20 of the best movies set in winter weather

20 of the best movies set in winter weather | Stacker compiled a list of 20 great movies set in winter weather. To qualify, the film had to be primarily set in winter and have at least 20,000 votes and a 7.0 user rating on IMDb. (New Regency Productions)

Black Christmas (1974)

Black Christmas (1974) | Director: Bob Clark - IMDb user rating: 7.2 - Metascore: 65 - Runtime: 98 minutes | A benchmark of the proto-slasher sub-genre, Bob Clark’s cult classic takes place on a college campus during Christmas break. Against a wintry backdrop, a deranged serial killer stalks a group of sorority sisters. The film was shot on location in Toronto, where temperatures can drop as low as –20°C. (August Films)

Cold Mountain (2003)

Cold Mountain (2003) | Director: Anthony Minghella - IMDb user rating: 7.2 - Metascore: 73 - Runtime: 154 minutes | Adapted from the best-selling novel, this Civil War epic follows a wounded soldier (Jude Law) on a journey through perilous mountain terrain. Hostile winter weather is one among the many obstacles standing between the soldier and his wife (Nicole Kidman). Renée Zellweger won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the role of rugged individualist Ruby Thewes. (Miramax)

Doctor Zhivago (1965)

Doctor Zhivago (1965) | Director: David Lean - IMDb user rating: 8.0 - Metascore: 69 - Runtime: 197 minutes | David Lean’s sweeping saga spans several decades and chronicles the romance between a Russian physician (Omar Sharif) and a married woman (Julie Christie). Adapted from a controversial novel, it clocks in at over three hours and touches on a number of historical events. Snow and frost provide the predominant backdrop, with a key scene taking place inside a famous ice palace. It won five Academy Awards. (MGM)

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) | Director: Michel Gondry - IMDb user rating: 8.3 - Metascore: 89 - Runtime: 108 minutes | Putting a surrealist spin on modern romance, this beloved dramedy stars Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet as a former couple trying to move past their break-up. In one of the most iconic scenes, they lie upon the cracked ice of a frozen lake while looking up at the stars. The ice itself could be viewed as a metaphor for their respective memories. (Focus Features)

Fargo (1996)

Fargo (1996) | Directors: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen - IMDb user rating: 8.1 - Metascore: 85 - Runtime: 98 minutes | An expanse of snow sets the tone for this Coen Brothers classic, set in the midst of a harsh Midwestern winter. What starts as a harebrained kidnapping scheme gives way to a double homicide and other heinous crimes. Pregnant police chief Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand) contends with cold weather and quirky personalities as she searches for answers. It won two Academy Awards. (Polygram Filmed Entertainment)

Force Majeure (2014)

Force Majeure (2014) | Director: Ruben Östlund - IMDb user rating: 7.3 - Metascore: 87 - Runtime: 120 minutes | A literal avalanche causes figurative disaster in this acclaimed Swedish black comedy from Ruben Östlund. The events unfold during a family ski trip, as the layers peel back on a seemingly happy marriage. It was later remade for American audiences as the critical and commercial dud “Downhill,” starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Will Ferrell. (Plattform Produktion)

Frozen (2013)

Frozen (2013) | Directors: Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee - IMDb user rating: 7.4 - Metascore: 75 - Runtime: 102 minutes | Gifted with magical powers, a new queen accidentally turns her kingdom into a permanent winter wonderland. Hoping to lift the spell, the queen’s sister embarks on an epic adventure. Disney’s computer-animated musical was a blockbuster smash, earning over $1.2 billion at the global box office and spawning a hit sequel. (Walt Disney Animation Studios)

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) | Director: Wes Anderson - IMDb user rating: 8.1 - Metascore: 88 - Runtime: 99 minutes | Auteur Wes Anderson took loose inspiration from the writings of Stefan Zweig when crafting this clever comedy. Set in the 1930s, it welcomes viewers to a lavish hotel perched deep within the snow-capped mountains of Europe. The movie’s unique visual palette was brought to life through a combination of traditional film and advanced digital technologies. (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Groundhog Day (1993)

Groundhog Day (1993) | Director: Harold Ramis - IMDb user rating: 8.0 - Metascore: 72 - Runtime: 101 minutes | Bill Murray plays to his strengths as sarcastic but likable weatherman Phil Connors in this blockbuster comedy. On assignment in small-town Pennsylvania, Connors is forced to live the same day over and over again. Winter weather functions as both an uncontrollable obstacle and a motif as the story unfolds. (Columbia Pictures)

Insomnia (2002)

Insomnia (2002) | Director: Christopher Nolan - IMDb user rating: 7.2 - Metascore: 78 - Runtime: 118 minutes | Director Christopher Nolan followed his breakout hit “Memento” with this remake of a 1997 Norwegian thriller. When a teenage girl is murdered in Northern Alaska, two Los Angeles detectives (Al Pacino and Martin Donovan) are called in to help with the investigation. A traumatic event and 24-hour sunlight spurs a bad case of insomnia for one of the detectives, who slowly loses his grip on reality. (Alcon Entertainment)

The Lion in Winter (1968)

