It’s Christmas once again, which means it’s time to reignite one of the most hotly debated topics in cinema: Is Die Hard a Christmas film? It’s a contentious debate which has gone on for 35 years, but every year many of us ring in the festive season with Bruce Willis and a yippee ki-yay.
In John McTiernan’s action flick, New York City cop John McClane (Willis) faces overwhelming odds when his Christmas visit to Los Angeles is interrupted by a terrorist invasion of his estranged wife’s office building. Facing off against the wicked Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) and his gun-toting goons, John employs plenty of grit, determination, and a little sprinkling of humour, to take down the terrorists himself.
The film defied expectations of both the studio and audiences when it was released in 1988, not least thanks to Bruce Willis’ unexpected turn as an action hero. At the time, the actor was best-known for his main role in comedy-drama series Moonlighting – and for his stint as a popstar.
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The idea that Willis could be an action star was seen as so absurd that he was even removed from the Die Hard poster before the film’s release. It was only when it finally premiered that audiences accepted and embraced Willis as the action hero and leading man we know today – and he was added back to the poster.
But history aside, the debate on its Christmas classification continues to rage on. Whichever side of the fence you sit, there is strong evidence to argue it is in fact a Christmas film.
Firstly, it takes place on Christmas Eve, at a Christmas party. The film is also littered with festive jokes and references – ‘Now I have a machine gun, Ho-Ho-Ho’ – and it comes to a resolute conclusion.
Readers of film magazine Empire even voted Die Hard the best Christmas film of all time in 2016, beating out classics like It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone. But Christmas film or not, many fans will be keen to get Christmassy with John McClane and wondering where Die Hard is available to watch over the festive season.
To that end, here’s how you can stream the Die Hard films free with some money-saving deals and how to watch them in order.
How to watch the Die Hard film series in order
The best way to watch the Die Hard films is by starting back where it all began with the 1988 original, Die Hard. This was followed up two years later with Die Hard 2 – sometimes known as Die Harder – which also takes place on Christmas Eve as John McClane attempts to thwart a terrorist attack at Washington D.C.’s Dulles International Airport.
Next up is the 1995 threequel, Die Hard with a Vengeance, which saw the return of director John McTiernan and follows McClane as he teams up with Samuel L. Jackson to prevent yet another terrorist attack, this time in New York City. More than 20 years later, Willis returned to the franchise in 2007 with Live Free or Die Hard, in which he goes up against Timothy Olyphant’s cyber-terrorist with the help of a hacker played by Justin Long.
The fifth and final film in the Die Hard series is 2013’s A Good Day to Die Hard, which sees McClane travel to Russia to get his estranged, CIA agent son, Jack (Jai Courtney) out of prison before once again getting caught up in a terrorist plot.
How to watch Die Hard for free this Christmas
Die Hard is not on Netflix, but it is available to rent or buy on Amazon’s Prime Video from £3.49. However, the best value option to stream the film is with a subscription to Disney+ which now costs as little as £4.99 a month.
What’s more, Disney+ members also get access to loads of top Disney content including Star Wars and Marvel, as well as festive favourites like Home Alone and The Muppets Christmas Carol. A Disney+ subscription can be cancelled any time, meaning new members could enjoy all its festive offerings throughout the Christmas season and cancel it in the new year.
Customers can also save by signing up to an annual subscription rather than paying monthly. By paying annually, new members can get the equivalent of 12 months for the price of 10 on Disney+’s Standard or Premium plan, which usually cost £7.99 a month and £10.99 a month respectively.
This gives members access to hit shows like Marvel’s Loki, Star Wars spin-off Ahsoka, and popular reality series The Kardashians and Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story. It also includes hundreds of hours of Disney, Pixar and National Geographic content including Encanto, Lightyear and Limitless with Chris Hemsworth.
Disney+ has also partnered with Samsung to give customers free access when buying eligible devices from a host of tech retailers and mobile providers. John Lewis customers can currently save £100 with the high-spec 43” Neo QLED 4K Ultra HD smart TV that includes six months of Disney+ at no extra cost.
Over at Currys, bargain hunters can pick up a 43” 4K Ultra HD QLED smart TV for for £499, which also includes six months of Disney+. EE customers can get Disney+ free for a year when picking up a new Galaxy S23 handset, with the option of adding Netflix and Apple TV+ to certain plans like the All Rounder.
Three mobile customers can also bag a year of Disney+, as well as Paramount+ free for up to two years.
Join Disney+ to stream the Die Hard collection this Christmas. Alternatively, a host of other Christmas films are available on streaming platforms including Amazon’s Prime Video and Apple TV+.