UNO Magazine Summer 2017
MOVIE METEOROLOGY
By Gary Repair
From blizzards to pouring rain to tornados scooping up sharks and throwing them into cities (what?), weather has played an important role in film since the earliest motion pictures. Movies embracing Mother Nature’s fury have pushed film crews’ creativity, leading to increasingly spectacular special effects. UNO Magazine asked UNO Television Executive Producer Gary Repair, who has taught film history courses for the university, to share his Top 10 list of movies that showcase the weather.
Sharknado
So utterly and completely ridiculous it’s entertaining. All the cast should have been nominated for Academy Awards for keeping straight faces while filming. The fact that multiple sequels have been produced indicates that filmmakers discovered what their audience really likes — and I’m guessing it’s not historical documentaries.
Twister
How can you not be in awe of storms that throw combines past your moving vehicle, along with cows that are still mooing and big SUVs being sucked up into the clouds?! I knew how they did effects like these, but I was still on the edge of my seat.
The Perfect Storm
If George Clooney or Mark Walberg ever ask if you want to go deep sea fishing – RUN as fast as you can. Anyone who doesn’t appreciate what the Coast Guard does should watch this film, based on true events.
The Poseidon Adventure
Probably why subconsciously I’ve never wanted to take a cruise. One of Irwin Allen’s catastrophe films, along with “Earthquake” and “The Towering Inferno.” “Poseidon” had a great cast — Leslie Neilson as the ship’s captain before the “Naked Gun” series came along, Gene Hackman, Red Buttons, Ernest Borgnine and many other stars of the day.
Lawrence of ArabiSaw this classic at the Cooper 70 in downtown Omaha. The desert crossing scene was incredible. Just when you think the characters aren’t going to make it over the next dune, the super structure of a ship going by tells you they made it to the Suez Canal.
The Bible in the Beginning
I saw it on the big screen at Indian Hills when I was 11 or 12 and always remember Noah and the flood sequence. Very riveting.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
The roiling cloud effect when the alien space crafts are approaching was spellbinding at the time. This remains one of my favorite films. The visuals, the pacing, the cuts from shot to shot and the John Williams score combine for very powerful movie making by Steven Spielberg.
The Day After Tomorrow
What happens when New York City gets flash-frozen like freeze-dried coffee crystals? It ain’t good. Good film to watch if you’re snuggled up with someone, under a blanket, near a fire and having a hot beverage. Ear muffs optional.
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
The huge storm caused by an alien space craft looking for whales on Earth was interesting. The final scenes where the heroes crash in the water and release a whale, which in turn saves the Earth, was filmed in a man-made pool in the film studio parking lot, but still very well done.
The Guns of Navarone
A 1960s WWII film about British commandoes on a mission to destroy huge German guns on the occupied Greek Island of Navarone. It featured several great actors of the day, including Gregory Peck, David Niven, Anthony Quinn, James Darren and Richard Harris. An early scene of the commandos having their small fishing boat destroyed in a bad storm and their subsequent struggle to get ashore left an impression I can still recall today.
Photo courtesy SYFY