What form a movie a Christmas movie ? In the typesetter’s case ofDie Hard , the 20th Century Fox celluloid released in 1988 about wisecrack pig John McClane ( Bruce Willis ) trapped in a eminent - rise with villain Hans Gruber ( Alan Rickman ) on Christmas Eve , the resolution is n’t so easy . Ostensibly an action moving-picture show that helped redefine the genre , its vacation scope has lead to years of speculation over whether it ’s aseasonal classicor just an action classic .
A new trailer from twentieth Century Studios ( formerly 20th Century Fox ) may have answered the question . At least , if you trust the studio apartment is the last word on the subject .
In the reedited preview , a jolly McClane is presented as a dada with a Christmas crisis on his hand in what ’s billed as “ the great Christmas story ever told . ” While it ’s glossa - in - impertinence and seems signify to promote a fresh 4 K digital release of the franchise , it also give a pretty convincing case thatDie Hardbelongs next toA Christmas Storyon the ledge . ( Both feature quite a bit of shootout . )
Various people involved with the product of the film have weighed in on the question over the years . On Twitter in 2017 , screenwriter Steven E. de Souza affirmed its Christmas position ; Bruce Willis declared it ’s not a vacation movie but a “ g*ddamn Bruce Willis movie ” during a Comedy Central Roast .
In 2020 , theatre director John McTiernanofferedthat “ We had n’t mean it to be a Christmas flick , but the joy that came from it is what turned it into a Christmas picture . ”
Audiences do n’t seem to have attain any consensus . WhenThe Hollywood Reportersurveyed random people in 2018 , 62 percentage said it was n’t part of the vacation film genre . Maybe the trailer above will alter their minds .
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