This is the Christmas season, and with every holiday season there comes the argument that we have every year. Last week Twitter and other social media platforms were in a storm discussing whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie. Official genre designations have failed to guide us as it has designated the movie as an action thriller one.
The movie has some great stories that have been featured in an action film and you stay on the edge of your seat, fearing the hero’s survival. It also has some great characters, as Bruce Willis plays spectacularly as John McClane and focuses on him throughout the film. The late Alan Rickman is as handsome as Hans Gruber and presents the official threat to this hero.
New York City Police Officer John McClane (Bruce Willis) visited his estranged wife (Bonnie Bedelia) and two daughters the day before Christmas. He joins her in a holiday party at the Japanese business headquarters where she works. But the festivities are disrupted by a group of terrorists occupying a special high point, along with everyone present. McClane soon realizes that no one can save the captives – but he does.
Every year around Christmas the same debate occurs and now let’s analyze the topic using our analytics and findings. According to a poll recently posted on Twitter, nearly 79 percentage firmly believe that Die Hard is a Christmas movie.
For a Christmas film, there should be some basic markers and we will connect these cues with the themes and visuals in Die Hard and find out whether it is a Christmas movie or not
CHRISTMAS TREES
We can see that throughout the movie there is the presence of well-lit up beautiful Christmas trees. If we look at the visuals of the movie, there are almost eleven unique Christmas trees and nineteen total Christmas tree shots in it.
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CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS
The Christmas decorations are depicted in the movie in the form of Santa Claus figures, Christmas caps and bright pieces of reindeer, and many other small decors. There are almost 15 uniq4e Christmas decorations.
There are gifts involved – a friend of John LA police officer Al buys his pregnant wife cakes at a grocery store, Harry Ellis offers Holly a Rolex watch as an existing company, and the FBI offers Hans Gruber access to a Nakatomi basement after closing the local clock. power grid. Even John’s (type) gun is a gift wrapped in his last show with Hans
Santa Claus appeared (in the way) – you remember the first person John was taken out of was Tony because they fell down the stairs in a fight at the beginning of the movie. John put on his Santa hat and said, “Now I have a machine gun. John McClain has a holiday spirit no matter the situation
CHRISTMAS CAROLS
The background music, as well as the small hummings made by the actors, are of a Christmas theme. Many times we can hear about twelve jingle Christmas carols also.
Winter Wonderland, “Let It Snow!”, “Christmas in Hollis,” and “Ode to Joy” are all on the soundtrack and appear in some form in the film.
USES OF THE WORD CHRISTMAS
In the film, the word Christmas, wishing Merry Christmas is used in about 14 instances. There are also dialogues about Santa as well as presents. The story is happening in the Christmas holidays
The final snowfall – The last snowfall in Los Angeles was 1962! But what better way to end a Christmas movie than with snow.
According to a media report last year from DISH Network, 1.3 million Americans watched “Die Hard” the night before Christmas 2016. That beats the traditional holiday favorites “Home Alone,” “Miracle on 34th Street,” and “Santa Clause.”
But there are other groups of viewers who wish to see Die Hard as an action film. The stars Bonnie Bedelia (who plays McClane’s estranged wife, Holly Gennaro-McClane) and Reginald VelJohnson (LAPD sergeant Al Powell) both admit to EW that they never saw Die Hard as a Christmas film during production. Says VelJohnson: “The main issue was not Christmas, it was getting McClane out of a bad situation.” Bedelia adds: “In the textbook, it was not, and during our photography, it was not.” Those confessions, as well as Willis’ comment that he is not a Christmas film
McTiernan’s directional excellence is fantastic as he maintains an ongoing sense of skepticism in each scene and moves the plot forward. Although the movie has well-crafted action scenes, it focuses on portraying the main character as a normal man facing everyday challenges, making the movie different from other 1980 action films.
So, it is up to you and you can decide whether it is a Christmas movie or not.
