Die Hard got the true Christmas movie treatment this year in a recut trailer by Fox.
The debate over whether Die Hard “counts” as a Christmas movie is finally over with the new trailer released on Christmas. Fox mashed up footage from the action classic, adding in voice over and upbeat music to portray it as “the greatest Christmas story ever told.”
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The trailer — just under 90 seconds long — was uploaded on YouTube on Tuesday. It celebrates the 30th anniversary of the film that, to many people, marks the holiday season. The festive musical stings and clever editing reframe some of John McClane’s (Bruce Willis) stoic heroism into snarky catchphrases, and Hans Gruber’s (Alan Rickman) villainous monlogues seem more like the mumblings of the burglars in Home Alone.
“Facing Christmas 3,000 miles from his estranged wife and two children, New York policeman John McClane (Bruce Willis) flies to Los Angeles bearing presents and hoping to patch up his marriage,” reads Fox’s updated synopsis of the movie. “Stylish and cool Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) is in Los Angeles as well for the holiday season, but he’s not there to give out presents. He’s there to take: more than $600 million in negotiable bearer bonds from the multinational Nakatomi Corporation, where McClane’s wife Holly (Bonnie Bedelia) is an executive.”
“When the takeover becomes hostile, it’s up to John McClane to take on the terrorists with all the grit and determination he can muster–but not without a sense of humor,” it finishes.
The half-joking debate about Die Hard‘s Christmas movie status has raged for years, though at this point it is associated with the season for better or for worse. In July, Comedy Central held a roast for Willis where he said that he, for one, does not think of it as a Christmas movie.
“It’s a f—ing Bruce Willis movie!” he said. Afterward, The Hollywood Reporter asked how he thought fans would react to him picking a side on the debate.
“We’ll see,” he said simply.
Willis’ feelings notwithstanding, at this point, Die Hard cannot be separated from its vague Christmas association. IFC is running an all-day marathon of the film on Wednesday, hosted by star Reginald VelJohnson, who argues that it is in fact a holiday classic.
“Okay look, let’s just get this out of the way right now: Die Hard is a Christmas movie,” he says in the trailer for the TV event, “and here’s why. It takes place on Christmas Eve, at a Christmas party. There’s Christmas music, there’s presents, and there’s snow. Okay it may look like paper, but it’s snow. I was there.”
“Conclusion: Die Hard is a Christmas movie,” he finishes triumphantly.
Die Hard is playing all day on Wednesday on IFC.
