A best picture Oscar winner filmed in Oklahoma turns 35: What to know about 'Rain Man'

When film fans think back on the 1988 movie "Rain Man," they definitely remember the iconic scene of Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman, dressed in slick matching suits, riding a swanky hotel escalator down to a glitzy Las Vegas casino.

But the poignant road trip tale also makes many memorable stops in Oklahoma, from the Guthrie street corner where Hoffman's character Raymond stops traffic by taking a "Don't Walk" sign literally to the farmhouse near Hinton where Cruise's Charlie talks a sympathetic mom into skipping her kids' cartoons so Raymond can see his favorite show, “The People’s Court.”

"Thirty-five years later, ‘Rain Man’ remains a beloved film by audiences around the world, particularly in Oklahoma, where it holds a special place of remembrance for those who fondly recall its production throughout the state," said Oklahoma Film + Music Office Director Jeanette Stanton in an email to The Oklahoman.

One of only two movies to date that have filmed in Oklahoma and gone on to win the Academy Award for best picture — the 1956 adaptation of Jules Verne's "Around the World in 80 Days" famously lived up to its name by lensing in Lawton, London, Madrid, Hong Kong, Bangkok and more — "Rain Man" opened in theaters on Dec. 16, 1988. It went on to become the top-grossing film of the year, outselling other memorable 1988 hits like "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?," "Coming to America" and "Big."

In honor of its 35th anniversary, "Rain Man" is getting a limited two-day re-release in theaters and recently debuted on 4K Ultra HD with a new restoration.

Here's what you should know about the 35th anniversary of "Rain Man":

What is 'Rain Man' about?

Directed by Barry Levinson ("Good Morning, Vietnam"), "Rain Man" follows crass Los Angeles-based hustler Charlie Babbitt (Cruise), whose latest money-making scheme involves reselling four questionably obtained Lamborghinis. Charlie's wheeling and dealing is interrupted when he gets the news that his estranged father has died back in his hometown of Cincinnati.

He and his girlfriend Susanna (Valeria Golino) drive to Ohio for the funeral, but Charlie is clearly more interested in the reading of his father's will. So, he is horrified when he learns that he only inherits his father's prize rosebushes and 1949 Buick Roadmaster convertible, while the rest of the $3 million estate has been placed in trust.

Charlie is surprised to find out that his father left most of his money to a local institution — and then shocked to discover that the institution is home to Raymond (Hoffman), the older brother Charlie didn't know he had. Raymond has autism and savant syndrome and lives according to a strict routine.

Plotting to seize his father's money, Charlie sneaks Raymond out of the institution and takes his brother on a cross-country journey back to L.A.

When can film fans see 'Rain Man' again in theaters?

In honor of the film's 35th anniversary, Fathom Events has added "Rain Man" to its Big Screen Classics series.

"Rain Man" will play in movie theaters nationwide at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sept. 17 and 7 p.m. Sept. 20. In the Oklahoma City area, "Rain Man" will be showing at those times at the AMC Quail Springs 24, Cinemark Tinseltown and Regal Warren Moore.

Tickets are available at https://www.fathomevents.com/events/Rain-Man-35th-Anniversary or at participating theater box offices.

What can people look for in the new 'Rain Man' 4K Ultra HD release?

Also to mark the movie's 35th anniversary, MVD Marquee Collection in May released "Rain Man" in 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray.

The new release marked the debut of the four-time Oscar-winning movie in the 4K Ultra HD format, with a new restoration — a 4K high-definition 16-bit scan of the original camera negative — approved by Levinson and presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio in Dolby Vision HDR.

The two-disc 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray 35th Anniversary Edition of "Rain Man" includes three audio commentaries — one with Levinson, one with co-writer Barry Morrow and one with co-writer Ronald Bass — a deleted scene, the original theatrical trailer and the behind-the-scenes featurettes "The Journey of Rain Man" and "Lifting the Fog: A Look at the Mysteries of Autism."

Where in Oklahoma was 'Rain Man' filmed?

In June 1988, the cast and crew of "Rain Man" arrived in Oklahoma, where filming took place in Guthrie, Hinton, Cogar and El Reno.

"For this movie, they are shooting in Cincinnati, Las Vegas and Los Angeles," Mary Nell Clark, then the executive director of the Oklahoma Film Office, told The Oklahoman at the time. "Oklahoma is a nice contrast to those places. We have a lot of wide-open spaces and a varied look that appeals to filmmakers."

At least one of the movie's stars had worked in Oklahoma before: Hot off his star-making turns in "Top Gun" and "Risky Business," Cruise had previously played a small role in Francis Ford Coppola's "The Outsiders," which filmed entirely in Tulsa and the surrounding area in 1982.

