Op de vijfde rij at Die Hard

In a real Christmas special of Op de vijfde rij... Cesar Majorana gets involved in the discussion about action classic Die Hard: is it a Christmas film or not? And why is that even important? He talks about it with a meme expert, the biggest Die Hard fan on earth and one of the screenwriters of the film.

Podcast From the Fifth Row... at Die Hard

illustration: Aafke Bouman

The ultimate Christmas film?

Every year, countless people claim that Die Hard (1988) is the greatest Christmas film of all time, decorating their Christmas tree with John McClane baubles and campaigning online using memes.

Are those people right? And what does it say about how we also experience films outside the cinema seats, when we experience them culturally, with each other? In a special Christmas special from Op de vijfde rij... Cesar Majorana talks about it with a meme expert, the biggest Die Hard fan on earth and a Hollywood legend who was on the set of the film.

Bonus materiaal: Steven E. de Souza on Die Hard

For our Christmas special Op de vijfde rij at Die Hard, we spoke at length with Steven E. de Souza, one of the two screenwriters of the 1988 action classic. And because it was such a rich and special conversation, we decided to make a longer version and publish the interview as bonus material. He talks about the casting of Bruce Willis and the countless problems on the set, which he had to solve under enormous time pressure.

Haven't listened to the Christmas special yet? Then do that before you start this bonus episode.

Die Hard Christmas ornament

Download the template and craft your own Die Hard Christmas ornament.

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Op de vijfde rij at Die Hard

The ultimate Christmas film?

Bonus materiaal: Steven E. de Souza on Die Hard

Die Hard Christmas ornament

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