"Home Alone" is obviously a Christmas movie.
For most reasonable people, " Die Hard" is also a Christmas movie.
"- Yippee-ki-yay, motherf*cker."
- But what if I told you that "Home Alone" is actually a "Die Hard" movie?
This isn't a new theory, but the evidence goes way deeper
than anyone previously thought.
Join us, as we unwrap John Hughes's deep obsession with "Die Hard".
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We're gonna spoil "Die Hard" and "Home Alone".
And your ability to see them as separate movies for the rest of your life.
Also, "Die Hard" is full of graphic content, so make sure the kiddos aren't watching.
If you're ready for it, let's get to work.
"- Happy Trails, Hans."
- John Hughes, writer, and producer of "Home Alone" was a massive "Die Hard" fan.
A "Die Hard" die-hard fan, if you will.
And so two years later, he would hire Chris Columbus to direct the script.
Turns out Columbus was equally obsessed with "Die Hard".
It's a match made in heaven.
So let's see how many homages and easter eggs we can find in this not-so-subtle
ode to the saga at Nakatomi Plaza.
Starting with the plot.
Both films have a protagonist who must act alone to fend off thieves
from a robbery on Christmas Eve.
"- This is my house.
I have to defend it in."
- And different police dispatchers are called to report the situations.
"- You want us to go to your house just to check on him?
- Yes.
- Attention, whoever you are.
This channel is reserved for emergency calls only.
- No f*cking shit, lady! Do l sound like I'm ordering a pizza?"
Notice their Christmas trees?
And when they send a patrol car to inspect,
nothing out of sorts is found.
"- There's no one home. The house looks secure.
- No signs of disturbance. Dispatch."
- Both films feature a Christmas party.
"- Hey, Merry Christmas."
- They both find themselves alone after a family dispute.
"- I know exactly what your idea of our marriage should be.
Be back in a few minutes.
- I hope I never see any jerks again."
- The power goes out.
Phone lines are down.
Someone gets shot in the head.
"- Hello."
- And another character gets shot in the groinal region...
Both heroes encounter Playboy centerfolds.
"- No clothes on anybody. Sickening!"
- They hide in a cramped space.
And they both eavesdrop on the bad guys, giving them an advantage.
We have scenes in which the heroes and the villains cross paths.
Before their true identities are revealed.
"- Hey, hey, you gotta watch out for traffic, son, you know?
- Sorry."
- Both films have scenes in which a dubious cashier questions
the customer's true intentions.
"- I thought you guys just ate donuts.
- They're for my wife. - Yeah.
- Are you here all by yourself?
- Ma'am, I'm 8 years old. You think I would be here alone?"
- At one point, John cuts his bare feet on broken glasses
while Marv has a similar encounter with Christmas ornaments.
There are tumbles downstairs.
Both shot with overhead angles.
The bad guys get torched.
They both dropped defensive weapons down metal shafts.
You can even see how they match the composition with leading lines.
At one point, our heroes both swing and crash through the side of a building.
Both films have a crew of men traveling in the back of a box truck.
And our heroes both have their reunion moment while it snows outside.
But that's just the plot.
The connections go even deeper into the characters themselves.
"- This is it. Don't get scared now."
- There's a suspicious amount of similarities between our two protagonists.
They both have Scottish and Irish ancestry.
John McClane, Kevin McCallister, MacCaulay Culkin.
And let's not forget all these Macs
and a couple more Mcs.
Bonnie Bedilia, who plays McClane's wife in the film is actually
MacCaulay Culkin's aunt in real life.
Coincidence?
"- I don't think so."
- They even have the same hair.
And what about the John connection?
"- Hey, I'm John McClane."
- There's John McClane, John McClane Jr.,
John McTiernan, Big Johnson, and Little Johnson, Jan de Bont.
Close enough.
Even Hans, which is a derivative of Johannes aka John.
Then there's John Hughes, John Heard, John Candy, John Hardy,
John Williams, John Muto, so many Johns.
"- Hello, John. - Hello.
- Hello, John."
- Both John and Kevin are prone to talking to themselves.
"- Oh, John, what the f*ck are you doing?
