44% of people don’t consider Die Hard to be a Christmas film. Macaulay Culkin agrees. Absolute scenes.

[IcyPuddles]

Come on, it’s set at Christmas and it’s integral to the plot. More evidence of the social and
cultural decline of this once great nation.

38% do, for the record.

I watched it for the first time on Saturday night and I completely agree it is totally a Christmas movie. I whacked my partner every time a Christmas decoration appeared as he is in the other camp 😅

It is Christmassy throughout.

I don't consider it a Christmas movie in the Hallmark genre, i.e. romantic comedy, but in terms of watching every year during the christmas holiday period I would consider it a Christmas movie.

Definitely a Christmas movie.

Yeah being set at Christmas makes it a Christmas movie. but I also think fairytale of new York is an acceptable Christmas carol.

Totally a Christmas movie!

Of course it's a Xmas movie. My adult DS always says it's not Xmas till he's seen Die Hard and heard Fairytale of New York.

Never seen it.
Am I part of the last percentage?
(44% no
38% yes
% undecided/haven't seen?)

It's an action movie set at Christmas, but not a Christmas movie. The only way Christmas factors into the plot is that everyone is in the office because of a Christmas party.

IIRC the original Lethal Weapon is also set at Christmas. I wouldn't call that a Christmas movie either.

Of course Culkin would agree.

BTW, Sainsburys make crap Xmas puddings. Tesco agrees. 😂

I don't watch it myself, but yes, it's an Xmas film

It’s not a Christmas film. I say that as one who has written a book about Christmas films.

"The survey of 2,000 people by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) found that 44% did not believe Die Hard to be a Christmas film. But it was a close call, as 38% defended the film’s festive credentials, with 5% even choosing it as their favourite of the genre. The remaining 17% were undecided on its classification." From The Guardian.

The real question is what did the missing 1% think, and who couldn't do Maths at The Guardian?

I'm with the 38% and so was the guy who commissioned it. He gave the writer freedom to do whatever he wanted as long as he kept the 'Christmas in Los Angeles' theme, according to Wikipedia.

It is definitely not a Christmas film. Lethal Weapon and Gremlins are both set at Christmas too, and are not Christmas films.

It's an Alan Rickman movie. That's all that matters.

He tapes the gun to his back with Christmas sticky tape. Enough said.

I have a 100% hypocritical viewpoint on this. I am fully aware of this, but it is just how I feel:

For a movie to be a "Christmas movie" it has to be about Christmas, not just set on Christmas

Yet...

For a song to be a "Christmas song" it just had to have been popular or played around that time, and have nothing actually to do with Christmas

So for me, Die hard is not a Christmas film.. but "only you" by the flying pickets is a Christmas song, despite having nothing to do with Christmas in the song itself at al..

I know this doesn't make logical sense, but it does mean I get how someone can view films set on Christmas or just 'usually shown' as Christmas films, because I do the same with music.

See, I think of Gremlins as a Christmas film. Have never seen Lethal Weapon, perhaps I should check it out this Christmas!

Of course it’s a Christmas film

I’ve got a machine gun now, ho ho ho

and to the pp gremlins is also a Christmas film her dad died in a chimney playing Santa. What’s not Christmassy about that.

both Christmas films, I need to rewatch lethal weapon, I don’t recall many Christmas trees in that

Die Hard is super sentimental, though. When he's not crawling over broken glass to hurl dynamite down a lift shaft, John McClane is agonising over how he can get to see his kids at Christmas and patch up his broken marriage. At the end, when he reunites with Hollie, the film-makers deliberately have bits of office paper floating down after the explosion, like snow. 100% a Christmas movie.

It’s definitely a Christmas movie, I watched it the other day when I put my tree up.

Stay by east 17 is a Christmas song. It doesn’t mention Christmas but does have some Christmassy bells

He's flying home to see his family for Christmas.
It's set at a Christmas party.
Argyle, the limo driver plays a Christmas song while dropping McClain off to Nakatomi Plaza.

I don't really care if it's considered to be a Christmas movie or not.

It's got the late, great Alan Rickman in it and Bruce Willis in a dirty vest.

That's all that matters imho. 😁

Definitely a Christmas film. Not a single doubt. Set at Christmas, Christmas party, now I have a machine gun ho ho ho, oh the weather outside is frightful, Christmas in Hollis, flying home carrying a giant cuddly toy for his kids, trying to reunite with the family, Christmas taped gun saving the day, etc.

I’d say there are three types of Christmas film:

Ones about Christmas such as Elf or The Polar Express.

Ones set at Christmas but aren’t about Christmas as such. Gremlins or Trading Places are examples.

Ones people traditionally watch at Christmas but don’t feature Christmas. Like Mary Poppins or The Great Escape.

Die Hard is the second type but for a lot of people is also the third type as well.