When is a swimming pool not just a swimming pool?

When its in a movie…

This feature contains spoilers for the movies list, as you might expect…

Swimming pool scenes are surprisingly common in movies.

Or maybe theyre just there as an excuse to have cast members strip down to revealing costumes.

Either way, here are 25 of the most striking swimming pool scenes in the movies… ## Old School (2003)

Okay, this ones tougher to justify as having any deep significance.

Jennifers Body (2009)

So much for sparkling clear blue water.

The swimming pool inJennifers Bodyis abandoned, overgrown, and full of disgusting brown goop.

Plus its just… gross.

Its the contrast between expectations and reality thats striking here.

Hermans surrounded by people children, even!

Is it a metaphor for anything?

Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)

How do we put this lightly?

A tantalizing red bikini.

A reason for the rewind button to be invented.

It doesnt get more memorable than this.

Ferris Buellers Day Off (1986)

Whose swimming pool was this?

The pools a pretty good stand-in for depression and anxiety here.

Its a minor scene, and nothing really happens, but director Dario Argento makes it feel significant.

Skyfall (2012)

James Bond doesnt swim in just any old pool.

Or maybe its London?

Either way, it looks stunning.

Plus did I mention that it looks awesome?

Shivers (1975)

Ever thought about why swimming pools have to be chlorinated?

Dont dwell on it for too long or youll never go swimming again.

Its about as decadent and badly thought-through as anything else they do in the movie.

Boogie Nights (1997)

Another swimming-pool-as-status-symbol here.

Its partly a status symbol thing again though.

Its sweet, its sexy, and its kind of impractical, but it looks cool.

Ive made this joke too many times already, I know, but: deep.

(Yup, more sex in swimming pools.)

So when Stripe leaps into a swimming pool, you know its bad news.

Its a proper uh oh moment.

Although, depending on how romantic you find their relationship, Oskar might well be doomed anyway.

Or at least, no intentional swimming.

But rather than sun-drenched and tempting, this pool is terrifying.

Its scary in the best possible way.

It belongs to the world of celebrity that Joe yearns to be part of, but isnt.

Until it kills him.