Winter has come. Not the winter illuminated by lights and tinsel, but the one where the skies are grey, the trees are bare, the wind bites and the ground is white. For many lovers of cinema, it’s a perfect time to think warm thoughts…leading to movies that show the sun shining with perhaps a shoreline. That’s fine and good, but winter can still provide the setting for some great storytelling. Perhaps it’s the harshness and bleakness of the season with the occasional displays of beauty, or the promise of life after death, or maybe it’s the opportunity to snuggle up in a blanket with a loved one and a beloved hot beverage…a comfort that feels so much better when watching a film that truly embraces what it means to be cold. And with that, here comes Reel Speak’s Top 10 Best Films to Watch in the Winter.
Holiday movies are the easy, and natural go-to when we’re talking Winter films. THE POLAR EXPRESS (2004) is buried in snow and would be a perfect choice to the match the atmosphere of snow falling outside. This list however will focus on the non-holiday films, with the ones that use the snow and cold not just as a set dressing but as part of the story. Many films have done this over the years, ranging from whodunits (WIND RIVER), fantasy (THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA), sci-fi (SNOWPIERCER), tragedy (MISERY), and family films (ICE AGE). For documentary lovers, there’s always THE MARCH OF THE PENGUINS (2005), and for classic film lovers…there’s the Charlie Chaplin-led GOLD RUSH (1925), and the cold-as-hell, Russia-set DOCTOR ZHIVAGO (1965). Here now are Reel Speak’s picks for the films that use the cold so well, it’s practically a character.
So bundle up…
10. ALIVE (1993)
Frank Marshall directed this survival drama about the true story of a Uruguayan rugby team whose plane crashes in the Andes mountains in 1972. The hook of the story is that the survivors eventually turned to cannibalism to survive, an element in the film that is not portrayed as gross as it sounds. The cold and harsh winter of the Andes mountains is a heavy factor, as the rugby team, mostly comprised of youths, are woefully unequipped to handle the conditions.
9. STAR WARS: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980)
Only the first act of the first STAR WARS sequel, often considered to be the best in the franchise, takes place in the snow…but what an act it is. Shot on location in Norway in difficult conditions, EMPIRE uses the remote ice planet of Hoth as a place for characters to re-establish and grow, and suffer the might of the evil galactic Empire striking back. The battle scene is one of the best ever to put to film and still holds up to this day, and the icy winds can certainly be felt. And in a subtle, yet clever bookend…Han Solo (Harrison Ford), finishes the film frozen.
8. THE REVENANT (2015)
Alejandro Inarritu directed this Oscar winner about a frontiersman (Leonardo DiCaprio), stranded out in the wilderness on a revenge mission. Filmed in various snowy locations using only natural lighting, REVENANT makes the harsh winters look beautiful and dangerous…while serving as an adversary.
7. INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS (2013)
Joel and Ethan Coen brings us this black comedy about a struggling 1960’s folk singer (Oscar Isaac), who has no manner of luck at all. Davis spends most of his time out in the cold streets and subways of NYC, drifting from place to place without a winter coat…which makes us feel all the more sorry for him. Audiences can’t help but to ask why Davis doesn’t throw in the towel, but a love for music keeps him going…despite how cold it gets.
6. FROZEN (2010)
Most Wintertime films can be pretty bleak, so why not throw in a family film to lighten things up. This box office hit, Oscar winner, and cultural smash literally uses the snow as a character. Winter never looked so beautiful or was more fun on the screen.
5. FARGO (1996)
The Coen Brothers also helmed this black comedy with an intricate scheme involving kidnapping, extortion, and murder…which was an Oscar nominee, cultural hit, and inspiration for a TV series. Taking place during a winter in Minnesota and North Dakota, FARGO makes excellent use of the weather, where snow is used to bury things and the cold making things tough for the crooks and cops.
4. GROUNDHOG DAY (1993)
The late great Harold Ramis directed his former GHOSTBUSTERS co-star Bill Murray in this comedy about a weatherman (Murray), doomed to relive the same day over and over. Winter doesn’t come into play too much in this cultural smash, but over time the film has become a standard, annual revisit on every February 2nd.
3. THE THING (1982)
John Carpenter directs and Kurt Russell stars in this sci-fi horror thriller about researchers in Antarctica fighting off an alien with the ability to assume identities. It’s a gore-fest that smartly plays with our heads in trying to figure out who is an imposter at any given time, and the fear-factor is ramped up knowing that the crew can’t go anywhere…surrounded by ice, wind, and extreme cold. And don’t dare dismiss the original version from 1951, which is just as good if not better.
2. THE SHINING (1980)
Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of the Stephen King novel, which follows the Torrance family as they act as caretakers for a hotel deep in the Colorado mountains. As the snow piles up outside, so do the supernatural threats on the inside. There is nothing more terrifying than a closed-quarters story, especially when isolation is in play, and the Torrance family is stuck in the hotel, surrounded by ghosts and endless snow.
1. THE GREY (2011)
Liam Neeson leads the way as a big-game hunter with a crew of oil workers stranded in the wilderness of Alaska after a plane crash…left to face the harsh elements while being hunted by wolves. The weather is an adversary just as formidable as the wolves are to the survivors, who are likely to kill each other at some point. Director Joe Carnahan explores life and death with several layers at work, and no one can watch Neeson plunge into an icy river without feeling the chills. If the cold weather has the ability to bring out life amongst death, then this is the film to see it unfold.
Reel Speak's Top 10 Films to Watch in the Winter
- THE GREY
- THE SHINING
- THE THING
- GROUNDHOG DAY
- FARGO
- FROZEN
- INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS
- THE REVENANT
- STAR WARS: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
- ALIVE
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