Fox is finally settling the age-old debate about whether “Die Hard” is a Christmas movie.
The studio recently re-cut the classic film’s original trailer to give it a holiday spin. Declaring it “the greatest Christmas story ever told,” Twentieth Century Fox also released a new log line:
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. 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.
The new, 90-second trailer (promoting the film’s 30th anniversary edition on Blu-ray) is chock full of holiday tropes. It opens with Bruce Willis’ John McClane flying to L.A. to spend the holidays with his family. A cheery voiceover asks audiences to “get ready to jingle some bells and deck the halls with boughs of Bruce Willis” as music from “The Nutcracker” plays in the background.
Although Willis himself said, “‘Die Hard’ is not a Christmas movie, it’s a goddamn Bruce Willis movie!” at his Comedy Central roast in July, this trailer is sure to make you a believer.