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It's HOT...Movies to Watch During a Heatwave.

If you've spent any time in Chicago this summer, you already know why I felt compelled to put this list together.


This has been one brutal stretch of weather. Late June and July have been unbelievably hot, ridiculously humid, and just plain miserable. We've had day after day after day in the 90s, with heat indices climbing into the triple digits.


You walk outside and it feels like somebody threw a hot, wet blanket over your head. The humidity is so thick you can practically chew it. I've never been a fan of hot weather to begin with, but this summer has been testing my patience in ways I didn't think were possible.


And then, because apparently Mother Nature decided the heat wasn't enough, we got the smoke.


Those massive Canadian wildfires that have burned thousands upon thousands of acres have been sending smoke down into the Midwest, and it has been surreal. There have been days when the air quality has actually been classified as hazardous.


The advice has been to stay inside, keep your windows closed, only go outside if you absolutely have to, and wear a mask if you do. It honestly felt like we had slipped back into the COVID days for a minute.


I walked out of my apartment a couple of times this week just to run over to Walgreens. That's it. A quick trip across the street. I live in the middle of Chicago, next to an expressway, next to the "L," surrounded by concrete, traffic, and city life.


There aren't forests outside my window. There aren't campgrounds. But when I stepped outside, the smoke was so thick you could actually see it hanging in the air. It smelled like somebody had built a giant bonfire in the middle of downtown. Burnt wood everywhere. The whole city smelled like a forest fire.


And while all of this was happening, it was 92 degrees with humidity pushing 90 percent, making it feel closer to 110. So you're standing there trying not to melt while inhaling wildfire smoke from another country. That's a pretty unique Chicago experience.


I've basically been hiding in my apartment with the windows sealed shut, the air conditioner running nonstop with a brand-new filter, hoping both the temperature and the air quality would give us a break. Sometimes they have. Then the smoke comes back. Then another heat advisory rolls in. Wash. Rinse. Sweat. Repeat.


Now, I've lived in Chicago my entire life, so I've experienced just about every kind of insane weather imaginable. That's one of the weird badges of honor you earn living in the Midwest.


In the summer, you get unbearable heat and humidity. In the winter, it can be 30 below zero before the wind chill, and then the wind comes howling off the lake and suddenly you're looking at wind chills approaching 100 below. We've had blizzards that buried the city. Ice storms. Polar vortices. Heat waves. Flooding. You name it.


Honestly, I don't like extreme weather at either end of the spectrum. But if somebody forced me to choose, I'll take the cold every single time.


When it's cold, you can always put on another sweater. Another coat. Another blanket. Another pair of socks. You can layer until you're comfortable.


When it's hot? Well...you can only take off so many clothes. Eventually you've reached the legal limit. You can't remove your skin.


So yes, I hate hot weather. I hate humidity even more. It makes everybody cranky. It slows everything down. Tempers get shorter. People lose patience. Everybody's uncomfortable. Everything feels just a little more tense.


Which brings me to movies.


Heat has always been one of the great storytelling devices in cinema. Long before climate change became part of everyday conversation, filmmakers understood that oppressive heat changes people. It acts like a pressure cooker. It lowers inhibitions. It wears away patience. It fuels desire, anger, violence, lust, paranoia, desperation, and impulsive behavior.


Sometimes the heat itself becomes the villain.


That's why so many great movies are set during sweltering summers or brutal heat waves. Sometimes it's a drama. Sometimes it's a crime thriller. Sometimes it's horror. Sometimes it's comedy. Sometimes it's science fiction. Every genre has found a way to use extreme heat to push characters into places they otherwise might never go.


It's also incredibly cinematic.


Sweaty faces. Sun-baked streets. Heat shimmering off pavement. Oversaturated yellows, reds, and oranges. Sticky clothing. Constant perspiration. You can almost feel the discomfort coming off the screen. Great filmmakers know how to make you feel the temperature just by looking at an image. Some of the movies on this list practically make you sweat while you're watching them.


So yes, some of my picks are exactly the movies you'd expect. There are a few undeniable classics that absolutely belong on any list like this. But there are also a couple of choices that might surprise you, movies where the heat isn't necessarily the first thing people remember, even though it's essential to why those films work as brilliantly as they do.


