’s it like being no fun at all?
I have to agree
A Christmas movie is any movie people associate with Christmas. So you can call Die Hard a non-Christmas movie and another person can call it a Christmas movie.
The entire plot foundation is that he is in town for Christmas because he lives in NY. Without Christmas he wouldn't be there.
The answer is simple, at least for me: For me it feels like a Christmas movie when I rewatch it (mostly on Christmas). It puts me in some kind of Christmas mood. Is not that the point that really counts?
Are the Harry Potter movies Christmas movies?
They’re barely movies, tbh 😄
lol the question still stands
I always watch the around Christmas, does that count?
Absolutely agree with you!
Hmm. I could argue it was central to the plot, because if it were another time of year, they wouldn’t be having the party in the first place, which means the entire story would’ve gone very differently.
But there was a tree. Jingle All the Way was also a Xmas movie. It was based on interaction of the holiday.
I'm gonna say it's a Christmas film because of a) Christmas vibes, and b) the fact that McClane was only there because of the Christmas party. It's thin, but it's enough for me.
Any movie is or isn't a Christmas movie if you think it is or isn't. Just like a movie is either good or bad to you - no one can tell you how you feel or think about a movie. 😎
Noooooooooooooooo. This is blasphemy!
I think it's purely subjective. Like I bet there's people who watch a non Christmas movie at Christmas because it's their tradition. Like they watch Spiderman 2 at 7:03pm with a McDonald's on Christmas eve and that would make Spiderman 2 their Christmas movie
Okay but to counter, I spend most of Christmas trying to ignore that it's happening around me so Die Hard is a more relatable Christmas movie
Director John McTiernan McTiernan says the movie wasn't intended to be a Christmas movie, but the joy that came from it turned it into one. Let's move on now. 👍
All tinsel!
If Die Hard isn’t a Christmas movie then why the hell are we ripping it off for our Christmas gig?!
Exactly. Not a Xmas movie.
The only take hotter than "Die Hard is a Christmas movie" is "Die Hard isn't actually a Christmas movie" Now excuse me while I go watch Gremlins 😜
Two great Christmas movies!
They wouldn't have been there if it weren't for the Christmas party.
I never thought of it as a Christmas movie until I saw the argument on the internet. I guess if some people watch it every Xmas then it is for them. For me, and the thirty years that I never gave it a though, it is not.
As someone who's never seen Die Hard you must be right
agreed lol
With that logic, you can say the same thing about almost all the Hallmark Christmas movies
There would not be a Christmas party
Sorry but it will always be a Christmas movie to me. Right beside Bad Santa. (The first bad Santa of course)
Now I'm wondering what is the smallest change that can be made to Die Hard to make it into a Christmas movie...
Both die hard and lethal weapon are Christmas movies
Counterpoint: Calling it a Christmas movie is funny and brings joy, which is what the season is all about.
IMO a Christmas movie is any movie that makes you feel like it’s Christmas. It’s all relative ✌🏻
I respectfully disagree.
It’s nostalgia that makes a movie a Christmas movie. It’s a very personal thing
But it’s about spreading Christmas cheer.
Ok, I'll be civil, but dude, no. Take that whack take to Twitter. Please.
Die hard, is the story of a man using Christmas to try to put his family back together. It is a core narrative device.
He never would have been there to see his ex wife who invited him out for Christmas. I feel like most Christmas movies would fail this test. Like I don’t think It’s a Wonderful Life would even pass this test.
Your mum is a central mechanism. Signed, GenX. It's a Christmas film. Partly because Love Actually is a Christmas film. You have to watch Love Actually THEN Die Hard because that way Alan Rickman gets his comeuppance for what he does to Emma Thompson.
I so disagree! Is that civil?
How very well dare you! 😂
I’m sorry but no matter the amount of sound logic you give, Die Hard will always be a Christmas film
Agreed
so Expendables 4 is a Christmas movie, he is decisive
My friends & I debated this on our podcast for “Children of Men” & “Batman Returns.” “CoM” was split 2 to 2; I voted no. I think we all said “BR” wasn’t. I had 7 criteria; “CoM” only got 1. My friend argued Cmas movies involve faith, love, and hope; but a movie can have those without being Cmas.
Just gonna say if the movie takes place around Christmas and you can make a tradition of watching it w the family and enjoy it… it counts for me. Don’t think you’re crazy if you disagree….
He wouldnt be in LA to visit if it weren’t for Christmas
Spoilsport
By that logit, It's A Wonderful Life isn't a Christmas movie. It takes place at all times of the year. Sure, the climax is at Christmas, but that's almost incidental. You could set the climax on July 4 and have the same movie. (It wasn't even released at XMas) So are you saying IAWL isn't XMas?
Yes 🙂 The director himself says it wasn’t a Christmas movie
Bit does the creator have final say over what his movie “is”? Art is dynamic and many times a work of art’s full scope cannot be comprehended until time has passed and others interpret it. IAWL has become a XMas tradition for many. Like a tree, a wreath, cookies. None biblical but all XMas
Nooo
You are wrong as Christmas time is literally happening all around them but there is a heist that happens. It’s filled with Christmas music and Christmas themes. John McClaine is California to see his kids and ex wife for Christmas. Her name is holly.
