Singing in the Rain, The Wizard of Oz, Twister, these iconic films wouldn’t have a leg to stand, or dance, on without the central role that the weather plays in each one.
As part of RTÉ’s Science and Weather Week, Sean O’Rourke was joined by our very own Taragh Loughrey-Grant, RTÉ Lifestyle Digital Editor and Harvey O’Brien, Professor of Film Studies at UCD to take us through some of the greatest weather moments on the big screen.
This week we’ve been looking at all things meteorological as part of Science Week, and with some of the world’s most famous weather moments being appeaing in film, we invited @TaraghLG & Professor of Film Studies at UCD, Harvey O’Brien to take us through their picks #TodaySOR pic.twitter.com/Hn5ERjd5fn
— Today Sean O'Rourke (@TodaySOR) November 15, 2017
Harvey says: "Weather has two dimensions in film. On one hand, it’s an element of plot and that’s the most obvious one, when some major weather event affects the characters, but on the other hand, weather can play a role in a metaphorical sense in a film that it forms the backdrop to the action.
"For example, Rear Window is set during a really hot period during which the central character has his leg broken and he’s bored and hot and frustrated and this is one of the reasons he’s looking out the window."
He describes the powerful use of weather in the film The Shining.
"That film is all about isolation and as the film goes on, the conditions worsen to the point where, at the climax, as he chases the child through the snow-bound labyrinth, it plays a role in the plot.
"The child steps back in his own footsteps and so he can’t trace him and also the snow piles up against the building. Inevitably ice and snow are about closing down and being literally frozen."
.@TaraghLG and Harvey O Brien, Professor of Film Studies UCD are here to discuss how the weather has played a starring role in many Hollywood films #TodaySOR pic.twitter.com/YkFdSIMZQc
— Today Sean O'Rourke (@TodaySOR) November 15, 2017
Of course, Dorothy would never have made it to Oz without the element of extreme weather, says Taragh.
"The weather is a character… that tornado in the beginning, where Dorothy lands in the middle of a whole new land of Oz, that character of the weather stays with them.
"Nothing would have happened without that tornado and then that brings her right back to meeting her friends, meeting the wizard and coming right back again."
Not all on-screen weather moments are fictional, for example, Spike Lee’s When the Levees Broke about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina or Leonardo DiCaprio’s Before the Flood.
Taragh says DiCaprio has "continually talked about climate and the importance of looking after the environment."
He was so passionate about spreading this message that he released his film for free on Facebook with the help of National Geographic to promote the urgent message that we need to take care of our world before it’s too late.
Listen to Taragh and Harvey speak to Sean O'Rourke on RTÉ Radio 1 in the video above.