Considering what we've all been living through here in Chicago (with the relentless heat, suffocating humidity, and smoky skies) it seemed like the perfect excuse to revisit some of cinema's greatest hot-weather movies.


So grab a cold drink, crank up the air conditioning if you're lucky enough to have it, stay inside if the air quality is lousy, and try not to melt.


Here are my ten favorite movies to watch during a heatwave.


Stay cool.


THE 10 BEST MOVIES TO WATCH DURING A HEATWAVE:



Starting off with one of my very favorite movies of all time.


Few movies make you feel the heat like Sidney Lumet's masterpiece. The sweat pouring off Al Pacino and everyone else isn't movie-star glamour, it's New York in the middle of a miserable summer.


The oppressive weather becomes another character in the story, ratcheting up the tension and making every bad decision feel even more desperate. One of the greatest crime dramas ever made, and one of the best examples of heat adding another layer to a film.


Nobody understood sweaty Southern atmosphere better than Tennessee Williams. The humidity in this movie practically drips off the screen. The cramped apartment, the open windows, the fans that never seem to cool anybody off, it all adds to the sexual tension, the frustration, and the emotional explosions. Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh are unforgettable, and the weather is every bit as important as the performances.


Forget the blood and gore...which, by the way, people remember as being much more graphic than it actually is. What really makes Tobe Hooper's horror masterpiece so unsettling is the unbearable Texas heat. Everyone is filthy, exhausted, dehydrated, and sticky, and you can almost smell the sweat coming off the screen. It's one of the reasons the movie feels so frighteningly real. It doesn't just scare you...it makes you uncomfortable on every level.


Spike Lee understood exactly what heat can do to a neighborhood. The entire movie feels like it's about to boil over, and that's because it is. Every conversation, every confrontation, every frustration is intensified by one of the hottest days imaginable in Brooklyn. The temperature isn't just background, it fuels the story until everything finally explodes. A masterpiece, and one of the greatest American films ever made.


Sometimes the title says it all. Based on the writings of William Faulkner, this terrific drama practically invented the sweaty Southern melodrama. Paul Newman has never looked cooler while everyone around him is melting. The heat isn't just physical, it's romantic, emotional, and sexual. It's one of those movies where every scene feels like it needs a tall glass of iced tea sitting just off camera.


Lawrence Kasdan knew exactly what he was doing when he made one of the sexiest neo-noirs ever filmed. This movie is drenched in heat, humidity, sweat, and lust. William Hurt and Kathleen Turner don't just fall for each other, they seem to melt into each other. Every frame feels sticky, dangerous, and irresistible. If there has ever been a movie where the temperature directly affects the characters' judgment, Body Heat might be the gold standard.


One room. Twelve jurors. No air conditioning. That's really all you need. Sidney Lumet's brilliant debut feature uses the sweltering heat to increase the irritation, impatience, and hostility among the jurors. As the temperature rises, so do the tempers. It's a simple but incredibly effective storytelling device, and it's one of the many reasons this remains one of the greatest courtroom dramas ever made.


I know this is a divisive one, but I've always been a defender of Richard Kelly's gloriously insane epic. Los Angeles has rarely looked so overheated, sunbaked, and on the verge of complete collapse. The movie itself feels like it's suffering from heatstroke, and I mean that as a compliment. It's messy, wildly ambitious, often hilarious, and unlike anything else ever made. I love it more every time I watch it.


When I think of movies that capture the feeling of a hot summer in the city, this is one of the first titles that comes to mind. Hitchcock uses the heat as more than atmosphere, it explains why everyone's windows are open, why the neighbors are living their lives in plain sight, and ultimately why James Stewart's L.B. Jefferies witnesses a murder. It's one of the master's greatest films, and one where the weather isn't just important...it's absolutely essential to the story.


OK, I know...this one is cheating. But after spending time with nine movies full of blistering heat, suffocating humidity, sweat, and misery, I figured we all deserved a trip to Antarctica. Besides, John Carpenter's The Thing is one of my favorite movies of all time, so I'll take any excuse to recommend it.


Watching Kurt Russell battle a shape-shifting alien while surrounded by snow, ice, and sub-zero temperatures is the perfect cinematic air conditioner. Consider this my bonus pick...a little relief before you step back outside into the inferno.



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