Rain just makes everything so much more dramatic in movies… so when I saw this Wet Blog-a-thon open invitation at Andrew’s blog, I knew I just had to take part. Of course the first thing that came to mind is something romantic, which is what I did a couple of years ago with the Jane Austen’s beautiful rain scenes.
The power of rain isn’t just limited to the romantic sense of course, and in this poll by LOVEFILM earlier this year, action apparently won over romance. The brutal and beautifully-filmed Battle of Helm’s Deep scene in The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers was voted best rain scene and I must stay it’s one of the best scenes of the entire trilogy. You can view the very scene here. So this year, I’m going to list ten memorable and powerful rain/wet scenes used to great effect to signify everything from passion, tenderness, healing, vengeance, bravery, and defiance. It’s by no means a comprehensive list of course, just some I could think of at the top of my head today. So here we go:
Road to Perdition – Ambush in the rain
This atmospheric scene is sooo beautifully-filmed by Conrad L. Hall. It’s intense, brutal and incredibly poignant. The most heart-wrenching scene is when Paul Newman said to Tom Hanks character just before he entered the car… “I’m glad it was you” in his final surrender to an employee he loved as his own son.
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Ben-Hur – Cleansing water from heaven
The redemptive quality of this film never fails to move me. On the eve of Christ’s crucifixion, as His body still hangs on the cross, Judah’s mother and sister were miraculously healed from their leprosy.
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The Guns of Navarone – Cliff climbing in the rain
One of the most intense action scenes in this movie involve a massive amount of water. They’re both filmed in the studio, but I thought the special effects were pretty good for the day and it signifies just what an impossible mission this team of six had to go through. 
Unfortunately I couldn’t find the exact scene I was referring to, but here’s a trailer of the film that shows a snippet of it:
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Casino Royale – Shower Scene
Bond shows his tender side here as Vesper is traumatized by the brutal killing she unwittingly got involved in. There is nothing erotic or sexual in this scene, instead it packs an emotional wallop that makes Bond/Vesper relationship one of the best and most convincing romances in a Bond movie.
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Titanic – Rose Dawson arrives in New York
This is apparently Nick’s favorite rain scene and I could see why. It’s a hopeful scene as Rose finally arrives in America, but more importantly, it signifies Rose’s defiance to her ‘fate’ and her undying love for lowly Jack Dawson.
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300 – “It does look like rain.”
I like the stylized way Zack Snyder shot this scene. The music is cool, a modern take of a war theme that captures the optimistic and euphoria the Spartans feels watching Xerxes’ army destroyed by the storm. It also has one of my favorite quotes from the movie: Only one among us keeps his Spartan reserve. Only he. Only our king. Gerry Butler’s Leonidas is at his at his most solemn and dignified.
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Blade Runner – Tears in the rain
It’s no wonder this scene is always present in most people’s favorite rain scenes. It’s undoubtedly Rutger Hauer’s most famous scene that he’ll always be known for. I just realized recently that the scene was unscripted! According to Wiki, Hauer wrote the speech himself and when he’s done with that scene, the cast and crew actually applauded and some even cried. Isn’t that cool or what?
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Shawshank Redemption – Taste of Freedom
One of the best prison film ever and definitely one of those movies everyone must see. The taste of freedom has never looked so gut-wrenching than the moment Tim Robins’ Andy came out of the sewer pipe and feels the taste of rain water for the first time in 20 years. Powerful stuff.
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The Truman Show – the curiously isolated rain shower
This scene is whimsical but also tremendously sad at the same time. Truman has been suspicious of his surrounding for a while, but nothing quite prepares him for what’s really been done to him. Truly one of Jim Carrey’s best work and one of my all time favorites.
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V for Vendetta – Evey is reborn
Undoubtedly one of Natalie Portman’s bravura performances even before Black Swan, this is a pivotal scene involving her character Evey being liberated from the fear that’s controlling her. Whether or not one agrees with V’s radical method, it certainly makes for an intriguing piece of cinema. As she stands in the pouring rain with outstretched arms, the scene is intercut with scenes of ‘V’ himself escaping from the burned down prison of the totalitarian regime.
