During the Christmas season, there's nothing better than curling up in front of the fire and watching some of your favourite movies. Not just any movies either, but the festive classics that play during the holidays. It could be something weepy and tear-jerking, like It's A Wonderful Life, or sentimental like Miracle on 34th Street. It could be totally daft, like Elf, or chock-full of slapstick, like Home Alone.
But for many people out there, who deplore anything corny and mushy, the ultimate Christmas movie has got to be John McTiernan's classic 1988 classic, Die Hard. You all know the set up: Bruce Willis plays embittered, wife-beater-wearing off-duty cop John McClane, who attends his separated wife's work Christmas party at the Nakatomi party.
Then Alan Rickman and a gang of armed terrorists storm the place, take the guests hostage, while McClane escapes. Then the audience is in for a whirlwind of iconic action movie moments, which include fire hose abseiling, quips galore, and plenty of crawling through vents before it was cool. Sheer brilliance.
It's long been debated by fans whether or not Die Hard actually qualifies as a Christmas film, and people have been divided on the subject ever since the movie opened in theatres 30 years ago. However, now a poll appears to have settled the matter for good, and apparently determined authoritatively that Die Hard IS NOT a Christmas film. Huh, well thanks for the advice.
A survey conducted by The Hollywood Reporter learned that only a quarter of those polled agreed that Die Hard counts as a Christmas movie. A whopping 62 per cent of people disagreed, the remaining people were uncertain one way or the other. Perhaps unsurprisingly, most of the men who were surveyed were more likely to say that it was a Christmas film after all.
Despite this ruling, movie buffs will still find it hard to argue that the flick isn't at least Christmas-themed. Just look at the soundtrack: the score also features sleigh bells prominently, as well as a medley of festive tunes, such as Winter Wonderland. Christmas in Hollis and Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
Not only that, but even the creators have weighed in on the issue in recent years. Back in 2010, Empire magazine voted Die Hard the greatest Christmas movie of all time. On December 24, 2017 screenwriter Steven E. de Souza stated on Twitter that it was a Christmas film, while Bruce Willis declared during his own Comedy Central roast that: "Die Hard is not a Christmas movie! It is a goddamn Bruce Willis movie!"
To be honest, the debate will probably wage on for many more Christmases to come. To be honest, I think that if I tried to get my family to watch it on December 25, there'd probably be a big row. It's probably best to split the difference and just watch Love Actually instead.
