2022 Official Thread | Die Hard: A Christmas Movie Yay or Nay? | Chime in!

Shop Knives and stones on ebay
Find deals on amazon
Kitchen Knife Forums

Help Support Kitchen Knife Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
ch_br

ch_br

Careful man, there's a beverage here...
KKF Supporting Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2022
Messages
738
Reaction score
1,790
Location
Lost Angels USA
Happy Holidays KKF!!


:smalltree: ✌️ :proost: ✡️ 🍻 🥂


Figured I'd make a place for the annual debate discussing:

Is Die Hard a Christmas movie?


Die hard Bruce Willis santa hat - Christmas Movie - Yes or No.png



Please keep the conversation:
  1. Civil
  2. Non attacking for other's opinions
  3. Fun
  4. And Use of Pics, wherever possible, is highly encouraged
So post up all your opinions/arguments/proof...

GO!
 
Last edited:
It's set around christmas, it focuses on a man fighting for his family, it has a happy ending and it has 'let it snow' as the outro soundtrack. And to top it all off, it's the spiritual predecessor to the most well-known Christmas movie 'Home Alone'. How is this not an open & shut case?
 
Christmas is an element of the setting of the movie, it isn't central to it any more than it is in Lethal Weapon, in fact I think may be more prominent in Lethal Weapon if anything. If you take the position that it is a Christmas movie I don't see how you couldn't then also say that any movie is "about" the season which it happened to be shot in. Spring, fall, winter, summer. It's a stretch at best, and IMHO just a way for guys sick of B grade or worse Christmas rom-coms to have an argument in favor of watching something that appeals more to them.
 
But you could apply the same argument to Home Alone, yet most people accept that as a Christmas movie.
Both are movies about a single vulnerable person trying to defeat a multitude of criminals armed mostly armed with his wit in a large building environment without any outside help during the Christmas period.
 
Yes, but I think Christmas was a central plot element of Home Alone, not so with DieHard, where I think it was just incidental. Would it really have altered the movie were it not Christmas vs Home Alone? FWIW It's been a few years since I've seen DieHard, I may be forgetting a few things.
 
I think you could take Christmas out of Home Alone and it would be basically the same movie. The family could have been going on a summer vacation to Paris instead of Christmas. Sure the central themes are love, compassion, and forgiveness, which are definitely related to Christmas, but not exclusively so.
 
Yep exactly. Over here the police warns every summer season about not advertising too openly that one goes on holiday as it's an invitation to burglary; the exact same events could have played out in a summer holiday without any meaningful changes to the story.
 
Exhibit A, for me, that Die Hard IS a Christmas cautionary terroist tale movie:

John McClain's first response to the terrorists is in Christmas rhetoric:

"Now I have a Machine Gun. Ho - Ho - Ho."


DieHard - now i have a machine gun ho ho ho.gif



Appears to be in the spirit of a VERY specific globally celebrated Holiday, and its known lore, to me!
 
Last edited:
MSicardCutlery said:
Yes, but I think Christmas was a central plot element of Home Alone, not so with DieHard, where I think it was just incidental. Would it really have altered the movie were it not Christmas vs Home Alone?
Click to expand...

I retort with

Exhibit B, for me, that Die Hard IS indeed a Christmas movie:

Christmas is central to the plot of Die Hard because Hans Gruber, and his merry band of grinches, staged the take over of the building (in the world famous Nakatomi Plaza) DURING the annual Christmas party.

When they knew everyone would be in one room for a defined amount of time, which only happens once a year @ the planned company CHRISTMAS party!
 
Last edited:
ch_br said:
I retort with

Exhibit B, for me, that Die Hard IS indeed a Christmas movie:

Christmas is central to the plot of Die Hard because Hans Gruber, and his merry band of grinches, staged the take over of the building (in the world famous Nakatomi Plaza) DURING the annual Christmas party.

When they knew everyone would be in one room for a defined amount of time, which only happens once a year @ the planned company CHRISTMAS party!
Click to expand...
I rarely show up to the all staff meetings. But Christmas party, I'm THERE.
 
Heckel7302 said:
I rarely show up to the all staff meetings. But Christmas party, I'm THERE.
Click to expand...

good point. And Why do you willfully show up and WANT TO BE THERE???

Because, generally Christmas parties are the one time per year companies (esp big corporations like Nakatomi) bribe you to be at a function to:
  1. Not work
  2. Have a good time
  3. Get free Booze
  4. Eat for Free
  5. Maybe get presents
  6. (This one is assuming you're gutsy or clever/smooth-- preferably both) Get to take pop shots at management without recourse cuse you 'had a few."