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Well, these are just ten I can think of right now. What are some of your favorite wet/rainy movie scenes?
FLIXCHATTER FILM BLOG 
Fantastic list!
Thanks, glad you like it!
Great article Ruth. I love a good rain scene. Robert Zeneckis (Cast Away, Back to the Future, Contact, Death Becomes Her etc.) loves his rain scenes…they are some of my favourites.
Ah, now that you mentioned it, there is always a good rain scene in Zemeckis’ movies, well who could blame him? 🙂
All of these scenes were completely made by the rain. Great list my friend. Nice to see Perdition in there, you know how I love that film.
Indeed matey. Glad we both share our appreciation for Road to Perdition.
Great list Ruth! Surprised the terribly cheesy upside down kiss in the rain from Spiderman isn’t here. Or the kiss from the end of Four weddings and a Funeral where Andie McDowell doesn’t notice it’s raining! But I’m glad to be honest as the ones I’ve seen from here are much better!
Oh I didn’t put that upside-down kiss scene as I already spotlight that here: http://wp.me/pxXPC-2Ht I considered the Four Weddings one too, but I wanted some non-romantic scenes here and turns out there are as many action wet scenes as the romantic ones, ahah.
I had forgotten about that Guns of Navarone scene. Thanks for reminding me how much I love that movie.
Oh I LOVE that movie too and that scene was quite memorable. The behind the scenes was interesting as well to see how those are filmed back in the day.
Think The Shawshank Redemption is the most iconic rain scene for me. Just brilliantly done.
The one from Road to Redemption is definitely one of my favourites too – it was just so beautifully shot. You could see every single raindrop falling. Stunning.
Vesper/Bond scene always brings a tear to my eye! Did you know they were initially going to have Vesper in her underwear rather than fully clothed? Thankfully they changed their mind – like you said, it’s incredibly emotional and having Vesper half naked would have detracted from that a heck of a lot.
Oh man, I don’t think I’d like Vesper in the underwear in that scene. You’re right, it’d change the whole vibe of the scene and not in a good way.
What a great idea for a list. I especially like the scene in Titanic as it’s such a polar opposite to Rose’s entrance. But where’s Singing In The Rain? Surely no ‘wet scene’ can beat Gene Kelly’s hoofing?
I actually have not seen Singing in the Rain but yeah, I know that’s on everyone’s fave list 🙂
Ruth,
Did you see this? 😦
http://blogs.indiewire.com/criticwire/end-of-imdb-hit-list
I wrote IMDB a strongly worded email about their stupid decision. Hell The Hit List is how I found Flix Chatter in the first place! Is there any way to start a petition on Change.org? LOL.
Two words… Gene Kelly. These are kind of obvious but… The infamous Spider-man kiss. Lloyd Dobler in the telephone booth crying in Say Anything. Mr Darcy and Ms Elizabeth under the rotunda in Pride & Prejudice. Jurassic Park with the T Rex on the loose. The final showdown scene of The Unforgiven. The Perfect Storm… the rain was the least of their problems. Cast Away when Tom Hanks finally comes back home. The unrelenting rain in Platoon in the jungle.
My favorite scene is from a doc called Lost In Lamancha. It’s about Terry Gilliam’s ill-fated attempt to make The Man Who Killed Don Quixote with Johnny Depp. In this clip you can see the movie equipment floating away in a downpour of rain, hail and flash flooding. The shoot was so problematic that he had to scrap the whole thing. Gilliam didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Yeah I heard about that and I’ve mourned the loss 😦 I’m glad you found this blog Dave, I hope you continue to make this place your ‘home’ on the blogosphere 😀
Those are great scenes you mentioned, some I haven’t seen yet but will look ’em up. Oh that is too bad what happened on the set of The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, I should check out that film now.
Dammit Ruth, I had a rain list idea in my head too! gonna have to scrap it. I can exclusively reveal it would not have included Matrix Revolutions.
I second Dave above and his lament about the IMDb hitlist. A shame.
I found your blog through IMDb as well Ross, in fact I found tons of bloggers through there. Sad to see it go 😦
Hey, you can still do a rain list man, never too late to join!
