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Eight months later, Gabe returns to the ranger station for his remaining possessions and to persuade Jessie to leave with him. While there, a distress call from stranded climbers is received. Hal goes to locate the climbers. Hal remains bitter towards Gabe over Sarah's death, but Jessie persuades him to help. They discover the distress call is fake and are taken prisoner by international thieves led by psychopathic former Military Intelligence operative, Eric Qualen. The other criminals are the brutal Kynette, sadistic Delmar, pilot Kristel, Ryan, and Heldon. Qualen, along with [[turncoat]] [[United States Department of the Treasury|U.S. Treasury]] agent Richard Travers, stole three suitcases of uncirculated bills valuing over $100 million from a McDonnell Douglas DC-9 on a mid-air transfer to a Lockheed Jetstar. Their escape plan backfired when a wounded FBI agent shoots and damages the hydraulics, sending their plane crash landing in the mountain. They demand that Gabe and Hal help to locate the cases using an [[emergency position-indicating rescue beacon|beacon locators]].
Eight months later, Gabe returns to the ranger station for his remaining possessions and to persuade Jessie to leave with him. While there, a distress call from stranded climbers is received. Hal goes to locate the climbers. Hal remains bitter towards Gabe over Sarah's death, but Jessie persuades him to help. They discover the distress call is fake and are taken prisoner by international thieves led by psychopathic former Military Intelligence operative, Eric Qualen. The other criminals are the brutal Kynette, sadistic Delmar, pilot Kristel, Ryan, and Heldon. Qualen, along with [[turncoat]] [[United States Department of the Treasury|U.S. Treasury]] agent Richard Travers, stole three suitcases of uncirculated bills valuing over $100 million from a McDonnell Douglas DC-9 on a mid-air transfer to a Lockheed Jetstar. Their escape plan backfired when a wounded FBI agent shoots and damages the hydraulics, sending their plane crash landing in the mountain. They demand that Gabe and Hal help to locate the cases using an [[emergency position-indicating rescue beacon|beacon locators]].


At gunpoint, Hal and Gabe find the first case, located upwards on a steep rock face. Gabe is tethered and forced to climb up the face. Hal shouts a warning to Gabe that Qualen will kill him after he retrieves the case. Gabe severs the rope before he can be yanked down. Heldon fires on Gabe, causing an avalanche that kills Heldon. Seeing the money fluttering away, Qualen believes the case is lost and Gabe is dead. He orders Hal to lead them onward. Gabe races ahead and finds Jessie at a mountain cabin. He recovers old mountaineering gear to reach the second case before Qualen. By nightfall, Qualen arrives, though Gabe and Jessie have emptied the case and left a taunting message, "Want to trade?" Qualen orders his men to split up. Ryan, spots Gabe and Jessie and attempts to shoot them. Gabe blinds Ryan and sends him over a cliff. Both groups take shelter for the night.
At gunpoint, Hal and Gabe find the first case, located atop a steep rock face. Gabe is tethered and forced to climb up the face. Hal shouts a warning to Gabe that Qualen will kill him after he retrieves the case. Gabe severs the rope before he can be yanked down. Heldon fires on Gabe, causing an avalanche that kills Heldon. Seeing the money fluttering away, Qualen believes the case is lost and Gabe is dead. He orders Hal to lead them onward. Gabe races ahead and finds Jessie at a mountain cabin. He recovers old mountaineering gear to reach the second case before Qualen. By nightfall, Qualen arrives, though Gabe and Jessie have emptied the case and left a taunting message, "Want to trade?" Qualen orders his men to split up. Ryan, spots Gabe and Jessie and attempts to shoot them. Gabe blinds Ryan and sends him over a cliff. Both groups shelter for the night.
The next morning, Gabe and Jessie race to beat Qualen to the last case. Elsewhere, when Hal sees two young climbers, Evan and Brett, he warns them away before Qualen's men open fire. Brett is killed while Evan, wounded, he base jumps off mountain and parachute to safety. Ranger Frank, having not heard from Gabe or the others, scouts the mountain in the helicopter. He rescues Evan and contacts the authorities. Upon Gabe impaling Kynette on a stalactite in a cavern after luring him, he attempts to call for help from Frank, their rescue helicopter pilot, on one of the mercenaries' radios, but Hal alerts him to explosives Qualen has rigged above them on the mountain. Gabe and Jessie escape the falling debris in time. Meanwhile, the mercenaries flag down Frank in the helicopter, but by the time he realizes it's a trap it is too late and Delmar fatally shoots him. While hugging Frank's body, Hal discreetly grabs Frank's knife. When Travers attempts to ditch the group, Qualen forces him to stay by betraying and killing Kristel, so Qualen is the only pilot. As the mercenaries split up to look for the last case, Hal uses the knife to stab Delmar in his leg, kill him with his shotgun, and escape. In the meantime, Travers sees Gabe and gives chase. While on the surface of a frozen river, Travers observes Gabe under the ice and tries to kill him, but Gabe uses his bolt gun to shoot Travers, and his lifeless body is carried away by the river current.
The next morning, Gabe and Jessie race to beat Qualen to the last case. Elsewhere, when Hal sees two young climbers, Evan and Brett, he warns them away before Qualen's men open fire. Brett is killed while Evan, wounded, base jumps off the mountain and parachutes to safety. Ranger Frank, scouts the mountain in the helicopter, looking for Gabe and the others, unaware of what is happening. He rescues Evan and contacts the authorities. Upon Gabe impaling Kynette on a stalactite, he attempts to call Frank on the mercenaries' radio. Hal alerts him that Qualen has rigged explosives above the chasm they're in. Gabe and Jessie escape the falling debris. Meanwhile, the mercenaries flag down Frank in the helicopter and Delmar fatally shoots him. Hal discreetly grabs Frank's knife. When Travers attempts to ditch the group, Qualen forces him to stay by killing Kristel, leaving Qualen as the only pilot. As the mercenaries split up to look for the last case, Hal kills Delmar and escapes. In the meantime, Travers sees Gabe and gives chase. Gabe falls through ice, and from underwater, uses a bolt gun to kill Travers.


