Not many fight or struggle scenes in films take place in a wintery, arctic locale.
One of the best in my opinion is in "The Empire Strikes Back" with the snowspeeders and the AT-AT walkers.
Do any of you know of any other scenes in other movies where some serious action takes place in a winter setting?
(other than "The Thing")
There's the big showdown at the end of Orca, between Richard Harris and a killer whale on a sheet of ice. Pretty funny stuff.
Oh yeah! I remember that scene from Orca!
Didn't Richard Harris's character die in that film while the female co-star looks on?
It's been several years since I've seen it.
GI Joe: the movie?
I guess we are talking about any sort of movie with lots of snow and ice.
"The Thing" - when the helicopter is chasing the "dog" across the snow. Just good stuff that movie. In the light you get the feeling of broad expanses of endless snow. Darkness brings a different feeling though. Something almost claustrophobic with the cold and black night crowding in. I have to mention it because, along these lines, it is the embodiment of "definitive."
Along the lines of worst, I have to vote for "Battle Queen 2020." People on snowmobiles - breasts - people on snowmobiles - breasts - people on snowmobiles...
Along the lines of worst, I have to vote for "Battle Queen 2020"
LOL...I'd forgotten that one
I love "The Thing." That movie takes the cake for wintery goodness......and plenty of movie badness.....
Cannibla the Musical also comes to mind.....that's a good one!
The Battle of Hoth is good.
The white snow palette for the movie FARGO was good. The opening shot itself was amazing.
ATANARJUAT: THE FAST RUNNER made pretty good use of the arctic. How can you forget a naked eskimo running across broken ice? Also see the movie HIMALAYA.
Jack Frost (the cool "scary one" with Shannon Elizabeth), uuum.....and "Silent Night, Deadly Night (PUNISH!!!!!!)"
Jackie Chan chasing and being chased across frozen lands wearing a silly seal cap in "First Strike"
RAVENOUS has some good wintry action scenes.
I can't believe nobody has mentioned The Shining! Unlike most movies where the snow scenes looked fake, the final chase in the hedge maze really looked like it was taking place in sub-zero weather.
Well, this one is ANTarctic, but hopefully it counts, because it's just.so.great.
Every scene in BOA. Wow. I honestly think this is the greatest American film crafted in the history of the medium. Dean Cain was BORN for this role. BORN for it. Like Malcolm McDowell was born for Alex in A Clockwork Orange.
The writer must have been thinking Dean Cain all the way while preparing the script. I can imagine the meeting with producers now: "If we don't have Dean Cain, we don't have a movie. No deal without Dean." Thank god the producers listened.
This is the undeniable masterpiece, not only of the giant snake genre, but of all film genres as a whole. This will be the standard, supplanting Citizen Kane, by which all other films made in the future shall be judged.
Wonderful. And with the Boa's knowledge of parachuting, we're assured a sequel! Even better! The Godfather II of giant snake movies!
For badness, I'd say the scene of "The saint" where Val Kilmer goes underwater to avoid being noticed and ends up lying with a seminaked Elizabeth Shue so he can warm up.
I forgot about the opening chase scene in "True Lies" when Arnie is being persued by ski troopers and snowmobile troops. He never misses a shot.
Boa...a parachuting snake...in the arctic? Is that what your saying? Hummm...how does that one compare on the pain-o-meter to , say, Pythons 2?
Flange, haven't seen Python 2 yet, but in all seriousness, Boa was the most painful, horrifyingly bad giant snake movie I've ever seen. And not so bad it's fun to watch. This just makes you angry.
frannie wrote:
>
> GI Joe: the movie?
Waaaaas once a maaaaaan, once a maaaaaan!
My vote goes to the mountain climber sequence in Akira Kurosawa's Dreams, an excellent film all around.
Its either that or Ice Station Zebra. Its so hard to decide.
Andrew wrote:
>
> I guess we are talking about any sort of movie with lots of
> snow and ice.
>
> "The Thing" - when the helicopter is chasing the "dog" across
> the snow. Just good stuff that movie. In the light you get
> the feeling of broad expanses of endless snow. Darkness
> brings a different feeling though. Something almost
> claustrophobic with the cold and black night crowding in. I
> have to mention it because, along these lines, it is the
> embodiment of "definitive."
>
> Along the lines of worst, I have to vote for "Battle Queen
> 2020." People on snowmobiles - breasts - people on
> snowmobiles - breasts - people on snowmobiles...
>
>
THE THING, ya that's the obvious choice. But don't bash BATTLE QUEEN 2020. I like breast and snowmobiles.
How about that one snow scene in that James Bond movie....you know the one...
With all due respect to Andrew, since the subject heading is "Best Arctic Scene in a Movie," while 1951's "The Thing" takes place in the Arctic, "The Thing" mentioned by Andrew takes place in the Antarctic, or the other side of the world from the Arctic.
But, here are some more films that take place in the Arctic, "Island at the Top of the World," which is reviewed at this website.
"Atomic Submarine," which takes place under the Arctic ice. That Cyclops scared me so bad, when I was a child of eight, I've never been able to watch the movie again.
And talking about movies that take place under the Arctic ice, there is also the recent "Santa Clause 2." No wonder no one has ever been abl;e to find Santa's workshop.
It's not at the North Pole, it's under the North Pole.
And not a movie, but one of the best episodes of "The X-Files" took place in an abandoned research facility in the Arctic. Much like the one in 1951's "The Thing."
Enjoy!
BoyScoutKevin wrote:
>
> With all due respect to Andrew, since the subject heading is
> "Best Arctic Scene in a Movie," while 1951's "The Thing"
> takes place in the Arctic, "The Thing" mentioned by Andrew
> takes place in the Antarctic, or the other side of the world
> from the Arctic.
Eh, the reason I prefaced my love of "The Thing" with the "I guess we are talking about any sort of movie with lots of snow and ice. " bit. Also, I could not think of any movie I remember fondly that was set in the Arctic proper. Maybe "Gamera." If memory serves, the original movie was set at the North Pole.
Beyond that, heck - "The Year Without A Santa Claus."