Cool list, the Blade Runner scene is definitely one of my favorites. The music and the delivery of the lines by Hauer were perfect.
Two other rain sequences I like were from early 90s action flicks, the cheesy Richochet with Denzel Washington where his friend was shot to death by the bad guy, played menacingly by John Lithgow. And the even cheesier Universal Soldiers, the showdown between Van Damme and Dolph Lungren near the end of the movie.
Yeah, I didn’t know that speech was unscripted, how fantastic was that! Ahah, Universal Soldiers!! You really do love your 90s action flicks, Ted 🙂
That’s a great idea for a blogathon! Love the choice of the shower scene in Casino Royale, it’s one of my favorite scenes from any Bond movie.
Glad to hear Sati. It’s such an expected moment that Bond and his girl share, I just love it. Not everything has to be so cheeky or sexual when it comes to a shower scene!
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Hi there! No such thing as a late comment, right? 🙂
Anyway, this is an awesome list! I’ve only watched five of the movies that you’ve chosen, but I have to agree that each of those five movies deserves a spot. I kept banging my head against the wall for forgetting to mention The Truman Show! I loved that movie! I remembered smiling yet feeling sad at the same time during that particular scene. I wish Carey would play more roles like this instead of Mr.Poppin’s Penguins or whatever..
Glad you did your list as well Wulan, LOVE it! The P&P one is on my list from last year. Amen about your comment on Carrey.
Wait, your last year’s list?? Which one?? I gotta read it!
Dahling, you’re not reading this properly… it’s at the top of the post 🙂 https://flixchatter.net/2010/08/22/wet-blogathon-jane-austens-rain-scenes/
Oh! I’ve read that post a while back, when I was craving for some period dramas and needed some suggestions! I thought you made a similar Wet Blog-a-thon a year ago. My bad 😛
Oh no problem. So did you see any of those films yet? I know you saw P&P but the BBC Sense & Sensibility is a good one as well.
I’ve seen Ang Lee’s Sense & Sensibility numerous times now, because it’s on cable almost every other day. It’s kinda difficult to find the rest, especially those from BBC.
Hi, Ruth and company:
A great idea for a Blog-a-thon!
I’d toss in the German sniper scene in ‘Saving Pvt. Ryan’. Many of the outdoor, night time fights in ‘The Crow’. Also the shower scene in ‘Psycho’.
Oh yeah, the shower scene in Psycho is definitely iconic. Great additions, Jack!
I think of the scene in “Raising Arizona” where the brothers bust out of the ground after escaping prison. So ludicrous but so funny.
I haven’t seen that film yet unfortunately, so I’ll take your word for it 🙂
Well, let me just say it’s considerably different than any of the scenes you mentioned. I also wouldn’t put ahead of most of the scenes on you list. But if you had a sub catagory of goofiest rain scenes, this would qualify! LOL
Ahah, I’m curious now. Is it on Youtube?
LOL! Actually it is. John Goodman and William Forsythe. Here it is:
Well, it’s what happens AFTER Rufus comes in out of the rain that intrigues me so (from In A Savage Land):
Well I certainly remember this scene Becky 😉
Cool list. And great idea for a blog-a-thon. Maybe I should put a little sumthin’ sumthin’ together 🙂
Yes you should Iba 😉
Great choices, Ruth! I especially love that Blade Runner scene. Also, that clip from Road to Perdition just made me realize how badly I need to give that another viewing. So good.
Glad to hear it Eric. Those two scenes just never get old for me, I was flabbergasted to learn that the BR scene was unscripted!
Not a particularly “amazing scene” but one that has found itself in popular culture now has to be the “upside down kiss” in Spiderman. Doesn’t quite compare with some of your great choices but thought as no one else had mentioned it…
Hi Ben, well I actually replied to Pete who mentioned this scene. I had featured that scene on this blog before so I didn’t want to list it again 🙂 It’s a great scene though.
wow, nobody has mentioned the ending of Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris, that scene was my favorite moment in the whole movie ( :
Hey Chris, believe it or not I was thisclose to include that very scene as I absolutely adored that ending, but I wanted to show more of the non-romantic rain scenes in this list 🙂
love, love, love this particular idea for a blogathon. Your choices were interesting, varied and some of those scenes are definitely among my personal favorites Ruth. In particular, I applaud the inclusion of scenes from The Truman Show, Shawshank, Ben-Hur and Road to Perdition. The latter particularly surprised me since it’s one of those underrated films that I thought didn’t receive the attention it deserved. The last glimpse of the great Paul Newman in the big screen.
