Is ‘Die Hard’ a Christmas movie?

This is a heated debate that rages throughout the entire year–almost as much as the fictional Nakatomi Plaza skyscraper did that fateful night–for movie fans (and even non-movie fans) of the 1988 action film masterpiece that starred Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman (RIP), Bonnie Bedelia and Reginald VelJohnson (Carl Winslow!) and Alexander Godunov (RIP). Due to the extensive conversation that follows this seemingly fun and nonsensical question, it’s best to exercise brevity whenever possible. With that in mind, here are a few key notes regarding the aforementioned debate.

Just last year, ‘Die Hard’ screenwriter Steven E. de Souza confirmed via Twitter that #DieHardIsAChristmasMovie.

FYI – That specific tweet was covered and discussed on Time’s website.

Yes, that Time.

Then there’s this snippet from a Washington Post article published yesterday online titled “‘Die Hard’ isn’t just a Christmas movie — it’s the best ever, according to its Hollywood distributor” by Eli Rosenberg and Alex Horton.

“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.”  

So this is a very real debate. So gloriously real that 20th Century Fox has reignited the topic of its popular film via a recently produced trailer just this week that is every bit as awesome as you’d hope it would be.

Is ‘Die Hard’ a Christmas movie?

Yes. 

Make room, Elf on the Shelf.