Sound like a good time to take over a building. When the employees are having a fun time, aren't focused, and have their senses impared because most are all-aboard the booze train!
 
MSicardCutlery said:
Christmas is an element of the setting of the movie, it isn't central to it any more than it is in Lethal Weapon, in fact I think may be more prominent in Lethal Weapon if anything. If you take the position that it is a Christmas movie I don't see how you couldn't then also say that any movie is "about" the season which it happened to be shot in. Spring, fall, winter, summer. It's a stretch at best, and IMHO just a way for guys sick of B grade or worse Christmas rom-coms to have an argument in favor of watching something that appeals more to them.
Click to expand...
where the eff is the 'downvote' button when you need it???? :D
 
No. Christmas is incidental to the movie’s plot. There are no larger Christmas themes: giving, reflecting, faith, hope, love, family. It’s an action movie that uses a holiday party as a plot point. If you like to watch it at Christmas and make an association with it, that’s fine, but that’s your tradition doing the work.
 
More_Gyutos said:
No. Christmas is incidental to the movie’s plot. There are no larger Christmas themes: giving, reflecting, faith, hope, love, family. It’s an action movie that uses a holiday party as a plot point. If you like to watch it at Christmas and make an association with it, that’s fine, but that’s your tradition doing the work.
Click to expand...

Kicka$$ery is good in every time of year.

Its just a Extra bonus its set in Christmas.

Because watching Die Hard during the holidays gives you a reprieve from the hundreds of droll Rom-Coms you wife wants to watch **WITH** you!

The writers and producers must have intrinsically known this to set it during Christmas, further baking it in to the male American holiday "culture".
 
ch_br said:
Kicka$$ery is good in every time of year.

Its just a Extra bonus its set in Christmas.

Because watching Die Hard during the holidays gives you a reprieve from the hundreds of droll Rom-Coms you wife wants to watch **WITH** you!

The writers and producers must have intrinsically known this to set it during Christmas, further baking it in to the male American holiday "culture".
Click to expand...
Thankfully, my wife would rather watch Die Hard so at least I have that going for me!
 
More_Gyutos said:
Thankfully, my wife would rather watch Die Hard so at least I have that going for me!
Click to expand...

THAT'S a great woman right there!

Hold her close during Die Hard and that'll serve as the warm fuzzy feeling simulation-- that many women usually expect during horrible x-mas rom-com viewing!

:love::popcorn:
 
Last edited:
In the movie he’s giving and potentially sacrificing his life to help protect everyone in danger, at the start of the movie there’s a very strong reflection on his relationship with his family and current situation, definitely shows how much he loves and cares for his family repeatedly throughout the movie, and we see that reflected from beginning to end of the movie.

There’s also a greater lesson in the balance of family and relationships, really makes the point to appreciate what you have instead of focusing on its imperfections.

Rewatch this movie and look much deeper, this isn’t some 2000’s woke culture movie filled with effects and politics/ideology, virtually all movies had morals reflected back then.

More_Gyutos said:
No. Christmas is incidental to the movie’s plot. There are no larger Christmas themes: giving, reflecting, faith, hope, love, family. It’s an action movie that uses a holiday party as a plot point. If you like to watch it at Christmas and make an association with it, that’s fine, but that’s your tradition doing the work.
Click to expand...
 
Mikeadunne said:
Saying Christmas isn't central to home alone is just straight ridiculous...
Click to expand...
Original inspiration had nothing to do with christmas

Writer and producer John Hughes conceived Home Alone while preparing to go on vacation. He said: "I was going away on vacation, and making a list of everything I didn't want to forget. I thought, 'Well, I'd better not forget my kids.' Then I thought, 'What if I left my 10-year-old son at home? What would he do?'"[7] Hughes wrote eight pages of notes that developed into the screenplay.[7] Imagining that children are naturally most scared of robbers, Hughes also worked that aspect into the plot of the film.
 
MSicardCutlery said:
Christmas is an element of the setting of the movie, it isn't central to it any more than it is in Lethal Weapon, in fact I think may be more prominent in Lethal Weapon if anything. If you take the position that it is a Christmas movie I don't see how you couldn't then also say that any movie is "about" the season which it happened to be shot in. Spring, fall, winter, summer. It's a stretch at best, and IMHO just a way for guys sick of B grade or worse Christmas rom-coms to have an argument in favor of watching something that appeals more to them.
Click to expand...

 
ch_br said:
Is Die Hard a Christmas movie?
Click to expand...

💯x💯x💯x💯%

I went to see it a few years ago at a movie house's holiday movie collection screening. Proof. From professionals.

And if you disagree you are welcome to your opinion but we'll not be sharing any egg nog this season. 😂

Happy holiday season!
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top