GUNS, terrorism, murder … they're not things you traditionally associate with a Christmas movie, but then again, Die Hard isn't a traditional Christmas movie.

The 1988 action flick is 131 minutes of explosive awesomeness which transformed Bruce Willis from a lowly TV actor to an international film star and made the phrase "Yippee ki-yay motherf***er" one of the most quotable lines in movie history.

But before you inevitably settle down in front of the Christmas tree this year to re-watch this killer classic, check out these surprising facts about the movie which Time Out says is, "a hi-tech thriller with a human heart."

MacGyver could have been McClane: Bruce Willis may have said yes to the role, but he wasn't the first one offered the part. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Burt Reynolds and Harrison Ford all passed on playing John McClane. According to Uproxx, even MacGyver himself, Richard Dean Anderson wasn't keen, which is a shame, because it would have been great to see him beat the baddies with nothing more than a lighter and a paperclip.

Bruce Willis' hearing was injured: The director, John McTiernan wanted the gunshot effects to be as realistic as possible. Remember the scene where McClane is hiding under a desk and he shoots one of the terrorists? The bang was so loud, and in such a confined space, that it actually caused permanent damage to Bruce Willis' hearing.

The terrorists don't speak German: In fact, the gun-toting actors (who are meant to be German) are actually just speaking gibberish throughout the film. When the movie was released in Germany, the movie was dubbed to explain that the terrorists were actually from 'Europe.' Wonder if they fell for it …

Alan Rickman was scared of gunfire: The actor had only done stage work before signing on to play Hans Gruber and he wasn't used to the loud sound effects used on a film set. Every time he fired a gun he recoiled in shock, which wasn't ideal for a character that's meant to be an intimidating career terrorist. The director had to edit around this problem, so that's why you rarely see Rickman's face when he pulls a trigger.

Die Hard had to be filmed at night: Before Die Hard, Willis was just a TV actor appearing alongside Cybill Shepherd in a show called Moonlighting. He was still under contract for the sitcom when he was filming Die Hard, so he had to fulfil his TV duties during the day and could only film the action flick at night.

That falling scene was real: How did Alan Rickman manage to convey such terror and shock as Hans Gruber fell to his death? Because it wasn't an act. Rickman volunteered to be dropped from 12 metres for the scene, and there's a rumour that the producers dropped him on the count of two instead of three to get a more genuine reaction. Wisely, this was the last scene filmed, which meant they didn't have to try to work with a cranky Rickman after the filming was finished.