A movie you watch every Christmas is a Christmas movie
False. John McClane is a cop from a different city only visiting Nakatomi Tower for a Christmas party with his wife. Also. "Now I have a machine gun. Ho. Ho. Ho." You're trying to tell me that line would work in a non-christmas movie? Pfft.
❤️❤️❤️❤️
-Set at Christmas -About a guy spending time with his family at Christmas -Has Christmas songs -Feel good movie Classic Christmas movie. 😮💨😮💨😮💨
I'd argue the case that Christmas plays a central role as if it wasn't for Christmas he wouldn't be in the Nakatomi plaza and there wouldn't be a story at all😂
But if it was a Halloween party the story would be exactly the same. Or thanksgiving. Or Valentine’s Day. Or any holiday. Or just a company party in general. Christmas is not essential because it’s very easily replaceable.
If they had had a Halloween party it would have taken place in October. The holiday is not important to the plot.
Would John McClane be flying all the way across the country to visit his family for Halloween?
The reason for the party might not be, but John’s reason for being there is! John and Holly were separated and traveling in different directions. But it was the Holidays and a time for family and a time for forgiveness so he traveled to LA for the party to reconcile.
But he wasn’t going because it was Christmas. He would have gone regardless.
Nah. Name one Fourth of July movie that is about an estranged/work driven people realizing what is important is family and reconciling. They might be out there, but it’s a central focus of holiday movies
If it was a halloween party then it would be a Halloween movie😂
But by that logic, Halloween isn’t a Halloween movie cause it could have just as easily been set on Arbor Day.
So, Halloween is supposed to be scary, but a scary movie isn’t Halloween, but, while Christmas is supposed to be about love and light, Die Hard IS a Christmas?
Plus I’d argue Die Hard is about love, it’s a family reconciling and reconnecting. Most action just treats the wife as a damsel to rescue with no agency; Holly and John’s relationship is just as much a major aspect of the film as the action.
Halloween and Black Christmas have essentially the same plot but one is an annual rewatch on Halloween and the other is frequently watched by horror fans on Christmas. The setting, regardless of impact on plot, is important to the iconography of a film.
What big company has that kind of halloween party?
This. Nobody does. They do all have Christmas parties though.
It's also the Japanese owners trying to fit in with American culture. Maybe some other company doesn't have a Christmas party but this Japanese company *definitely* has a Christmas party.
Heck even the bar I managed ages ago had a Christmas party. 😂
Right? The recycling plant I worked at has Christmas parties, we didn't even do pizza for Halloween
And if you did, nobody was getting on a plane to cross the country to visit.
Except a soon to be divorced guy who was trying to make up with his wife.
The point is, the holiday is not important to the plot.
The particular holiday is not important to the plot. There having been a holiday is.
Respectfully, "ho ho ho now I have a machine gun" says it all. I firmly disagree with any claims against Die Hard being a Christmas movie, even those coming directly from Bruce Willis.
You are entitled to your opinion. Congratulations. And your opinion is clearly wrong. Double congratulations.
What about Harry Potter?
😂😂
It makes me feel Christmassy, I watch it at Christmas - so for me, it’s a Christmas movie. The rest is just sophistry…
My favorite christmas movie is Gremlins so I disagree with this take
So Raiders of the Lost Ark is not an Indiana Jones film for the same reason.
Objection: McClane wouldn't be in LA at all were it not Christmas. Also, this bait is clearly marked.
You DID NOT just go there. 🤣
By that logic neither is Rambo but that's demonstrably false
Hard agree. Taking place on or around Christmas is not influential enough
Thank you!
I like to think of, Die Hard as a Christmas movie. There's a Christmas office party (eggnog as well, I think??), there are carols being played and sung, AND, there are Santa hats so, definitely a Christmas movie!
"okay"... but the thing about axioms (e.g. "A movie cannot be a Christmas movie unless Christmas plays a central mechanism in the transition of the narrative from A to B.") is that they are *assumed* to be true which doesn't make them true. in other words,
Wrong-Christmas movie
The narrative doesn’t happen without Christmas. It’s critical to the story. Your premise is flawed
Eyes wide shut is my favorite Christmas movie, although it fails this metric.
I agree. But this also includes “Its A Wondeful Life.” It’s only Christmas for the third act and has nothing to do with the how or why of the plot.
Ohhh snap🫰 THATS gonna kick the hornets nest for dang sure 😆
But I always watch it at Christmas.
John McClain is average man just trying to get home with his family for the holidays. My son says it is his favorite Christmas.....Whom am I to judge his choice?
I agree, the plot is John McClane trying to have Christmas with his family. That’s very christmassy!
Tired: Die Hard is a Christmas movie Wired: Tangerine (2015) is a Christmas movie
Harry Potter and the gauntlet of fire classic Christmas film lol
Friday after next - classic Christmas movie
Terrifier 3? 👀
The first 2 die hard movies are Christmas movies to me. But so is home alone....lol
