So in a first for my blog, I’m going to be making a post about some great winter movies. I don’t really know why I haven’t made a post about film before, since I’m such a massive film fan (certified cinephile), but since it’s the season not to be jolly), I decided I’d make a post about some great winter movies I love and make a watchlist out of it – and say why I love them.
Now, getting this out of the way, I’m not making a list about Christmas movies – that’s a separate topic – but these are great Winter movies that you can watch while sitting by a warm fire and getting all toasty. This is a watchlist of five great winter movies I recommend watching over the season, in the order they are listed. My criteria for these films are that they:
- Take place during the Winter (or are really cold)
- Make me appreciate being warmer than the people in the film
- Are great (in my humble opinion, so please don’t bully me from liking something you don’t)
So, without further ado, let’s get into some great Winter movies!
1. The Grand Budapest Hotel (dir. Wes Anderson)
One of the benchmarks for great Winter movies released in the last decade, The Grand Budapest Hotel is a fun comedy AND makes you appreciate the warmth! If you’re unfamiliar with Wes Anderson’s style of filmmaking, then you’ll be in for a treat, and if you’re a fan of his – then you’ve probably already seen this – but what better way to kickstart a watchlist of Great Winter movies than by picking this film?
The Grand Budapest Hotel tells the story of M. Gustave, the concierge of the titular hotel, and a plot against him after a guest of the hotel – and lover of his – dies, and he is accused of her murder!
With great physical comedy, interesting direction, loveable characters, and a cast that spans several generations of great actors (Tilda Swinton, Ralph Fiennes, Saoirse Ronan, and Edward Norton, among many others), The Grand Budapest Hotel is the perfect place to start with great Winter movies!
2. The Hateful Eight (dir. Quentin Tarantino)
A more bloody and profane movie than The Grand Budapest Hotel (seriously, you may want to skip this film if you’ve got young kids, or wait until they’re sleeping), The Hateful Eight isn’t just one of the great Winter movies to be released in the last few years, but it’s also my third-favourite Quentin Tarantino (After Jackie Brown and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood).
The film follows a group of eight people who meet in a cabin in Wyoming in 1877. Soon, things get hostile. Then they get violent. Somebody is up to something, but how can they find the killer among them when they can’t trust each other?
Similar to The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Hateful Eight has some great camerawork, great dialogue (of course it does, it’s a Tarantino film), and a great cast (Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Walton Goggins, and Tim Roth, to name four), so including the Wintery setting, this is already deserving of a spot on my watchlist of Great Winter movies. But throw in some tension you could cut with a knife, and it’s a comedy-western that eases – okay, throws – you into the darker, more violent aspects of my great Winter movies list.
3. Misery (dir. Rob Reiner)
Well, what can I say? I’ve already mentioned Misery on my blog several times, and I’m mentioning it again, because when it comes to great Winter movies, this is an obvious (and dark) choice. Like The Hateful Eight, this film is darker than The Grand Budapest Hotel, but it isn’t as funny as either film. Nevertheless, it is among my canon great Winter films.
Author Paul Sheldon is just about to release the book that kills Misery Chastain, the heroine of his historical romance series, when his car is caught in a terrible snowstorm. Luckily, he’s rescued by Annie Wilkes, a kind woman who loves the Misery series. Unfortunately, Annie is incredibly unhappy when Misery is killed. Paul’s life will become even more of a Misery if he doesn’t bring Misery back.
Dark, thrilling, and most important of all, freezing (the movie has a lot of snow), Misery is your first stop on the darker section of Great Winter movies. With a great pair of performances from Kathy Bates and James Caan, it’s a film that’s hard to forget. Side note: it’s pretty funny that this film makes me cold, considering Paul is inside for the majority of it! Maybe it’s Annie’s general demeanor!
4. The Revenant (dir. Alejandro González Iñárritu)
Tied with Misery for the darkest entries of my great Winter films, The Revenant doesn’t have any of the previous entry’s optimism. This film has some of the best cinematography I’ve ever seen, and since Iñárritu has made one of my favourite films of all time, I’m so glad I can mention another film of his on this list.
Frontiersman Hugh Glass is left for dead after a bear attack in a snow-covered forest. Out for revenge after a tragedy, he pushes his body and mind to the limit.
The Revenant has another great performance from Leonardo DiCaprio (hardly speaking, and instead looking the complete opposite of his usual appearance in movies) and Tom Hardy is also fantastic as an enemy of Glass’s, but if you’re looking for great Winter films to really make you feel cold, this is the one. I kept my thick winter coat on throughout the whole film when I saw it in the cinema!
Inspired by a true survival story of the real Hugh Glass, The Revenant is a gripping (and freezing!) watch. The film was also shot in extremely cold conditions, which helps make the entire piece feel more authentic. This all contributes to it being among the darkest entries on this great Winter films watchlist.
5. Fargo (1997, dir. The Coen Brothers)
From the pair of filmmakers who first made me want to do something creative comes what might be my favourite of their early films. It also, in the scheme of great Winter films, is probably my top pick. It’s a darker film again, but offers more comedy than The Revenant and Misery, since we’re nearing the end of the great Winter films watchlist.
In snowy Minnesota, Fargo finds Jerry Lundegaard hiring two men to kidnap his wife so her rich father can pay a large ransom. When things go predictably wrong, Police officer Marge Gunderson is required to investigate, whilst also being very pregnant.
While the film is played completely straight by the actors, Joel and Ethan Coen made one of my favourite comedies also one of the great Winter films. Fargo has snow aplenty (which is funny, since it was shot during unusually low snowfalls in the area), violence, and Frances McDormand (one of my favourite actors) in her first Oscar-winning performance (of three). From the opening ‘based on a true story‘ joke, to the most inappropriate use of a woodchipper I’ve ever seen, Fargo is a match made in heaven for anyone who likes their great Winter films with Oscar-winning dialogue and pitch-black humour.
6. Groundhog Day (dir. Harold Ramis)
The final chapter of our great Winter films watchlist, Groundhog Day is another more family-friendly comedy that you can probably watch with your loved ones (there is a sequence of suicide attempts that aren’t graphic but are worth mentioning).
Narcissistic weatherman Phil is sent to a town in Pennsylvania to report on the annual Groundhog Day events that take place there. When he keeps waking up to the same day, he soon comes to believe that he’s trapped there for good.
Groundhog Day is a fitting end for the great Winter films watchlist since it takes place in February – Winter’s last month – but still has a nice, optimistic message at the end of it. Considering the story takes place in the town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, where such celebrations actually take place, this layer of authenticity makes it the perfect film to end this great Winter movies list on a familial and happy note. It’s also rather fascinating to see a more heartfelt Bill Murray performance, managing to blend comedy with some more dramatic elements.
I hope you’ve enjoyed my watchlist of six great Winter films! How did you find it? Are there any great Winter films (that aren’t Christmas films) that I missed? What would be on your list of great Winter films? Let me know in the comments below!
Until next time,
Conrad 🙂
P.s. You might find my list of Great Winter reads useful if you’re looking to get more into the seasonal spirit!
[…] P.s. If you’re looking for any other good Winter reads, check out my list of recommendations. In case you prefer something more visual during the cold months, you might enjoy my great Winter movies watchlist. […]