Rainy, Cloudy, Gloomy, Snowy Movies
November 2, 2011 2:31 PM

Rainy, cloudy, snowy, gloomy movies. Can you help me out?

Sigh. Ok, I like the Twilight movies and I realized why - they're kinda gloomy! Not Eeyore gloomy, but weather gloomy. The Twilight movies take place in Forks, Washington. So, the setting is quite rainy.

And I love this! And I'll watch the movies over and over again to get that rainy day feeling.

I live in Arizona and I hate the sun. Having some shows and movies with rainy, snowy, gloomy weather settings really help me.

Can you give me some other movies that have that feel or have significant scenes of rain, snow or other weather gloom?

Some movies that I get that feeling from: The Jason Bourne movies, Twilight movies, The Holiday (the scenes in Surrey), The Others.

I'm a PG, PG-13 type of gal. TV shows are okay too. Not too much into horror/gore.
posted by Sassyfras to Media & Arts (51 answers total) 15 users marked this as a favorite
Robert Altman's Quintet takes place in a future ice age. I remember getting freezing just watching it - even despite Paul Newman.
posted by still_wears_a_hat at 2:38 PM on November 2, 2011


Withnail & I
posted by hydrophonic at 2:38 PM on November 2, 2011


John Huston's The Dead.

My Life as a Dog.

At the risk of being too obvious, The Ice Storm.
posted by ambrosia at 2:42 PM on November 2, 2011


Let the Right One In
posted by Babblesort at 2:47 PM on November 2, 2011


Smilla's Sense of Snow
posted by argonauta at 2:50 PM on November 2, 2011


The Seven Samarai
Rashomon
posted by hydrophonic at 2:52 PM on November 2, 2011


The first movie I associated with this is Working Girl. Lots of gloomy day NYC skyscraper shots.
posted by hanoixan at 2:52 PM on November 2, 2011


Season 1 of AMC's The Killing (aired summer 2011 - not the original 2007 Danish series).
posted by ceribus peribus at 2:54 PM on November 2, 2011


Just noting that OP wants PG/PG13 non-horror/gore films. Not many of these recommendations seem sensitive to those criteria. I'm struggling a little to think of examples myself: why are so many rainy/snowy films R-rated?
posted by yoink at 2:55 PM on November 2, 2011


Not really the same, but Being Human (mostly UK but also US) are pretty fun and feel different from the midwest. Plus they have vampires, werewolves, and ghosts.
posted by Strass at 2:56 PM on November 2, 2011


If you are a PG, PG-13 type of gal and you don't want too much into horror/gore, don't watch Let The Right One In. Amazing film, but not for you. Babblesort, seriously?

It's totally '80s cheesy, but you might like The Goonies, filmed in Astoria, Oregon.
posted by Specklet at 2:56 PM on November 2, 2011


Oh, and Babette's Feast!
posted by argonauta at 2:57 PM on November 2, 2011


Bladerunner features rain almost throughout.
posted by rongorongo at 3:00 PM on November 2, 2011


Not a movie, but I got the same vibe from the new NBC TV show Grimm. It's filmed in Portland - lots of gloomy weather and mossy trees.
posted by cecic at 3:05 PM on November 2, 2011


I'd recommend the new(ish) Jane Eyre. Gloomy.
posted by revikim at 3:13 PM on November 2, 2011


The Day After Tomorrow.
posted by jschu at 3:14 PM on November 2, 2011


Yep my bad. Missed the last sentence of the question. Let the Right One In is renowned for the use of cold and snow as an integral part of the movie so it jumped to mind immediately but it's probably outside your criteria.
posted by Babblesort at 3:33 PM on November 2, 2011


Thanks so far.

I am looking for movies that are either PG or PG-13. NOT horror/gory. NOT R.
posted by Sassyfras at 3:34 PM on November 2, 2011


Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind sticks in my mind as very winter-y overall.
posted by deludingmyself at 3:34 PM on November 2, 2011


Oh shoot, it's R! I wouldn't have guessed that. It's probably on the PG-13 side of R (language? innuendo?), but there you are. No gore, though.
posted by deludingmyself at 3:37 PM on November 2, 2011


Le Notti Bianche by Luchino Visconti is wonderfully gloomy. And it's shot entirely on set! They built a whole town basically. The fog scenes are shot through huge sheets of fabric that the actors had to practice walking between without touching them. Not rated since it's an older Italian film but I would say definitely PG. No nudity, violence, swearing, etc.
posted by perhapses at 3:47 PM on November 2, 2011


Hanna (espcially if the Bourne movies are your thing)
Italian for Beginners
Mostly Martha
posted by bonehead at 3:48 PM on November 2, 2011


A Simple Plan. OK, it's rated R, apparently for violence. It's no more violent than a Bourne movie.
posted by peep at 3:48 PM on November 2, 2011


Sev7en is set in a city where it rains nearly all the time.

Ye gods, don't watch Se7en if you don't like gore. A great movie, but disturbing.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 4:33 PM on November 2, 2011


Hero - the first third of the film is set is a very damp chess house.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 4:38 PM on November 2, 2011


Winter's Bone is set in the Ozarks in fall or winter, and it's pretty dreary.

Maybe old episodes of Northern Exposure? PG and fun, at least as I recall.

