When is Die Hard on TV this Christmas?
Is the Bruce Willis classic a Christmas movie? The debate continues.
As we're now in December, film fans across the land will be lining up their festive watch lists. While the likes of The Muppet Christmas Carol, Elf and Love Actually are shoe-ins, there's always one film which remains a little more contentious.
Three and a half decades after its initial release, the question of whether or not Die Hard can be counted as a true Christmas movie remains fiercely contested. It was originally released during the summer months, but its festive setting means it picks up a huge amount of interest around the Yuletide period.
The film, which was directed by John McTiernan, stars Bruce Willis as NYPD detective John McClane, who touches down in Los Angeles on 24th December with grand plans of making amends with his estranged wife Holly (Bonnie Bedelia) at her company’s Christmas party.
Just before he enters her office, though, the building is seized by the villainous Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) and his gang, who take everyone inside hostage.
Film critic James King previously told RadioTimes.com that "Die Hard is a Christmas movie now but it didn’t start out as one".
"Back in 1988 when it was released in the summer, I don’t think anyone thought it was a festive film," he continued. "Sure it had a seasonal setting but it was hardly warm and cuddly.
"But over time, the fans have embraced its Christmas background and reinterpreted it as a yuletide classic. That’s what’s great about brilliant films: they don’t just have to be one thing."
But is the film airing over the 2024 Christmas period, and where can fans stream it? Here’s all you need to know, so you can make your mind up on the Christmas movie debate once and for all.
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Is Die Hard on TV this Christmas?
Yes! It wouldn't be Christmas without Die Hard airing on TV at least once – and thankfully, the classic action film will be getting at least one outing on Film4 this December.
The film will air on Film4 on Saturday 7th December at 9pm.
Where else can I watch Die Hard?
All five films are available to stream on Disney Plus – including the first film, which originally joined the streaming service much later than the sequels.
If you don't have a subscription to Disney Plus, you can buy or rent Die Hard and the other sequels on Amazon Prime Video. Apple TV also has the full collection available to purchase.
Is Die Hard a Christmas movie?
Philosophers across the world ponder the big questions in life – and perhaps the most prominent is the conundrum is Die Hard a Christmas movie, or is it just a movie that just happens to be set at Christmas? (It’s a Christmas movie and we won’t hear otherwise.)
Like the pronunciation of scone, it is a query that has plagued people for decades (or, at least, since 1988), with even Die Hard star Bruce Willis saying – controversially – that he doesn’t believe the action-thriller is a Christmas movie.
A 2021 poll by YouGov stepped in to settle the festive debate, finding that the public does not consider it to be a true Christmas film – even though just one year prior the film's director John McTiernan had said that he thought it was one.
Christmas film or not, Die Hard still remains one of the best and most influential action films ever made, and the holidays just wouldn’t be the same without settling down to watch Bruce Willis’s star turn.
How to watch the Die Hard films in order
There are five films in the Die Hard series which were released over a 25 year period. The latest, A Good Day to Die Hard, first hit US cinema screens on Valentine's Day 2013. Here's the order they came out:
- Die Hard (1988)
- Die Hard 2 (1990)
- Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)
- Live Free or Die Hard (2007)
- A Good Day to Die Hard (2013)
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