Elevator To The Gallows (1958)
The Rain: Jeanne Moreau wanders the abandoned streets of Paris in the rain, searching for the lover that never arrives after she bumps off her husband.
Thematic Resonance: The rain here reflects the utter despair of Moreau's character, as she stumbles through Paris in a heartbroken daze. A bleak scene indeed.
Seven Samurai (1954)
The Rain: The final battle between the samurai and the marauding bandits is a total washout. Not that the samurais are too fussed. Their skills are such that they can slice and dice individual drops!
Thematic Resonance: It lends the final showdown a suitably apocalyptic feel. Blood mingling with mud? Always a winner.
The Public Enemy (1931)
The Rain: Jimmy Cagney's Tom Powers is gunned down in a rain-soaked street at the conclusion of this star-making gangster vehicle.
Thematic Resonance: The dismal weather matches up perfectly with Powers' final words: "I ain't so tough."
Poltergeist (1982)
The Rain: When the rain finally falls in this one, it falls hard. So hard in fact, that it exposes the Indian burial ground beneath the family's haunted home. So that's what all the trouble was about…
Thematic Response: It facilitates the film's big reveal. Well done rain, you clever bastard.
Inception (2010)
The Rain: As the inception crew arrive in the first level of Fischer's subconscious, they're greeted by an extremely rainy cityscape. Things go from bad to worse when it becomes clear that Fischer's projections have become militarised. Bummer.
Thematic Resonance: There's a simple explanation for the rain in this case, given that its a product of Yusuf's dreamscape. "A bit too much free champagne before takeoff, eh Yusuf?" smirks Eames, knowingly.
Jurassic Park (1993)
The Rain: As the cars break down outside the T-Rex enclosure, the heavens begin to open. Seems a bit ominous, doesn't it?
Thematic Response: Aside from the storm cutting off all escape from the island, it also serves to crank the tension up to even greater heights. Now they're on the run from dinosaurs, and they're soaking!
28 Days Later (2002)
The Rain: As the film reaches its super-violent conclusion, the rain starts to come down hard, the score gets louder and everything seems to be going to hell in a handcart.
Thematic Resonance: What's scarier than a unit of unhinged military types, mingling with a horde of infected loons? All of that with some rain chucked in, that's what.
The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
The Rain: New York is battered by persistent heavy rain, so much so that the Hudson ends up bursting its banks. Then a tsunami comes rolling in, just to put the old tin lid on it!
Thematic Resonance: The weather in general is the source of the film's entire storyline. No pathetic fallacy on show here!
Unforgiven (1992)
The Rain: The storm clouds begin to darken as William Munny realises his best friend Ned has been killed by Little Bill. By the time he's taken care of business, the rain is falling steady and hard.
Thematic Resonance: The gathering clouds represent Munny's return to his old ways, as he turns his back on a life of peace in order to avenge his friend's death.
Pleasantville (1998)
The Rain: Pleasantville 's perfectly formed and perfectly bland town is turned on its head by its first ever rain shower. The resident teenagers are thrilled, while the older ones watch on mistrustfully.
Thematic Resonance: The rainfall is a turning point in the town's transformation, and things begin to gather pace from hereon in.
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