How Did a Summer 1988 Release, “Die Hard,” Become an Iconic Christmas Movie?

July 15 marks the 37^th anniversary of the release of “Die Hard”. How many people remember it as a summer movie?

Until I asked Perplexity.ai to name events in American movie history during mid-July, I didn’t know that the winter movie was released during the summer! Thirty-seven years after its release, why would I or anyone remember when this “Christmas” movie was released?

So how did a summer release become known as an iconic Christmas movie? (If you want to “cheat,” you can read this piece “Is Die Hard a Christmas Movie” from “Parade”.)

The story takes place during a company Christmas Eve party.

“Die Hard” is about John McClane who’s come to Los Angeles on Christmas Eve wanting to make peace and reunite with his executive wife and his family. The thief, Hans Gruber, disrupts this. Family love and unity are major narrative threads in “Die Hard”. The emphasis on McClane struggling to come to terms with his wife’s career desires, especially during the American season of giving, ably reflects Christmas ideals. His sweaty, grubby and pyrotechnical struggle against the “terrorists” grabs most viewers’ attention more than the holiday motif.

I don’t remember whether I saw “Die Hard” on video or in a theater. I remember McClane striving to do the right thing with Los Angeles Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation on-scene undermining his heroism. I remember McClane struggling in an HVAC shaft. I remember McClane bungeed or tied to a wooden plank and nearly riding that right out a broken window! I remember the thief, Gruber, saying “shoot the glass” and then McClane plucking shattered glass from his bare feet.

I remember the thrilling action!

As for Christmas, strewn throughout the film we see imagery of that. We see wrapping paper, Christmas-themed tape, lots of workers bidding one another Merry Christmas and Santa hats. What’s more, during the movie we hear the songs “Let it Snow” and Run DMC’s “Christmas in Hollis”.

I supposed the presence of Christmas throughout the film makes the summer release thematically incidental? The Christmassy sounds and images of are out-of-place for a summer release. But so is depicting a Christmas party during a July released movie.