Is Die Hard a Christmas Movie?
We settle this once and for all
This week we have a special present for you. Since Christmas is just a few days away I thought it would be nice to have two of the most prominent historians of the Early American Republic on to talk about Die Hard. Is it a Christmas movie? Is it a history movie? Find out by listening in.
Our guests this week are a gift in and of themselves. Annette Gordon-Reed is one of the most revered historians working today. Her work is required reading for anyone wanting to learn about the early years of the American experiment. She won the Pulitzer Prize in history in 2009 for The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family (W.W. Norton, 2008). She’s won about a bazillion awards and is in historical terms a Really Big Deal. You can find her on twitter at @agordonreed.
Craig Bruce Smith is a three-time guest on the HATM podcast, though this is the first time you’ll hear him (his other two pods will come soon). He wrote an awesome book about how concepts like “honor” and “virtue” were crucial aspects in the ideological break between the American colonies and the British empire. My conversations with him helped to form what became Historians At The Movies and he is a trusted friend.1 You can find him on twitter at @craigbrucesmith.
Here’s the links to our latest episode of Historians At The Movies Podcast, where we talk all things Die Hard. Maybe you’ll listen on your commute during the holidays, or just any other time. But I hope you like it and that you’ll help grow this community in its new phase by subscribing and sharing it.
And don’t forget that we’ll be showing Die Hard on Amazon Prime this Sunday (Christmas night) at 8pm eastern. Hope to see you there. Hope most all that you and your loved ones are healthy, happy, and safe this holiday season.
He also sent a copy of his book to my son and insinuated that George Washington was stronger than me, which is a total fabrication and should be grounds for termination. But I digress.
I say yes. Die Hard is set at Christmas which by even the broadest definition makes it a holiday movie. The film makes constant references to the event as well, as when Hans Gruber says to Rudy, then troubled by the slow progress of breaking into the vault, "It's Christmas, it is a time for miracles." Bonnie Bedelia plays a character Holly. The final scene should seal the deal: it's snowing paper coming down from the building, while Vaughn Monroe sings Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne's "Let it Snow". The evidence working against Die Hard being a Christmas movie is spotty and unconvincing. It came out in July 1988 to be sure, but this has more to do with scheduling for maximum profit. Imagine if it had come out in time for the holiday. So, there's my argument. Die Hard IS a Christmas movie and I'm shooting the glass to defend this position.
This was a great episode. Thank you all for doing it.
Another non-traditional Christmas movie we should remember at this time of year is 1984’s horror comedy classic, GREMLINS.