There are many Christmas movies topping various streaming charts right now. Home Alone, The Grinch, A Charlie Brown Christmas. Over on Peacock, there is also the “greatest Christmas movie of all time.” And there is a reason for those quotation marks. At the time of writing, Jim Carrey’s manic turn as the Grinch is managing to cling on to the number one spot, but blasting up the chart into second position is the one and only Die Hard.
Yes, the movie that causes the same divided opinion every year, and this year drew out comments from Macaulay Culkin about its place in the Christmas movie hierarchy, is duking it out with the most festive films for the attention of audiences as Christmas arrives. It seems that while everyone was waiting for Santa making his rounds, there was nothing that screamed welcome to Christmas more than watching be-vested Bruce Willis climbing his own version of a Christmas Tree (shaped like the Nakatomi Plaza) to wish Alan Rickman’s Hans Gruber a merry Christmas – or something like that.
Die Hard was released in the summer of 1988, but with its December setting, a little snowfall, a Christmas party, and a rousing end credits song of “Let It Snow,” some people felt it was more suited to a little later in the year. After turning its $25 million budget into a gross of around $140 million, the film sparked off a franchise that spanned four sequels, with Willis reprising his role as the “wrong-place-wrong-time” LAPD cop John McClane. This is perhaps more surprising when the film was initially criticized for its violence, plot, and even Willis’ performance in the film.
‘Die Hard’ Has Established Itself as a Classic – Whatever Time of Year
Despite some initial gripes at the time of its release, Die Hard now holds a 94% score on both the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer and Popcornmeter. Time has been kind to the film, with many critics hailing it as “an unashamedly brutal and silly action movie” that has “found its place in the world, at Christmas or any time of year.”
Willis established himself as a viable action star with Die Hard, breaking away from his previous comedic roles and proving that he could manage to kick ass as well as he could play things for laughs. However, it was Alan Rickman in his movie debut that steals the show as the villainous Hans Gruber. With one of the most memorable action movie villain deaths, Rickman’s career may not have been what it was without his tumble from the Nakatomi Plaza.
Whether you hold the belief that Die Hard is or is not a Christmas movie is really irrelevant. When there are tree decorations, T-shirts, and plenty of celebrity endorsements for the movie’s position among more traditional holiday movies, there is no getting away from Die Hard becoming part of many essential viewing lists at this time of year. Perhaps it is just time to accept the inevitable, embrace the grimy vest, and dip into a Die Hard Christmas like many Peacock subscribers.
- Release Date
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July 15, 1988
- Runtime
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132 minutes
