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Who'll Stop the Rain? Photos

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Movie Info

A jaded journalist, John (Michael Moriarty), and a Vietnam vet, Ray (Nick Nolte), are adrift after returning home from the war. With not much to lose, they hatch a scheme to smuggle heroin from Vietnam into the U.S., which stands to make them a fortune. Instead, the pair and John's wife (Tuesday Weld) find themselves on the run from drug dealers and a crooked DEA agent (Anthony Zerbe). Along the way, Ray shows their opponents some of the useful combat skills he picked up in the war.

Rating:

R
Genre:

mystery and thriller
Original Language:

English
Director:

Karel Reisz
Producer:

Herb Jaffe, Gabriel Katzka
Writer:

Judith Rascoe, Robert Stone
Release Date (Theaters):

Aug 2, 1978 wide
Release Date (Streaming):

Apr 19, 2017
Runtime:

2h 5m
Production Co:

Katzka-Jaffe

Cast & Crew

Nick Nolte
Ray Hicks

Tuesday Weld
Marge Converse

Michael Moriarty
John Converse

Anthony Zerbe
Antheil

Richard Masur
Danskin

Ray Sharkey
Smitty

Show all Cast & Crew

Critic Reviews for Who'll Stop the Rain?

All Critics (12) | Top Critics (2) | Fresh (9) | Rotten (3)

The movie works mostly because it's so well told on the narrative level.

June 16, 2018 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
A remarkably faithful and astute adaptation of a strong novel, the film condenses Stone's book, which won the National Book Award for fiction in 1975, without doing irreparable damage to its story, principal characters or larger meanings.

April 30, 2018 | Full Review…

Gary Arnold
Washington Post
Like the same year's more celebrated Vietnam War endeavors The Deer Hunter and Coming Home, this assured picture similarly examines the effects of the war on not only those who served but also those who remained stateside.

April 3, 2021 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

Matt Brunson
Film Frenzy
I wish someone would tell me why Who'll Stop the Rain? was made, what motivates its characters, and what it's really about.

November 1, 2019 | Full Review…

Bernard Drew
Gannett News Service
This is Karel Reisz's best work, which fits into the crime genre. [Full Review in Spanish]

August 7, 2019 | Full Review…

Augusto Martínez Torres
El Pais (Spain)
Something of a mixed bag, occasionally feeling likely a cheaply constructed thriller using Vietnam as a selling point.

June 4, 2019 | Rating: 2.5/4 | Full Review…

Matthew Lucas
From the Front Row
Anchored by great turns from Moriarty, Nolte and Tuesday Weld, Reisz version of Stone's book is one of the most intriguing films about Vietnam, at once a tale about a paricularly divisive war and a parable about moral chaos and personal disintegration.

July 27, 2009 | Rating: B+ | Full Review…

Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
Nolte finds his groove as the anti-hero roughneck.

June 18, 2009 | Rating: B | Full Review…

Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews
Quote not available.

May 13, 2005 | Rating: 3/5

Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
A complicated morality play about the Vietnam war and its lingering after-effects.

January 24, 2004 | Full Review…

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality & Practice
Quote not available.

March 5, 2003 | Rating: 2/5

Rebecca Murray
About.com
A tough and thoughtful thriller, marked by a terrific Nolte performance.

January 9, 2003 | Rating: 4/5

Rob Thomas
Capital Times (Madison, WI)