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It's too darn hot: 25 classic summer movies

By on Thu, Jun 27, 2013 at 4:03 pm

When it's 93 degrees in the shade and blazing down sun, going outside is hazardous to your health. Stay inside and watch movies instead! Here's a list of 25 great summer movies to make you feel like you're enjoying the season without burning up. Add your own favorites in the comments... and for more ways to beat the heat, check out our Endless Summer Guide —Jessica Bryce Young

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As Moonrise Kingdom makes clear, all you need for a perfect summer day is a beach, your brother's record player, and your very favorite dance partner.
As Moonrise Kingdom makes clear, all you need for a perfect summer day is a beach, your brother's record player, and your very favorite dance partner.
The Talented Mr. Ripley, despite its chilling psychodrama plot, captures a perfect sunny summer on the Italian Riviera (plus Gwyneth Paltrow and Jude Law's 1950s-era wardrobe is ah-mazing). I want to go to there.
The Talented Mr. Ripley, despite its chilling psychodrama plot, captures a perfect sunny summer on the Italian Riviera (plus Gwyneth Paltrow and Jude Law's 1950s-era wardrobe is ah-mazing). I want to go to there.
Shot by Ingmar Bergman in 1953, Summer With Monika was a racy Swedish shocker in its day. Now the nudity just seems wholesome and kinda sweet.
Shot by Ingmar Bergman in 1953, Summer With Monika was a racy Swedish shocker in its day. Now the nudity just seems wholesome and kinda sweet.
Love and hate mingle in Bed-Stuy, until finally the heat makes everyone explode. Do the Right Thing gets to the heart of how and why summer can make you crazy.
Love and hate mingle in Bed-Stuy, until finally the heat makes everyone explode. Do the Right Thing gets to the heart of how and why summer can make you crazy.
Woody Allen is the king of the sex comedy; Vicky Cristina Barcelona is ostensibly a three-way romance between Javier Bardem, Scarlett Johansson and Rebecca Hall (with a dash of Penelope Cruz for good measure), but the Spanish summer is just as crush-worthy.
Woody Allen is the king of the sex comedy; Vicky Cristina Barcelona is ostensibly a three-way romance between Javier Bardem, Scarlett Johansson and Rebecca Hall (with a dash of Penelope Cruz for good measure), but the Spanish summer is just as crush-worthy.
Is Dog Day Afternoon a heist movie or a romance? (Both.) The hotter it gets, the more shit just falls apart for bank robbers Al Pacino and John Cazale.
Is Dog Day Afternoon a heist movie or a romance? (Both.) The hotter it gets, the more shit just falls apart for bank robbers Al Pacino and John Cazale.
A coming-of-age tale set in 1994 New York and infused with '90s-nostalgic hip-hop (and weed), The Wackness reminds you to look at the dopeness instead.
A coming-of-age tale set in 1994 New York and infused with '90s-nostalgic hip-hop (and weed), The Wackness reminds you to look at the dopeness instead.
It's not about the shark, or the screaming, or the blood ... before all that starts, Jaws is a wonderful capture of a certain kind of Martha's Vineyard summer that doesn't really exist anymore. Worth watching just for the total reality of that living-in-a-swimsuit cabin life.
It's not about the shark, or the screaming, or the blood ... before all that starts, Jaws is a wonderful capture of a certain kind of Martha's Vineyard summer that doesn't really exist anymore. Worth watching just for the total reality of that living-in-a-swimsuit cabin life.
Jacques Tati's Mon Oncle celebrates the summer tradition of visiting people who live in much nicer houses than your own. (Fun fact: The modern house in Mon Oncle was the model for Professor Utonium's house on The Powerpuff Girls.)
Jacques Tati's Mon Oncle celebrates the summer tradition of visiting people who live in much nicer houses than your own. (Fun fact: The modern house in Mon Oncle was the model for Professor Utonium's house on The Powerpuff Girls.)
Marilyn Monroe discusses various ways of keeping cool in The Seven Year Itch, including keeping your panties in the icebox and standing over subway grates to feel the breeze.
Marilyn Monroe discusses various ways of keeping cool in The Seven Year Itch, including keeping your panties in the icebox and standing over subway grates to feel the breeze.
It's called Betty Blue for English-speaking audiences, but the original French title is 37° 2 le matin (aka "98 degrees 2 in the morning," aka really freaking hot). Beatrice Dalle plays the crazy-sexy dangerous woman to the hilt here, a part she specializes in, and she's never topped this version. Also, a classic soundtrack by Gabriel Yared.