Great job Ruth !
Why I’m glad to hear that Niels! It’s hard to please everyone w/ this kind of list, but I’m glad you like my choices. Was ‘Road to Perdition’ Newman’s last film? If so, wow he definitely gave one last memorable performance of his illustrious career.
Nice comprehensive list! I forgot about that scene in “The Truman Show” but that really does summarize the plight of that character perfectly, doesn’t it? And I love that include you the “Casino Royale” scene too – unnatural rain, if you will, in a very real moment.
And when I saw “Titanic 3D”….yeah, Rose’s scene in the rain wrecked me again. Heaven help me, I love that scene. It’s threatening to wreck me right now.
Thanks Nick. That isolated shower scene in Truman Show is just so heartbreaking, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, I think I did both. The shower scene in CR is quite rare to see in a Bond movie, the fact that it’s not overtly sexual yet very sensuous.
I love how a scene could move you in such a profound way, Nick. It is really a heart-wrenching scene yet Rose looked so strong and defiant.
Great choices. I particularly like the “Shawshank”, “Road to Perdition”, “Casino Royale” and “Titanic” scenes.
Hi there, welcome to FC. Glad you like my choices!
Nice list, Ruth. Road to Perdition and Blade Runner are modern classics. The former makes me slightly sad that Conrad L. Hall is no longer with us to produce great images and sequences like that. And the latter just makes me happy because it’s young wet Rutger Hauer.
I usually think of great cinematography as one where light and colour is involved. Rain seems to be the antithesis of that but the cinematographers/etc. make it work!
Ha..ha.. young, wet Rutger Hauer, I never even thought of it that way, but ok 🙂
I actually like rain photography and scenes… I don’t know, there’s something so romantic and melancholy about it. I especially love it when lights are reflected in the water, those kinds of pictures never fail to move me.
Battle of Helm’s Deep yeah! haha interesting post 🙂
Thanks Tim!
Well done Ruth. Shawshank & Blade Runner have incredibly memorable rain sequences, full of emotion.
Thanks Sam, glad you like the list.
Great list!
The first thing I thought of was Jurassic Park during the T-Rex pen scene
Yeah, that is an awesome scene, I agree. I should rewatch JP real soon, been awhile since I saw that.
Definitely agree with the Rutger Hauer one. One of the best monologues of all time.
I would add that, IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE has one of the best rain scenes ever.
Hi Bonjour! Oh I still need to see ‘In the Mood for Love.’ I’m sure I’d agree the rainy scenes are wonderful.
I agree with Road to Perdition, Casino Royale, Shawshank Redepmtion, but I must add Singin’ in the rain, Pride&Prejudice (the 2000s version), The Notebook (cheesy, but still romantic) and Breakfast at Tifanny’s
Hi Diana, oh I’ve included the P&P one in my list from last year 🙂
Road to Perdition! Yes.
and I agree with Diana on Singin’ in the Rain, but you already know that from my previous post on great rain scenes in movies! 🙂
Yes indeed, we have a lot in agreement about our fave rainy scenes T 🙂
Fantastic post, love how you’ve used a variety of different movies from across the broad list of genres.
Hi Vin, welcome to FC! Yeah, I’ve done a more ‘romantic’ rain scenes list so this time I went with a variety of different genres, glad you like ’em.
Very interesting to include the shower scene from Casino Royale, a remarkable, tender moment amidst the 007 bombast.
Love the respective scenes in Shawshank and Perdition as well.
Yeah, that’s why I called it rain/wet scene 🙂 I just thought it was a very unusual scene for a Bond movie but yet so brilliant and just shows his humanity.
Rain is the new fire in that using it for the right reasons really adds dimension to film. I like your Shawshank Redemption scene so much.
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