- Buzz, your girlfriend! Woof!"
- They both have a signature catchphrase.
"- Yippee-ki-yay, motherf*cker.
- Keep the change, ya filthy animal."
- And they both have a moment of clarity looking at family photos.
"- I sure hope I can see 'em swinging on a jungle gym with Al Jr. someday."
- Hoping to see them again.
"- I didn't mean it.
If you come back, I'll never be a pain in the butt again.
I promise."
- Later, they confess to their new friends that maybe they are responsible
for the rifts within their families.
"- Thought it took me a while to figure out, what a jerk I've been.
- I'm in kind of a pain lately.
I said some things I shouldn't have.
I really haven't been too good this year."
- Both confessions lit with dramatic lighting to emphasize their atonement.
"- You think about what I said.
- Alright? - Okay.
- It's nice talking to you.
- Nice talking to you."
- Let's talk about these new friends.
"- You the guy in a car? - What's left of him."
- They're both strangers to the protagonist.
With a thing for shovels.
"- Why don't you wake up and smell what you're shoveling?"
- Old man Marley is assumed to be the South Bend Shovel Slayer,
who supposedly killed some people.
- And Sergeant Al Powell.
Well, he actually did kill someone.
"- I shot a kid."
- With emotional consequences.
- Anyway, I just couldn't bring myself to draw my gun on anybody again.
Both John and Kevin are saved by these strangers
using their weapon of choice in a critical moment.
In the final scene, both Powell and Marley find resolution.
So far we've covered the most obvious connections.
"- You're very perceptive."
- But John Hughes couldn't resist dropping even more easter eggs
that only the most intrepid explorers could find.
"- You guys give up, or are you thirsty for more?"
- Speaking of thirsty, Ellis is served a Coke.
But as we all know, Hughes hated Coca-Cola.
So he has the McCallisters drink Pepsi.
"- Fuller, go easy on the Pepsi."
- Remember this iconic clip?
Don't lady.
"- No f*ckin' shit, lady. Do I sound like I'm orderin' a pizza?"
- This inspired not one, but two pizza delivery scenes.
"- Okay, that's 122.50."
- The second with a bit of "Die Hard" ess gunfire.
"- A lovely cheese pizza just from me."
- The password to the Nakatomi vault is a 'Akagi', which translates to 'Red Castle'.
Do we see a 'Red Castle' in "Home Alone"?
"- You tell me."
- Remember this classic one-liner?
"- Geronimo, motherf*cker!"
- Geronimo. Hmm...
Sounds familiar.
Ah, yes.
Now I remember.
John's limo driver is named Argyle.
Can you spot the homage in this scene?
That's right.
Uncle Frank is in an argyle sweater vest.
"- Look what you did, your little jerk."
- Speaking of Argyle, he chills out in the garage with John's Teddy Bear,
which we can see reference in this scene.
Kevin also trapped with only a stuffed Teddy Bear to keep him company.
Another animal reference is Buzz's Tarantula,
who plays a pivotal role in Kevin's escape.
But wait, there's no spiders in "Die Hard".
Think again.
Now, what's Kevin's address?
"- 671 Lincoln Boulevard."
- Lincoln.
Just like our favorite patrolman's call sign.
"- Lincoln-30, over.
- This is 8-Lincoln-30. Come on in, over."
- How about the color pallets?
Most people assume all the red and green in "Home Alone" is to accent the Christmas.
But in reality, this is also a nod to the extensive use of these colors in "Die Hard".
Red for the color of blood.
Green for the color of money.
Powell loves 'Twinkies'.
So Hughes gives this little clue in Buzz's room.
Enhance, enhance, wuolah.
In all seriousness, we love John Hughes and Chris Columbus
and we're forever grateful for the classics they gave us.
But there you have it.
100% proof that "Home Alone" is a giant love letter to "Die Hard".
Don't even get us started on "Home Alone 2".
"- You wanna know the secret to surviving and travel?
"- Come out to the coast. We'll get together, have a few laughs."
- What did we miss?
Keep the investigation going in the comments.
"- If this is their idea of Christmas, I gotta be here for New Year's."
- Until next time, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year
from the team here at StudioBinder.