MOVIES
Thursday, april 1, 2021 • ThE BullETiN
GO! MAGAZINE • PAGE 21
New Line Cinema
Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams in a scene from “The Notebook” (2004).
Continued from previous page
”The Notebook” (2004) — Sur-
rounded by one of the sappiest love sto-
ries brought to screen is the famous kiss
in the rain. Romantic and heart-burst-
ing, Noah and Allie (Ryan Gosling and
Rachel McAdams) reunite after years
apart and realize the love they once had
is still very much there, despite med-
dling from Allie’s mother. It may seem
more cheesy than you remember, but
that scene in the rain still lingers in
everyone’s memory, even if it’s been
memed and parodied since. Stream it
on HBO Max or Starz or rent it on Am-
azon Prime, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu
or YouTube.
”Raising Arizona” (1987) — Be-
fore Andy Dufresne made his epic es-
cape from Shawshank, Gale and Evelle
Snoats (John Goodman and William
Forsythe) made a similarly muddy and
damp one in this Coen brothers film.
Emerging like a wailing babe or crea-
ture from the muck after tunneling out
of their prison cell, Gale fishes Evelle
out of the hole feet first ending with
both of them screaming for their new-
found freedom. From there the two
seek out the film’s protagonists Hi and
Ed (Nicholas Cage and Holly Hunter)
Twentieth Century Fox
John Goodman in a scene from “Raising Arizona” (1987).
who have just kidnapped a baby to raise
as their own. Naturally, things go a bit
awry. Rent it on Amazon Prime, Goo-
gle Play, iTunes, Vudu or YouTube.
”Seven Samurai” (1954) — Direc-
tor Akira Kurosawa often relied on the
elements to help facilitate his master-
ful storytelling. In “Seven Samurai” the
audience is hit with the confusion of
the final battle scene even more with
the constant deluge of rain and mud
pouring from the screen. As the ban-
dits arrive in the village and our heroes
and townspeople fight against them it
easy to lose track of key players and not
know entirely where everyone stands.
It is a brilliant piece of filmmaking with
the film itself going on to be remade,
referenced or reimagined countless
times including directly with the state-
side Western “The Magnificent Seven.”
Stream it on HBO Max or rent it on
Amazon Prime, Google Play, iTunes,
Vudu or YouTube.
”The Shawshank Redemption”
(1994) — The classic Stephen King
adaptation is one of the finest prison
dramas in cinema history from Tim
Robbins’ subtle and quiet Andy Du-
fresne to Morgan Freeman’s smooth
narration and supporting performance
as Red. The rainstorm in question is
probably the most well-known scene in
the movie, even if it is a bit of a spoiler.
When Andy finally crawls out of the
sewer and is able to taste freedom once
again with the storm raging above him,
he is cleansed and the audience can feel
it. Rent it on Amazon Prime, Google
Play, iTunes, Vudu or YouTube.
”Singin’ in the Rain” (1952) — You
can try and argue that the film’s most
memorable scene is “Make ’em Laugh,”
“Good Mornin’” or even the “Broadway
Melody” sequence, but nothing quite
compares to the moment when star Gene
Kelly stomps through the rain and hoists
himself up on the street lamp while sing-
ing the title song. In what is already a
great film, the rain scene reveals it as a
shimmering, glowing star in the cinema
firmament. Also, apparently, the story of
the film mixing milk in the water for the
rain to appear better on film is untrue,
though Kelly did have a bad cold while
performing it. Stream it on HBO Max or
rent it on Amazon Prime, Google Play,
iTunes, Vudu or YouTube.
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Reporter: 541-383-0304,
mwhittle@bendbulletin.com