However, at the same time, Qualen takes Jessie hostage when she waves down the helicopter, believing that Frank is flying it: Qualen tells Gabe and Hal over the radio that he is holding Jessie captive on board the helicopter, demanding Gabe and Hal surrender the money from the third case at a high elevated rendezvous point and threatens to kill her should they refuse to cooperate. Gabe and Hal agree, and they meet at a cliffside bridge; however, Qualen tries to challenge Gabe into throwing the case into the helicopter, but when he also threatens to kill Jessie again, Gabe orders Qualen to free her at a safe distance away from the cliff. Qualen reluctantly agrees, and uses a winch to lower Jessie to the ground; once Jessie is safely down, however, Gabe throws the bag of money into the helicopter's rotors, shredding the money. Enraged, Qualen attempts to use the helicopter to kill Gabe, but Gabe has used the winch cable to tether the helicopter to a steel ladder up the cliff face; Hal arrives and helps by shooting down the helicopter. The ladder snaps and leaves Gabe and Qualen atop the wreckage of the helicopter hanging by the cable: Gabe fights Qualen and manages to climb to safety as the wreckage snaps off the cable and falls to the bottom of the mountain, killing Qualen. Gabe reunites with Jessie and Hal as they are found by Treasury agents led by Walter Wright in a helicopter, arranging to send a rescue helicopter as the trio is seen sitting on top of a mountain peak, reminiscent of Gabe, Hal, and Sarah at the beginning.
Meanwhile, Qualen takes Jessie hostage after she waves down the helicopter, believing Frank is piloting it. Qualen tells Gabe and Hal over the radio that he is holding Jessie captive, demanding they surrender the money at a high elevated rendezvous point or else Jesse will be killed. Gabe and Hal meet him at a cliffside bridge; however, Qualen tries to challenge Gabe into throwing the case into the helicopter, but when he again threatens to kill Jessie, Gabe orders Qualen to free her. Qualen reluctantly agrees. Once Jessie is safely down, Gabe throws the money bag into the helicopter's rotors, shredding the cash. Enraged, Qualen attempts to kill Gabe with the helicopter but Gabe has tethered the helicopter winch cable to the steel clif ladder. Hal helps shoot down the helicopter. The ladder snaps and leaves Gabe and Qualen atop the wreckage of the helicopter hanging by the cable: Gabe fights Qualen and climbs to safety as the wreckage snaps off the cable and falls to the bottom, killing Qualen. Gabe reunites with Jessie and Hal as they are found by Treasury agents led by Walter Wright in a helicopter, arranging to send a rescue helicopter.


== Cast ==
== Cast ==

Revision as of 01:30, 29 June 2024

Cliffhanger
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRenny Harlin
Screenplay by
Story byMichael France
Based onA premise
by John Long
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyAlex Thomson
Edited byFrank J. Urioste
Music byTrevor Jones
Production
companies
Distributed byTriStar Pictures
Release dates
  • May 20, 1993 (1993-05-20) (Cannes)
  • May 28, 1993 (1993-05-28) (United States)
Running time
113 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$70 million[1]
Box office$255 million[1]

Cliffhanger is a 1993 American action thriller film[2] directed and co-produced by Renny Harlin and co-written by and starring Sylvester Stallone alongside John Lithgow, Michael Rooker and Janine Turner. Based on a concept by climber John Long, the film follows Gabe (Stallone), a mountain climber who becomes embroiled in a heist of a U.S. Treasury plane flying through the Rocky Mountains. The film premiered at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival, and was released in the United States on May 28, 1993, by TriStar Pictures. It received positive reviews and earned $255 million worldwide, becoming the 7th highest-grossing film of 1993.

