Variations on a Theme
I love snow scenes, as a general rule. Anything showing snow-covered grounds, snow storms, blizzards, gently falling snow...any variation as long as it doesn't involve howling winds. Especially period snow, like Coppola uses in The Godfather, Part II. Pine trees covered with the stuff. Galoshes, show shovels, chains on tires, ear muffs, scarves, knitted snow hats with little white reindeers. Eisenhower-era Fords, Studebakers, Chevys, Cadillacs, Edsels and Ramblers parked on the roads and just blanketed with it.
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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on October 28, 2008 at 11:26 AM
comment #1
Rich S.
says ...
And yet you hate A Christmas Story, which is about 75% snow scenes. Go figure.
Posted by Rich S.
at October 28, 2008 11:48 AM
comment #2
Mark
says ...
the crackles of a long-standing fire, wool loose turtlenecks, a deliberate game of chess being played, Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas Album turning, a haunting newspaper-clipped photo of Ivan Drago taped to the mirror....
Posted by Mark
at October 28, 2008 11:48 AM
comment #3
Sean
says ...
One of my favorites for this is A Simple Plan.
Posted by Sean
at October 28, 2008 11:53 AM
comment #4
p.Vice
says ...
So you enjoy blizzards but not howling winds... are we to assume you're plugging Dairy Queen products now?
Posted by p.Vice
at October 28, 2008 11:53 AM
comment #5
longrunner
says ...
Let's see what you think after a winter in New Jersey.
Posted by longrunner
at October 28, 2008 12:04 PM
comment #6
actionman
says ...
Sean -- A Simple Plan is one of the best snow-bound movies ever made. I love that film. Raimi's best.
Posted by actionman
at October 28, 2008 12:06 PM
comment #7
kinks541
says ...
Well, then a perfect Halloween movie for you would have to be "The Fearless Vampire Killers," no?
Posted by kinks541
at October 28, 2008 12:13 PM
comment #8
btwnproductions
says ...
We rarely see snow scenes like this in Brooklyn. The last big snow was in Feb. 2006, and that was off the streets quick as the weather warmed up again. I think it snowed twice last winter, minor amounts only. As someone who neither has to shovel it nor commute in it, I miss it.
PORTRAIT OF JENNIE has beautiful snowy vistas of Central Park. NY is magical right after a snowstorm. (But awful dreary once it begins to melt into dirty, difficult-to-negotiate slush piles.)
I once saw Roger Ebert beside himself at fake snow during a screening of RUNNING SCARED (1986). "Look! It's like they just spray-painted the trees with the stuff!" He was right.
Posted by btwnproductions
at October 28, 2008 12:22 PM
comment #9
Chase Kahn
says ...
I agree -- obvious films like FARGO feature the snow-scapes as another character. Recent movies like FROZEN RIVER or SNOW ANGELS give off a snuggly, cold, desperate vibe that really works in its favor.
Posted by Chase Kahn
at October 28, 2008 12:26 PM
comment #10
Karsten
says ...
No mention yet of the brilliant scenes set in snow in LET THE RIGHT ONE IN? Scandinavian snow is the best.
Posted by Karsten
at October 28, 2008 12:27 PM
comment #11
Sabina E
says ...
Winter is only fun for 2 weeks (around Christmas). but 4 months of winter snow? Ugh NO WAY!
I prefer summer all year round.
Posted by Sabina E
at October 28, 2008 12:32 PM
comment #12
rr3333
says ...
Most of 'Beautiful Girls' took place in snowy Minnesota. Definitely added to my appreciation of the film ...
Posted by rr3333
at October 28, 2008 1:17 PM
comment #13
Dan Revill
says ...
Come on, we all know the first half hour of The Empire Strikes Back can never be topped in terms of the use of snow.
Posted by Dan Revill
at October 28, 2008 3:00 PM
comment #14
thevisceral
says ...
Greatest use of snow: Scarface
Posted by thevisceral
at October 28, 2008 3:05 PM
comment #15
bluefugue
says ...
>Sean -- A Simple Plan is one of the best snow-bound movies ever made.
Slaughterhouse Five is pretty good.
Posted by bluefugue
at October 28, 2008 3:50 PM
comment #16
lipranzer
says ...
I also love snow scenes, preferring them to rain scenes, which I think are way overused. Some of my favorites (besides the already cited SIMPLE PLAN and BEAUTIFUL GIRLS - although I thought that took place in upstate New York):
THE SHINING: I'm one of those who find the film wanting, but there's no doubt the climactic chase scene is made all the more terrifying because of the snow.
IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE: Call me a big old sap if you want, but Jimmy Stewart running in the snow when he realizes he's alive again always gets to me.
KILL BILL VOL. 1: The fight between Uma Thurman and Lucy Liu has an eerie stillness to it thanks to the snow.
EDWARD SCISSORHANDS: Not technically a snow scene, I guess, but Winona Ryder twirling around under the flakes Johnny Depp is creating through his sculpture is one of the loveliest things Tim Burton ever shot.
And then there are the films that use snow well the whole way through, like both versions of THE THING, THE ICE STORM, THE CLAIM, MCCABE AND MRS. MILLER, and both versions of INSOMNIA.
Posted by lipranzer
at October 28, 2008 5:37 PM
comment #17
frankbooth
says ...
30 Days of Night gets the award for phoniest depiction of winter.
It looked like they shot it in a warehouse in New Zealand.
Posted by frankbooth
at October 28, 2008 8:44 PM
comment #18
vp19
says ...
Snow never fails to evoke memories of my 1960s boyhood in Syracuse (where you learn to like snow).
Posted by vp19
at October 29, 2008 8:48 AM
comment #19
Edward
says ...
We get an inch of snow and it's 24/7 news coverage of the Storm the Crippled Portland...(Oregon that is). Bunch of sissies when it comes to the white stuff.
Posted by Edward
at October 29, 2008 12:17 PM
comment #20
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