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Who'll Stop the Rain

Who'll Stop the Rain

Crime · Action · Drama · 1978

John, a disillusioned Vietnam War journalist, turns to heroin smuggling. He cons Ray, an equally burnt out veteran into delivering the drugs stateside to his wife. Everything soon falls apart and Ray ends up on the run with John's wife trying to evade crooked narcotics agents.

Movie details

Who'll Stop the Rain

“A week ago they were strangers. An hour ago they were lovers. Now they are targets.”

1978 Crime · Action · Drama 2h 6m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.5 / 10

Community rating

John, a disillusioned Vietnam War journalist, turns to heroin smuggling. He cons Ray, an equally burnt out veteran into delivering the drugs stateside to his wife. Everything soon falls apart and Ray ends up on the run with John's wife trying to evade crooked narcotics agents.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Who'll Stop the Rain?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Karel Reisz

Written by

Robert Stone · Judith Rascoe

Nick Nolte

Nick Nolte

Ray Hicks

Tuesday Weld

Tuesday Weld

Marge Converse

Michael Moriarty

Michael Moriarty

John Converse

Anthony Zerbe

Anthony Zerbe

Antheil

Richard Masur

Richard Masur

Danskin

Ray Sharkey

Ray Sharkey

Smitty

Gail Strickland

Gail Strickland

Charmian

Court is in session

Put Who'll Stop the Rain on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Adrenaline Seeker

“Momentum is a formal choice.”

The velocity sharpens instinct and tension, making every beat land before self-importance can settle in.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“Speed as an alibi.”

The film races past its weak spots and hopes acceleration will keep the audience from inspecting the evidence.