Die Hard isn’t a Christmas film, claims the British public. But Pillion reminds us that the finest festive films reflect the complexities of the season

Can Die Hard – the 1988 action movie starring Bruce Willis as an NYPD detective hoping to reconcile with his estranged wife on Christmas Eve – be called a Christmas film? The annual debate had officially reached my street WhatsApp group when a happily married couple decided to launch a poll. With 18 votes against four, the result from my road was a landslide “yes”. One neighbour even shared a picture of their Die Hard tree baubles to prove the point.

But an official poll by the British Board of Film Classification has now asserted the contrary – with 44% deciding that Die Hard should not be designated a Christmas movie, against 38% in favour. To some, even with the odd tinsel-strewn tree thrown in, the gun fights, violence and hostage-taking just don’t feel festive. For an admirable 5% of respondents, it remains their favourite Christmas film of all time.