Truck drivers need downtime just like the rest of us, even when they’re on the road. Watching a movie can be an entertaining way to pass the time, especially if it centers around weather. In a FreightWaves Twitter survey, this is how drivers ranked four of the most well-known weather-themed films of all time.
‘The Day After Tomorrow’ (2004)
In our survey, this movie treceived top billing with 57.1% of the vote.
When it comes to weather-related disaster movies, some people say Roland Emmerich is the king. Critics have said some of his films are terrible, while others work well mostly because of the characters. In “The Day After Tomorrow,” Dennis Quaid and Jake Gyllenhaal lead a cast through a new ice age.
The movie takes the idea of climate change to another level when it produces an international storm of severe weather catastrophes. While scientists try to warn of the impending doom, the U.S. government ignores their concerns and a new ice age is born, resulting in millions of deaths. Many people believe the focus on a family and its fight for survival and reconciliation.is what makes the movie work so well.
‘Twister’ (1996)
This movie came in rather distant second in the survey, with 28.6% of the vote — only half the fanfare of “The Day After Tomorrow.”
“Twister” is possibly the most famous weather movie. It’s based on a severe outbreak of tornadoes in Oklahoma and the brave storm chasers in pursuit of the dangerous storms. Jan de Bont (“Speed”) directed the movie, which has gained a cult following since its release in 1996.
Bill Paxton leads his tornado chasers after bigger and more dangerous tornadoes, while Helen Hunt plays his ex-wife who survived an F5 tornado as a little girl. The tornado killed her father. When an F5 strikes Oklahoma 27 years later, they end up back together, trying to get a research device into the center of the twister. Their goal is to learn more about tornadoes, hoping to help save lives in the future. The movie also has flying cows.
‘The Mist’ (2007)
In our survey, only 14.3% of the drivers who responded said that this was their favorite weather movie.
“The Mist” is based on a Stephen King novella and focuses on a weather phenomenon that often accompanies fog. Unlike the movie “The Fog,” which saw murderous ghosts come out, “The Mist” features a small town overrun by giant creatures and monsters. However, as dangerous as the monsters are, some of the humans trapped with the heroes are pure evil.
Thomas Jane stars as a father trapped with his son, while Marcia Gay Harden plays a fundamentalist who believes God is punishing them for their sins and that sacrifice is needed to survive. Frank Darabont, who also directed King’s “Shawshank Redemption,” helms this movie and also created a black-and-white version.
‘The Fog’ (1980)
No drivers voted for this film in the survey, but it’s still worth checking out. One caveat — many people don’t recommend the 2005 remake with Tom Welling and Maggie Grace. It received a 4% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
In the original 1980 version, John Carpenter follows up his groundbreaking 1978 slasher film “Halloween” with this tale of the supernatural. “The Fog” stars Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Atkins and Janey Leigh in a story about dense fog that sweeps into a small coastal town. From the fog come the ghosts of mariners killed when they shipwrecked there years before. The movie is a cult classic with what many people consider one of the best horror music scores of all time.
Click here for more FreightWaves articles by Nick Austin.
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