About 20 minutes of Sooner State scenes made the final cut for "Rain Man," which runs two hours and 13 minutes:

• In Guthrie's famed historic downtown, Raymond stops traffic at the intersection of Division Street and Oklahoma Avenue when he ventures into the crosswalk upon seeing the “Walk” sign. He halts abruptly and refuses to move when the signal changes to “Don’t Walk” before he has finished crossing.

• In a second-floor office space in one of downtown Guthrie's distinctive red-brick buildings, a small-town psychologist explains Raymond's autism to Charlie. The visit includes demonstrating how Raymond can almost instantly solve complex math problems, but struggles to understand the world around him, even estimating that a candy bar costs "about $100."

• In the tiny Caddo County farming community of Cogar, Charlie pulls over at an APCO gas station to make a call in the telephone booth outside. Charlie forces Raymond to join him in the booth to keep his brother from wandering off, but Raymond complains about the cramped space, ominously warns that it's "10 minutes to Wapner" and passes gas, forcing Charlie to cut his call short. Although it was already abandoned by the time it was used as a filming location, that gas station, the W.S. Kelly General Merchandise Store, remains standing, and it has become a frequently photographed landmark since "Rain Man" debuted in theaters.

• At a farmhouse south of Hinton, Charlie convinces a housewife to let them inside so his brother can watch "The People's Court," warning her that Raymond will have a meltdown on her front porch if he misses his favorite show.

• In El Reno, the brothers stay the night at the Big 8 motel, which is clearly marked with a colorful neon sign. Another neon sign at the motel boasts the outline of Texas, as this Oklahoma location actually stands in for Amarillo in the pivotal scene, in which Charlie realizes that Raymond is the "Rain Man," a hazy but beloved figure from his childhood memories. The motel was demolished several years ago.

Many Oklahomans got in on the action as "Rain Man" was filming in the Sooner State. OKC oil producer Jack Cope was cast as the pickup truck driver who confronts Raymond in the Guthrie crosswalk. Retired OKC real estate agent Byron Cavnar, then 87, appears as a patient in the psychologist's waiting room who delivers a monologue about the Pony Express that was apparently ad-libbed.

Although familiar Hollywood character actor Beth Grant plays the mom who greets the brothers at the farmhouse door, her cartoon-deprived children are portrayed by local youngsters.

What is the lasting legacy of 'Rain Man,' especially to the autism community?

"Rain Man" was a critical and commercial hit, earning $172.8 million at the domestic box office, making it the top movie of 1988.

The comedic drama also garnered eight Academy Award nominations, winning best picture, best actor for Hoffman, best director for Levinson and best original screenplay for Bass and Morrow.

Morrow had previously won a Primetime Emmy for penning the 1981 television movie "Bill," based on his friendship with Bill Sackter, a man with intellectual disabilities. The writer is said to have based the character of Raymond on his experiences with Sackter as well as his encounter with well-known savant Kim Peek.

"Is it dated when I look at it through the lens of modern time? Absolutely. But 'Rain Man' was also the first time that a major motion picture had a lead character with autism. And that's pretty fantastic," said Stacey Weddington, community impact director for the local nonprofit AutismOklahoma.

"Rain Man" has often been praised for humanizing people with autism spectrum disorder and other neurodivergent conditions. But many people have criticized the film for oversimplifying or glamourizing autism and savant syndrome as well as for giving the mistaken impression that all or most people on the autism spectrum have savant syndrome, which is rare.

Although Hoffman's carefully researched turn as Raymond has been widely acclaimed, it also has been frequently parodied.

"I remember so vividly sitting in a theater 35 years ago watching this. In the first 20 or 30 minutes, when everyone's like, 'aw,' 'oh,' I thought, 'Oh, my God, everyone's gonna want to run out and get an autistic brother.' ... I was like, 'Please tell me that they're going to do more than this," said Weddington, whose son Alex has autism.

Although the film takes some liberties and depicts a high-functioning person on the spectrum, Weddington said "Rain Man" also honestly portrays some of the challenges of living with a person who has autism, such as Raymond wandering off, accidently starting a kitchen fire and hurting himself during a meltdown.

"Everybody wears their autism differently," she said. "As with any portrayal in any format — TV, film or whatever — when you're portraying a disorder or a disability of any kind, there's going to be people for whom it rings true. And there's going to be people for whom it does not," she said.

Weddington said she regards the legacy of "Rain Man" as largely positive for the autism community.

"In the Hollywood world, you've got 180 minutes, you've got a beginning, middle and end, and you've got to wrap it up in a bow. And they did. They wrapped it up in a beautiful way," she said.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: 'Rain Man' re-released: See where it was filmed in Oklahoma