The Lion in Winter (1968) | Director: Anthony Harvey - IMDb user rating: 7.9 - Metascore: data not available - Runtime: 134 minutes | This historical drama takes place during Christmas in the year 1183 A.D. and plays loosely on Shakespeare’s “King Lear.” Peter O'Toole stars as King Henry II, who must decide which of his three sons shall inherit the throne. It won three Academy Awards, including Best Actress for Katharine Hepburn in a rare tie. (Haworth Productions)

Misery (1990)

Misery (1990) | Director: Rob Reiner - IMDb user rating: 7.8 - Metascore: 75 - Runtime: 107 minutes | Driving home from Colorado, author Paul Sheldon (James Caan) veers off an icy road and crashes his car. He’s saved from death by his number one fan (Kathy Bates), who gradually becomes his captor. Stephen King wrote the best-selling novel upon which this film is based, once describing it as an allegory for addiction. (Castle Rock Entertainment)

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989) | Director: Jeremiah S. Chechik - IMDb user rating: 7.6 - Metascore: 49 - Runtime: 97 minutes | The third installment of the “Vacation” franchise proves that the Griswold family are no less dysfunctional at home than they are on the road. From obnoxious relatives to an impromptu kidnapping, the holiday disasters just keep on coming. Comedy legend John Hughes wrote the screenplay and penned “Home Alone” the following year. (Warner Bros.)

The Revenant (2015)

The Revenant (2015) | Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu - IMDb user rating: 8.0 - Metascore: 76 - Runtime: 156 minutes | Leonardo DiCaprio went full survivalist when making this historical drama, sleeping in animal carcasses and risking hypothermia. It tells the (supposedly) true story of 19th century frontiersman Hugh Glass, who’s left for dead after being mauled by a bear. His path of revenge plays out against a brutal terrain of dangerous weather and people alike. The film won three Academy Awards, including Best Actor for DiCaprio. (New Regency Productions)

The Shining (1980)

The Shining (1980) | Director: Stanley Kubrick - IMDb user rating: 8.4 - Metascore: 66 - Runtime: 146 minutes | Winter is an alienating force and a deadly one, too, in this horror classic, which explores the line between psychological and supernatural terror. While caretaking the secluded Overlook Hotel, a struggling writer (Jack Nicholson) goes insane. It’s based on a novel by Stephen King, who famously took issue with director Stanley Kubrick’s interpretation of the material. (Warner Bros.)

Snowpiercer (2013)

Snowpiercer (2013) | Director: Bong Joon Ho - IMDb user rating: 7.1 - Metascore: 84 - Runtime: 126 minutes | A failed experiment has kicked off the modern ice age in Bong Joon Ho’s futuristic thriller, based on a graphic novel. Aboard a perpetually moving train called the Snowpiercer, humanity’s survivors engage in class warfare. Writing for CinemaBlend, critic Kristy Puchko called it a “deeply beautiful movie, punctuated by edge-of-your-seat thrills and unexpected laughs.” (SnowPiercer)

The Thing (1982)

The Thing (1982) | Director: John Carpenter - IMDb user rating: 8.1 - Metascore: 57 - Runtime: 109 minutes | A critical and commercial disappointment upon its release, John Carpenter’s “The Thing” has since been reappraised as a sci-fi horror classic. The story takes place at a research station in the heart of Antarctica, where omnipresent snow and freezing temperatures are a way of life. With the introduction of a shape-shifting alien comes a deadly game of trust between its human prey. It was adapted from both a famous short story and a previous film. (Universal Pictures)

Winter Light (1963)

Winter Light (1963) | Director: Ingmar Bergman - IMDb user rating: 8.1 - Metascore: data not available - Runtime: 81 minutes | Swedish auteur Ingmar Bergman often employs a cold and stark tonality, making winter weather a fitting backdrop for his work. This acclaimed drama makes up part of an informal trilogy about faith and takes place on a frigid Sunday. Already questioning his relationship with God, a small-town priest is thrown into further conflict by the love of a woman. (SF)

Winter Sleep (2014)

Winter Sleep (2014) | Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan - IMDb user rating: 8.1 - Metascore: 88 - Runtime: 196 minutes | Drawing from stories by Chekhov and Dostoyevsky, this Turkish drama centers on a wealthy hotel owner in a snowy village. Literal storms are matched by metaphorical ones as the story unravels, exploring themes of family struggle and class division. It won both the Palme d'Or and the FIPRESCI Prize at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. (NBC Film)

Winter's Bone (2010)

Winter's Bone (2010) | Director: Debra Granik - IMDb user rating: 7.2 - Metascore: 90 - Runtime: 100 minutes | Jennifer Lawrence delivers a breakout performance in this tense drama, playing destitute Ozark Mountain teen Ree Dolly. To save her family from homelessness, Ree must break with outlaw codes and locate her criminal father. Her subsequent journey plunges straight into the heart of darkness, where potential danger lurks behind every tattered door. The film’s use of cold weather drives home its dreary and despairing vibe. (Anonymous Content)

20 of the best movies set in winter weather

Stacker compiled a list of 20 great movies set in winter weather. To qualify, the film had to be primarily set in winter and have at least 20,000 votes and a 7.0 user rating on IMDb. Visit thestacker.com for similar lists and stories.