I must have seen it twenty times or more. Even watching it today, it still has a magical quality for me that no other movie matches. I love the scene where the tornado finally releases the house and it crashes down on the wicked witch of the east. Then Dorothy opens the door and suddenly the dull grey Kansas sky is transformed into a kaleidoscope of colours in the land of Oz. Of course I am talking about the Wizard of Oz, not only a great movie for the special effects, acting and musical numbers, but in my opinion one of the better weather movies ever made. Considering that it was made in 1939, the tornado snaking around in the distance seems very real as people scramble for safety.
There have been many movies over the years that have had weather as a central theme, or have scenes that are etched in our minds involving weather phenomenon. There have been quite a few disaster epics such as The Perfect Storm, Twister and The Day After Tomorrow. With a major dose of ‘suspension of belief’, meteorologically speaking, it is still possible to go along for the ride and be entertained by them. Twister with its flying bovines and multi close calls with seemingly vengeful tornadoes (I think I detected one growling), is still a lot of fun. The special effects in The Day After Tomorrow are incredible especially the ‘flash freeze’ sequence. For me, The Perfect Storm is the best of the three from a factual point of view, as it is based on a real event.
Action or disaster types haven’t cornered the market on movies with significant weather content. Considered the best musical ever made, Singin’ in the Rain, with love stricken Gene Kelly bouncing around an illuminated city street totally oblivious to the pouring rain, is one of the most famous scenes in movie making history. Comedy is no exception. Charlie Chaplin, in The Gold Rush, forever immortalized the effect of the long and bitter Yukon winter. The funniest scene for me shows one Klondiker pursuing another who in his deluded mind has turned into a chicken! Ice Age, with its witty dialogue and interesting animated characters would be a favourite even if it didn’t have weather or in this case climate change as a theme.
While I was making a list the other day of all the movies that involve weather in one way or another, I thought it would be a great idea to find out what others think are their favourites. I would be interested in hearing your choices that involve weather in a central or secondary way. If you like, let me know in a few sentences what it is you like about the weather sequences and how they add to the overall enjoyment of the movie. Please respond to this post or email me at envirobc@telus.net
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