Live Roundups Editor's Desk Insights Executive Ops Weather About 🔍
Home › Entertainment › Hazy sunshine, factor-50 smiles and Cliff Richard at the...
Entertainment

Hazy sunshine, factor-50 smiles and Cliff Richard at the wheel: the 20 best summer holiday movies – ranked!

The Guardian Culture Thursday 20 August 2026, 12:05 UTC By Xan Brooks 1 min read
Key Points

From feelgood romances to heated interactions, here are the films that best capture the seasonal momentLet’s begin at the end. 2 September 1962: the final night of the summer vacation; one last big blowout before adult life intervenes. George Lucas’s rambunctious salute to footloose youth paints vivid vignettes of Modesto, California, rocking around the clock with its loose-knit gaggle of characters.

From feelgood romances to heated interactions, here are the films that best capture the seasonal moment

Let’s begin at the end. 2 September 1962: the final night of the summer vacation; one last big blowout before adult life intervenes. George Lucas’s rambunctious salute to footloose youth paints vivid vignettes of Modesto, California, rocking around the clock with its loose-knit gaggle of characters. But this has one eye on the metre and knows that time is running short.

Continue reading...
Cliff Richard (PERSON) George Lucas’s (PERSON) Modesto (LOCATION) California (LOCATION)
Originally published by The Guardian Culture Read original →

Related Stories

'Peaky Blinders' fans can now immerse themselves in the Shelby underworld in London

Fans of 'Peaky Blinders' can now step into the fictional world of the Shelby family at a new immersive experience near London Bridge. Visitors can explore the Garrison Tavern, take on missions, place bets and interact with characters in an underworld inspired by the hit series. Fans of the hit TV show Peaky Blinders can now enter the world of the Shelby family at a new immersive experience near London Bridge.

Euronews 34m ago

Amy Lee of Evanescence: ‘I could happily do an entire album of nothing but Portishead covers’

As her band hits the road, the metal trailblazer answers your questions on sexualisation in show business, finding inspiration in dreams and Spinal Tap moments on tourYou wrote Bring Me to Life when you were 19. When you perform it now, how do you relate to the younger you? becgoldsmithI was in an abusive relationship, so Bring Me to Life was partly about processing the reality of that abuse and asking myself, what are you gonna do about it?

The Guardian UK 35m ago

Amy Lee of Evanescence: ‘I could happily do an entire album of nothing but Portishead covers’

As her band hits the road, the metal trailblazer answers your questions on sexualisation in show business, finding inspiration in dreams and Spinal Tap moments on tourYou wrote Bring Me to Life when you were 19. When you perform it now, how do you relate to the younger you? becgoldsmithI was in an abusive relationship, so Bring Me to Life was partly about processing the reality of that abuse and asking myself, what are you gonna do about it?

The Guardian Culture 35m ago

Abigail’s Party review – Tamzin Outhwaite’s Bev is Madame Bovary with a Cinzano

Harold Pinter theatre, LondonOuthwaite’s performance as Beverly, a precision-tooled showcase in hidden anger and longing, is a triumph in this eternally resonant suburban dramaAlison Steadman has cast a long shadow over the suburban gargoyle-cum-bored-housewife in Mike Leigh’s social satire about 1970s social mobility. So much so that her name is almost always invoked in relation to Beverly. Tamzin Outhwaite’s incredible achievement is that she banishes Steadman’s original portrayal of Bev...

The Guardian Culture 35m ago