It's become a Great Christmas Debate at this point, maybe on par with the one over real vs. artificial trees. Is Die Hard a Christmas movie? This year, the go-around has gotten a little more attention than usual because of the strong case for the yes-it-is camp made by none other than Peter Billingsley, star of A Christmas Story. On his podcast A Cinematic Christmas Journey, the now 52-year-old Billingsley and co-host Steve Byrne bring on Die Hard cinematographer Jan de Bont, who is in the no-it-isn't camp. Or at least he was in the no-it-isn't camp until the podcast, in which he professes a change of heart. Some of the key points:
- Billingsley notes the movie is bookended by two Christmas songs, "Christmas in Hollis" by Run DMC and "Let it Snow!" by Vaughn Monroe, per CNN.
- He notes it's set during a Christmas party, with Santas everywhere throughout the film, and he calls particular attention to the "iconic 'ho ho ho moment" when Bruce Willis' John McClane decorates the body of one of the bad guys he's slain.
- But "most importantly," says Billingsley, "I think it embodies the themes of Christmas of acceptance, forgiveness, love, and family." At which point, de Bont says, "OK, I'm sold now." You can watch the moment here.
Billingsley elaborates on his winning argument to People. "I think what sold (de Bont) is I said, 'That relationship between John McClane and his estranged wife, they're fractured, but by the end, they learn to forgive each other. There's hope, there's joy, and they're going to go and have a great Christmas morning with their kids," he says. "In my opinion it is a Christmas movie." For the record, director John McTiernan fully agrees, though he told the American Film Institute in 2020 that they didn't intend to make a holiday flick. "The joy that came from it is what turned it into a Christmas movie," he said. (More Christmas movies stories.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