It's called Betty Blue for English-speaking audiences, but the original French title is 37° 2 le matin (aka "98 degrees 2 in the morning," aka really freaking hot). Beatrice Dalle plays the crazy-sexy dangerous woman to the hilt here, a part she specializes in, and she's never topped this version. Also, a classic soundtrack by Gabriel Yared.
Because summer is all about rooftop parties and bittersweet love, right? (500) Days of Summer, though not a seasonal summer movie, makes the list just for the name. And the karaoke.
Because summer is all about rooftop parties and bittersweet love, right? (500) Days of Summer, though not a seasonal summer movie, makes the list just for the name. And the karaoke.
Well all right, all right, all right! McConaughey’s career-high role in Dazed and Confused shouldn’t overshadow the other amazing performances in this classic examination of serious stuff like keggers in the woods.
Well all right, all right, all right! McConaughey’s career-high role in Dazed and Confused shouldn’t overshadow the other amazing performances in this classic examination of serious stuff like keggers in the woods.
Wet Hot American Summer didn't get the audience it deserved upon its initial release, but this sendup of summer-camp movie tropes has since become a couch classic due to performances by Michael Ian Black, Janeane Garofalo, Paul Rudd, Molly Shannon, Amy Poehler, Bradley Cooper and too many more to list here.
Wet Hot American Summer didn't get the audience it deserved upon its initial release, but this sendup of summer-camp movie tropes has since become a couch classic due to performances by Michael Ian Black, Janeane Garofalo, Paul Rudd, Molly Shannon, Amy Poehler, Bradley Cooper and too many more to list here.
1979's Meatballs is one of those summer-camp movies that Wet Hot American Summer pokes fun at. Bill Murray (surprisingly hot) imparts to his cabin of losers the inspiring life lesson that “IT JUST DOESN’T MATTER.” And we wonder why Gen X was such a bunch of slackers.
1979's Meatballs is one of those summer-camp movies that Wet Hot American Summer pokes fun at. Bill Murray (surprisingly hot) imparts to his cabin of losers the inspiring life lesson that “IT JUST DOESN’T MATTER.” And we wonder why Gen X was such a bunch of slackers.
Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart, coming of age and making mistakes on the midway in Adventureland, with great supporting roles by Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader. Dumb jobs used to be a summertime fixture, until no one could get one anymore.
Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart, coming of age and making mistakes on the midway in Adventureland, with great supporting roles by Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader. Dumb jobs used to be a summertime fixture, until no one could get one anymore.
A gritty look at the townies-versus-college kids dichotomy (later exploited to great effect in Good Will Hunting). Breaking Away imparts the paradoxical wisdom of self-delusion.
A gritty look at the townies-versus-college kids dichotomy (later exploited to great effect in Good Will Hunting). Breaking Away imparts the paradoxical wisdom of self-delusion.
Another sweet but sharp-edged comedy of errors from Woody Allen, A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy features the most romantic summer countryside settings ever.
Another sweet but sharp-edged comedy of errors from Woody Allen, A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy features the most romantic summer countryside settings ever.
More than 25 years after its theatrical release, A Room With a View still tops lists of Most Romantic Films of all time. Its depiction of Edwardian English summer, full of tea and tennis and skinny-dipping (yes), remains a favorite as well.
More than 25 years after its theatrical release, A Room With a View still tops lists of Most Romantic Films of all time. Its depiction of Edwardian English summer, full of tea and tennis and skinny-dipping (yes), remains a favorite as well.
To Catch a Thief (directed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1955) paints a similarly delicious picture, although this time they're on the French Riviera. Grace Kelly and Cary Grant's costumes are pretty much the blueprint for Paltrow and Law's in Ripley.
To Catch a Thief (directed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1955) paints a similarly delicious picture, although this time they're on the French Riviera. Grace Kelly and Cary Grant's costumes are pretty much the blueprint for Paltrow and Law's in Ripley.
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