Cold Weather is an indie movie set in Portland.

Maybe Cold Mountain?
posted by bluedaisy at 4:55 PM on November 2, 2011


Bergman's Winter Light.
posted by ubersturm at 5:06 PM on November 2, 2011


If you don't mind classics. The Ghost and Mrs. Muir is very rainy day and gloomy. Of course, it helps that it's in black and white... ^_^
posted by patheral at 5:09 PM on November 2, 2011


Winter Sleepers by Tom Tykwer is one of my favorite films. It is slow, hypnotic, and brooding, but has the snowbound vibe you might like. The plot revolves around a car accident and an enigmatic guy who may have amnesia--takes place in the snowy alps. Beautiful.
posted by Kafkaesque at 5:54 PM on November 2, 2011


Note: While Winter Sleepers in unrated, it does have some sexy time.
posted by Kafkaesque at 5:56 PM on November 2, 2011


The River (1984)
Legends of the Fall has some gorgeous scenes.
posted by bluedaisy at 6:03 PM on November 2, 2011


"The Ghost Writer" - suspense, rated PG-13. With Ewan McGregor.
posted by foxhat10 at 6:03 PM on November 2, 2011


On The Waterfront?
posted by bq at 6:34 PM on November 2, 2011


The Winter Guest.
posted by gudrun at 8:27 PM on November 2, 2011


If you are looking for gloomy, overcast, or snowy settings, you are a prime candidate for making friends with Canadian cinema!

Here are a few to get you started:

New Waterford Girl: comedy-drama about a girl who longs to escape her life in a tiny coastal town in Nova Scotia
Away From Her: drama based on a short story by Alice Munro, about the effects of Alzheimer's on a long term marriage; stars Julie Christie and Gordon Pinsent
The Necessities of Life (Ce qui'il faut pour vivre): drama about an Inuit man who has to move from his tiny remote Arctic community to Quebec City for medical treatment
Marion Bridge: drama starring Molly Parker; features a very, very young Ellen Page; it's about three sisters who come back to their Nova Scotia hometown to care for their dying mother
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 8:44 PM on November 2, 2011


Seasons 1-5 of the X-Files, when it was filmed in Vancouver, seemed to be mostly rainy and gloomy. And the 2nd X-Files movie is very, very snowy.
posted by puritycontrol at 8:54 PM on November 2, 2011


Seconding bluedaisy re: Winter's Bone. "The topography of chilly hollows and ragged forests is filmed in a way that emphasizes its bleakness." Great film. It is R, though it probably earned the R with one scene that you can see coming and could mute/look away.
posted by mlis at 9:07 PM on November 2, 2011


They filmed every single scene in Groundhog Day in every type of weather, until they eventually decided on the overcast and cold day.
posted by emyd at 9:29 PM on November 2, 2011


Recommending movies based on the novels of Jane Austen: Pursuasion, Sense & Sensibility and Pride & Prejudice all feature scenes with overcast skies and torrential downpours. (While the latter version of P&P is less respected, and I'm hesitant to recommend it lest I be booed by Austen fans, you'll get lots of rain.)
posted by kbar1 at 11:35 PM on November 2, 2011


The Gold Rush
Dr. Zhivago
Breakfast at Tiffany's
The French Lieutenant's Woman
The Informer
The Bishop's Wife
Queen Christina
Anna Christie
Jeremiah Johnson
I Confess......
posted by brujita at 11:58 PM on November 2, 2011


40+ comments and no Sleepy Hollow?
posted by codswallop at 1:33 AM on November 3, 2011


The Scottish climate lends itself to this type of film very well: Whisky Galore, I Know Where I'm Going, The Thirty Nine Steps (1935 edition) - even the Harry Potter movies. Also TV such as Case Histories, Rebus.
posted by rongorongo at 2:23 AM on November 3, 2011


I watched Runaway Train at the Varsity Theater in Dinkytown during a bitter February cold snap (think 20 to 30 degrees below zero). The theater's heating system was fairly inadequate for any Minnesota winter weather, but was especially unfit on that night. Coldest damn movie ever!
posted by marsha56 at 5:30 AM on November 3, 2011


The Road: the weather in this movie can hardly get more gloomy...
posted by rom1 at 6:38 AM on November 3, 2011


Snow and drama: Doctor Zhivago
posted by aimedwander at 6:44 AM on November 3, 2011


Bridget Jones Diary?
posted by twinA at 9:18 AM on November 3, 2011


I'm looking forward to watching some of these. Thank you to those who took my rating criteria seriously and gave me some stellar suggestions within the parameters I set forth.
posted by Sassyfras at 9:50 AM on November 3, 2011


Slightly off your request because it's animated, but Ponyo is set in torrential rainstorms
posted by Mchelly at 9:53 AM on November 3, 2011


If it is 'R', I am not interested as I have indicated twice in this post.
posted by Sassyfras at 11:39 AM on November 3, 2011


[Folks this is getting a little nuts. OP has said PG movies. Can you maybe not suggest movies that don't fit the OPs guidelines?]
posted by jessamyn at 3:10 PM on November 3, 2011


The Ring
Trainspotting
posted by ethnomethodologist at 4:13 PM on November 3, 2011


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