Ten Hot Films For That Summer Heat
Written by Andreas Babiolakis
Summer is almost here in Toronto, and the weather is getting nice and hot. The temperature is only going to continue to rise as well. So, let’s get prepared with some boiling cinema: the works that will make you feel as stinking hot as it feels outside. Here are works that take place in deserts, near fire, or other humid, sticky conditions. On the other hand, you can wait until winter to watch these and feel that artificial warmth radiate off your screen, but I’m sure you’d want something a little more sympathetic to how you feel. So, here are ten hot films for that summer heat you’re going to be feeling.
Do the Right Thing
Do the Right Thing takes place at the hottest time of the year, and tensions are rising. Indoors or outdoors, everyone in this picture looks exhausted from the heat, as they are drenched in sweat. Fans aren’t enough. Mirroring the boiling point of racism and prejudice in a New York City block that was bound to overflow, Do the Right Thing is certainly a worthy entry on a list of this nature.
Lawrence of Arabia
Enough of this Best Picture winner revolves around the dry heat of Arabia. There are specific moments, especially the crossing of the Nefud Desert, which feels especially hot. Toss in quicksand traps, sandstorm winds, and the whitest hot sand you may ever find on screen, and you have Lawrence of Arabia: a smouldering epic. Lemonade has never been more refreshing.
Greed
No matter which version of this gargantuan silent epic you watch (two hours, four hours, or, somehow, the coveted nine hour version that has yet to be rediscovered), you will always wind up feeling like you are burning alive by the latter portions of Greed. This money-based trek winds up in Death Valley, and the film stock is tinted a bright, golden yellow to match the temperature on screen. Have some water nearby for this one (due to its duration and its on-screen heat).
Apocalypse Now
We need to have at least one jungle based film on here, and Apocalypse Now’s Vietnam-Cambodian connection will deliver in this department. What sets it above similarly balmy films are the images of explosions, the orange skies that overlook the war, and that God forsaken napalm that Colonel Kilgore adores so much. Mix the weather and the warfare together, and you’re going to be sweating as much as the characters on screen are.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Sergio Leone’s magnum opus takes place during the heated American Civil War, and the adventures of the title three characters crosses over many landscapes (most of them barren, dry, and boiling). The Good, the Bad and the Ugly gets additional points for the desert sequence full of blisters, dry lips, and the whitest, hottest sun you’d only see in your nightmares.
Lessons of Darkness
Werner Herzog took the horrific images of the endless fires of Kuwait and provided his analysis of the complicated human experience in Lessons of Darkness. For fifty minutes, the real oil fields engulfed in flames are shot, studied, and presented as philosophical talking points. It is one of the more overwhelming documentaries you may ever see, but at least Herzog’s soft voice combats these visual infernos the tiniest bit.
Walkabout
Australian New Wave introduced international audiences to the blistering conditions of the outback, and Walkabout is certainly a prime example of this. Despite being a film that embraces escapism, Walkabout’s clearly hot climate makes some of this trek feel at least a little bit uncomfortable. The on-screen heat is liberating in some ways, however, and at least the landscape is presented lovingly.
Mad Max: Fury Road
Then you have a film like Mad Max: Fury Road, where none of its setting feels appealing at all. The sand isn’t even just orange: it’s on its way to red. The fires and explosions erupting from every empty space doesn’t help either, but Fury Road’s wasteland placement is constant discomfort in a post-apocalyptic world. With the drought that is happening as well, Fury Road is certainly one of the driest films in recent memory.
Sunshine
Let’s take a bit of a detour here, by flying straight towards the sun. Not all of Danny Boyle’s Sunshine feels hot, but the closer we get to the Solar System’s central star, the worse the on-screen heat gets. Towards the hell fire finale you’ll already know that things aren’t as pleasant as you would have hoped for. The climax itself is one of the hottest in film history that may make you want to shut your blinds during the day for a little while.
El Topo
We’re going to wrap up on another western that takes place in the desert. El Topo’s low film quality also helps wash out the entire picture, which only makes it feel even more scorching. Otherwise, there is a lot of unorthodoxy taking place in this experimental flick, and seeing shrivelled up rabbit corpses, tiny pools of water getting soaked in blood and puss, and the “whitest” blue sky will only make you feel even warmer.
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.