Written by Mackenzie Manley, Content Specialist, Downtown Main Library
Summer is upon us, and so are rising temperatures. And what’s the perfect way to cool down? Watching a movie. Whether you’re projecting it outside, laying listlessly in the air conditioning, or curating a chill evening with friends, here are nine films where heat (or summer) is integral to the plot.
Do the Right Thing
Spike Lee’s seminal Do the Right Thing is a pressure-cooker of a film set during the hottest day of summer in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. As the heat swelters, so does racial tension. Starring Lee himself as Mookie, the film takes viewers through a single day of the neighborhood’s life. Equal parts vibrant and vital in its messaging, Do the Right Thing captures a range of emotions — from joy to tragedy — with a deft hand. Released in 1989, its navigation of race, gentrification, and police brutality are still incredibly pertinent.
Dog Day Afternoon
Also set during a scorching day in Brooklyn, Sidney Lumet’s heist film features Al Pacino as a bank robber whose plans go awry. You can feel the sweat as the heist turns into a hostage situation turns into a full-blown media frenzy. While Dog Day Afternoon takes place in August, as its namesake suggests, it was filmed in the fall. To keep the illusion of heat alive, the film’s makeup department used a special combination of glycerin and water to mimic sweat.
Holes
It’s May in the mid-2000s, and you’re counting the days until school’s out for the season. Unbeknownst to you, so is your teacher. But they have a stack of papers to grade. That’s why they wheel out the TV and pop in a movie as the air conditioning blasts. If you have this core memory, there’s a solid chance Holes was that movie.
Revisit this childhood classic that sees a band of teens at a juvenile detention center digging holes in the sweltering sun to keep the warden, played by the one and only Sigourney Weaver, happy.
The Sandlot
Another flick you may have watched in the final days of school? The Sandlot. Nothing screams summer like misfits playing baseball. Full of imaginative whimsy and adventure, it’s also deeply quotable. “You’re killin' me, Smalls!” It’s an ideal choice when you’re searching for a family-friendly flick to put on to cool off from a day outside. Make it a double-header with another nostalgic adventure flick: The Goonies.
Rear Window
This list would be remiss to not include Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window, an iconic summer flick featuring a heatwave in the city. If you’ve ever been trapped in a hot apartment and desperate for entertainment, you’ll understand the protagonist’s plight. Played by James Stewart, the thriller follows a photojournalist recovering from a leg injury. As he heals, he looks out from his Greenwich Village apartment into the courtyard and windows of his neighbors.
Dazed and Confused
Alright, alright, alright! Richard Linklater’s iconic coming-of-age comedy is set in a Texas town on the last day of school. It oozes with the kind of teenage angst and rebellion only high temps can conjure. Like many of Linklater’s films, Dazed and Confused is authentic in its approach to youth culture. If you’re looking for a sunny movie dipped in irony, try the equally star-studded Wet Hot American Summer.
Jaws
Jaws invented the summer blockbuster as we know it. Steven Spielberg’s horror is set in a seaside town during peak tourist season. As Fourth of July approaches, the film’s iconic antagonist – a great white shark – feasts on beachgoers who dare to dip their toes in the water. Sink into washed out blues, hazy horizons, and really sharp teeth.
I Know What You Did Last Summer
I Know What You Did Last Summer
Released in 1997, I Know What You Did Last Summer was penned by Kevin Williamson, the screenwriter for Scream and creator of Dawson’s Creek. And it shows. Like much of the decade’s horror flicks, I Know What You Did Last Summer is imbued with satire and self-awareness of the genre’s tropes. Following four friends who are tied by a tragic incident, the slasher features a hook-wielding fisherman, foreboding letters, and sinister tension.
Parasite
Set during monsoon season in Seoul, the Academy Award-winning film Parasite opens on the Kim family cloistered in a hot basement apartment as rain pours endlessly outside.
Humidity and sweat drip from the screen; you can practically feel the mold growing on their walls. Enter the wealthy Park family, whose breezy mansion juxtaposes the Kims’ dank living quarters. When the two families’ lives entwine, their fragile working relationship threatens to crumble.
Mackenzie Manley is currently reading “A Ghost Cat” by Alex Howard.
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