Yippee ki-yay: Why ‘Die Hard’ is the ultimate Christmas movie

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Every year on Christmas Eve, the debate over whether or not Die Hard is a holiday movie resurfaces on social media.

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Since its summertime release 34 years ago, many viewers have deemed the film essential viewing as the calendar moves closer to Dec. 25, pointing to the film’s Christmas setting, use of music, the romantic reunion of an estranged couple and the miracle rescue of a group of office workers as proof that it deserves its place alongside classics like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Home Alone and Miracle on 34th Street.

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Twitter trends show that Die Hard is a much-talked about topic every Dec. 24. On Google, there are countless stories dedicated to the never-ending debate.

In case you don’t remember, the story takes place on Christmas Eve as terrorists (led by the late Alan Rickman) crash a company party inside Nakatomi Plaza with the hopes of stealing $640 million in bearer bonds. The only wrench in their plan is Bruce Willis’ visiting New York City cop John McClane, who avoids getting swept up with the other hostages and launches his own rescue siege from inside the office building.

Doesn’t sound too Christmas-y, right? But the film has emerged as a viewing favourite before Santa finishes checking off his naughty and nice list.

To celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2018, Twentieth Century Fox re-released a holiday-themed trailer for the film calling it, “The greatest Christmas story ever told.”

“Get ready to jingle some bells and deck the halls with boughs of Bruce Willis,” a voiceover says merrily.

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Willis’ family is split with his daughter Scout saying it is a festive favourite, while his mother Marlene told TMZ that the Christmas setting is not an essential element of the picture.

Over the years the film’s co-writer, Steven E. de Souza, has weighed in, telling The Washington Post in 2018 that the film’s producer, Joel Silver, had predicted the movie would get played at Christmastime for years.

But during an appearance on the Script Apart podcast in December 2020, de Souza built his case by comparing the action thriller to Bing Crosby’s White Christmas to further his argument.

“I think we can all agree … that White Christmas, the 1950s movie with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye, is a Christmas movie. So let’s check the boxes,” de Souza said.

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“Does the movie take place during the Christmas holiday? Die Hard takes place entirely during Christmas. White Christmas, only the first scene and the final scene occur on Christmas, and they take place eight or 10 years apart.”

He continued, “Is the setting a Christmas party? Die Hard is set entirely at a Christmas party. In White Christmas, only the final scene is a Christmas party. How many Christmas songs are in the movie? Die Hard has four — Let it Snow, Winter Wonderland, Christmas in Hollis and Jingle Bells. White Christmas has only two — White Christmas, of course, and Snow, which is arguably not even a Christmas song, it’s a weather song.”

In both movies, the party venue is threatened — one by terrorists and the other by foreclosure — which de Souza joked isn’t quite the same thing. But he continued the comparisons, noting how both movies have a journalist with an agenda, German ringleaders, government incompetence, selfless sacrifice and a high body count.

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“Some people say to me, ‘Die Hard can’t be a Christmas movie because you kill people,’” de Souza said. “I say, ‘Was Ellis killed? Yes. We don’t see Ellis killed; he’s killed off camera, does that still count?’ Do off-camera deaths count?’ … If we’re counting Ellis, then 23 people are killed in Die Hard. But now, you, my skeptic about Die Hard being a Christmas movie because of the off-camera death count, the body count in White Christmas is 26,128 people in the Battle of the Bulge, which is the opening scene of the movie.”

De Souza went on to add that McClane’s selfless sacrifice is greater.

“Bruce Willis runs barefoot over broken glass. In White Christmas, Danny Kaye gives his first-class (train) ticket to the girl he wants to make it with. He upgrades her.”

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The film’s director John McTiernan also spoke out in December 2020 telling the American Film Institute that people’s love of watching the film around the holidays is what has elevated its status as a festive favourite.

“We hadn’t intended it to be a Christmas movie, but the joy that came from it is what turned it into a Christmas movie,” he said.

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But the film’s cinematographer, Jan de Bont, said that he didn’t think it was a great fit for holiday viewing.

“I’m not sure if the spirit of Christmas is fully embraced by that movie, to be honest,” the director of blockbusters like Speed and Twister said in an interview with Yahoo! Entertainment. “To really call that a Christmas movie — it’s a little far-fetched.”

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Not to be outdone, academics have weighed in.

“Christmas is a liminal ritualized period of carnivalesque inversion during which underdogs and the powerless are briefly elevated above hierarchical structures,” historian Greg Jenner wrote on Twitter. “John McClane is a classic Christmas underdog triumphing over selfish venality.”

Last month, filmmaker James Gunn told Postmedia that it was his go-to Christmas flick.

For his part, Willis declared in 2018, “Die Hard is not a Christmas movie! It’s a god damn Bruce Willis movie!” at the conclusion of the taping of the Comedy Central Roast of Bruce Willis. But during an interview 12 years ago, Willis smiled when I told him that watching the film was one of my holiday traditions.

“Mine too,” he replied.

Whatever your feelings on the matter, yippee ki-yay, Christmas lovers. We’ll argue this over eggnog next year.

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