Happy Edwin everyone, everyone. This is Patrick Coffin with the three movies, Christmas theme movies you must watch before you die. Speaking of

die, let's begin with Die Hard. I'm going to reply right now to the animal

debate over whether or not Die Hard is a Christmas movie by saying that Die Hard is in fact a Christmas movie.

Yeah, I know it was released in July of 1988. I know it does not feature the baby Jesus or King

Herod and I know that the audience applauding when a lot of people are shot at

may seem a little bit out of line with the spirit of Silent Night and We Three Kings.

But this movie, directed by John McTearnan,

based on a 1979 novel, Nothing Last Forever

by Roderick Thorpe is the sequel to a 1966 movie another adaptation

starring Frank Sinatra. Die Hard nonetheless contains frequent references to

Christmas which we'll get into just a moment. Interesting sidebar to the Making of Die Hard.

When the detective was shot as an adaptation,

it starred Frank Sinatra, as I mentioned,

in the title role.

And according to his contract, he had to be the first one to be offered

the role in the sequel.

But the chairman of the board was then 73 years old at the time and well I would

have paid double to hear Frank Sinatra deliver the Yippecaiy line.

He probably would not be able to fit inside the ceiling vent or run around with bloody feet

for two hours. And so the role of John McLean this time went to

Bruce Willis fresh from moonlighting and that launched his big screen career.

In fact the early posters focus on the building, not Bruce Willis's face.

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