We’ve had some wonderfully varied songs about summer. What about your favourite movies depicting the events of many people’s favourite season?
Hellish summers in the city. Idyllic summers in the countryside and on the beach.
Hot, confusing, rainy, erotic, exciting, sticky, sad, hilarious, passionate, terrifying………
There’s an enormous variety to be had. Beachside larks, bloodthirsty sharks, idyllic parks ….
Things have already been kicked off by @black-celebration with a wonderful Spike Lee clip on the Bummer Summer.
Let’s start with iconic Ms Monroe from the Seven Year Itch.
Breaking Away
More of a “gap year” movie but it does seem to be set during summer.
Predictable but brilliant coming of age script, it just rings true. This is former high school football star Mike talking about his living in his hometown…
I gotta read in the newspapers about some hot-shot kid, new star of the college team. Every year, it’s gonna be a new one. Every year it’s never gonna be me. I’m just gonna be Mike. Twenty year-old Mike. Thirty year-old Mike.
The film is also very funny
Brilliant choice, Cookie. It’s years since I saw it but I remember it well. The central character’s obsession with all things Italian was hilarious.
Bergman’s sensual Summer with Monika.
http://youtu.be/_-oyL2o3QXs
Yes, the Stockholm archipelago really is that beautiful.
Thanks to the skinny dipping scene, Harriet Andersson suddenly had the most famous bum on the planet.
Every summer brings new blockbusters but very few of them are about summer.
Jaws is the great exception: the film that changed the swimming habits of a generation.
Summer in Scotland? A strike by the bin men and rats. The wonderful Ratcatcher. Brave heart it ain’t.
Not cheating! Just trying to jog my memory a little.
Anyway. I stumbled across this excellent list of films about summer romances.
http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/aug/01/the-10-best-summer-romance-films
Several here I’d never heard of too.
Like this: The myth of the American sleepover.
http://youtu.be/KD9tAGyIRCo
Body Heat, you can feel the humidity in this film, which I think is heavily influenced by the classic Double Indemnity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RvIwOa6xQ4
That looks like a classic noir. Summer in Florida? Caliente indeed.
About the time I was allowed to stay in while my parents went out BBC2 decided to start showing a series of foreign (if you’re in the UK, which I was) films late at night. Consequently I’ve always had a soft spot for Pauline a la Plage, to the point where I have it on DVD, just in case I ever need to be able to see it on a whim.
Ah yes. One of the films that got me into French cinema through the BBC2 Friday late seasons of foreign language film. I can reach out from my seat here and grab my DVD copy, along with 16 other Eric Rohmer movies.
Fantastique! Many of Rohmer’s films seem to be set in summer. Sorry that was a gross generalisation. It just feels that way.
Coming of age summer movies are a whole sub-genre. Young person meets older, experienced stranger and a passionate affair ensues.
Summer of 42
All things fair
An education
Another sub-genre coming up: holiday films.
Cliff in glorious technicolour.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pyb5GMwLRuk
National Lampoon’s Vacation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXaJt016o8U
My absolute favourite summer movie (and one of the best films ever IMHO) – Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot. Sheer genius.
Before we carry on, it’s time for some camp humour.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFGWrL5FJ9Q
Another summer sub-genre: summer camp horror movies.
A kind soul on IMDB has made a list:
http://www.imdb.com/list/ls054710201/
Most famous is Friday the 13th but it’s a thriving genre.
Here’s Bloody Bloody Bible Camp: horny Christians meet psychopath.
Bull Durham
Begins in spring and ends in autumn
Written by an ex professional baseball player it’s one of the best sport films ever made, endlessly quotable, “You couldn’t hit water if you fell out of a fucking boat”
Most films of this type have the words “It’s not really about baseball” somewhere in the advertising but this IS about baseball. Huge slabs would probably be unintelligible if you know nothing about the sport.
I know nothing about baseball. But I may give it a try and see how much I get out of it. The dialogue sounds top notch.
I loved another baseball movie, the remake of Bad News Bears with Billy Bob Thornton. A wonderful film which probably also belongs on this thread.