Plot

Rangers Gabriel "Gabe" Walker and girlfriend Jessie Deighan attempt to rescue their friend and fellow ranger, Hal Tucker, and his girlfriend, Sarah, who are stranded on a Colorado Rockies peak. While Gabe is rescuing Sarah, part of her harness breaks and she falls to her death. Hal blames Gabe, claiming he mishandled her rescue; Gabe, overcome with guilt, takes extended leave.

Eight months later, Gabe returns to the ranger station for his remaining possessions and to persuade Jessie to leave with him. While there, a distress call from stranded climbers is received. Hal goes to locate the climbers. Hal remains bitter towards Gabe over Sarah's death, but Jessie persuades him to help. They discover the distress call is fake and are taken prisoner by international thieves led by psychopathic former Military Intelligence operative, Eric Qualen. The other criminals are the brutal Kynette, sadistic Delmar, pilot Kristel, Ryan, and Heldon. Qualen, along with turncoat U.S. Treasury agent Richard Travers, stole three suitcases of uncirculated bills valuing over $100 million from a McDonnell Douglas DC-9 on a mid-air transfer to a Lockheed Jetstar. Their escape plan backfired when a wounded FBI agent shoots and damages the hydraulics, sending their plane crash landing in the mountain. They demand that Gabe and Hal help to locate the cases using an beacon locators.

At gunpoint, Hal and Gabe find the first case, located atop a steep rock face. Gabe is tethered and forced to climb up the face. Hal shouts a warning to Gabe that Qualen will kill him after he retrieves the case. Gabe severs the rope before he can be yanked down. Heldon fires on Gabe, causing an avalanche that kills Heldon. Seeing the money fluttering away, Qualen believes the case is lost and Gabe is dead. He orders Hal to lead them onward. Gabe races ahead and finds Jessie at a mountain cabin. He recovers old mountaineering gear to reach the second case before Qualen. By nightfall, Qualen arrives, though Gabe and Jessie have emptied the case and left a taunting message, "Want to trade?" Qualen orders his men to split up. Ryan, spots Gabe and Jessie and attempts to shoot them. Gabe blinds Ryan and sends him over a cliff. Both groups shelter for the night.

The next morning, Gabe and Jessie race to beat Qualen to the last case. Elsewhere, when Hal sees two young climbers, Evan and Brett, he warns them away before Qualen's men open fire. Brett is killed while Evan, wounded, base jumps off the mountain and parachutes to safety. Ranger Frank, scouts the mountain in the helicopter, looking for Gabe and the others, unaware of what is happening. He rescues Evan and contacts the authorities. Upon Gabe impaling Kynette on a stalactite, he attempts to call Frank on the mercenaries' radio. Hal alerts him that Qualen has rigged explosives above the chasm they're in. Gabe and Jessie escape the falling debris. Meanwhile, the mercenaries flag down Frank in the helicopter and Delmar fatally shoots him. Hal discreetly grabs Frank's knife. When Travers attempts to ditch the group, Qualen forces him to stay by killing Kristel, leaving Qualen as the only pilot. As the mercenaries split up to look for the last case, Hal kills Delmar and escapes. In the meantime, Travers sees Gabe and gives chase. Gabe falls through ice, and from underwater, uses a bolt gun to kill Travers.

Meanwhile, Qualen takes Jessie hostage after she waves down the helicopter, believing Frank is piloting it. Qualen tells Gabe and Hal over the radio that he is holding Jessie captive, demanding they surrender the money at a high elevated rendezvous point or else Jesse will be killed. Gabe and Hal meet him at a cliffside bridge; however, Qualen tries to challenge Gabe into throwing the case into the helicopter, but when he again threatens to kill Jessie, Gabe orders Qualen to free her. Qualen reluctantly agrees. Once Jessie is safely down, Gabe throws the money bag into the helicopter's rotors, shredding the cash. Enraged, Qualen attempts to kill Gabe with the helicopter but Gabe has tethered the helicopter winch cable to the steel clif ladder. Hal helps shoot down the helicopter. The ladder snaps and leaves Gabe and Qualen atop the wreckage of the helicopter hanging by the cable: Gabe fights Qualen and climbs to safety as the wreckage snaps off the cable and falls to the bottom, killing Qualen. Gabe reunites with Jessie and Hal as they are found by Treasury agents led by Walter Wright in a helicopter, arranging to send a rescue helicopter.

Cast

  • Sylvester Stallone as Ranger Gabriel "Gabe" Walker, a former mountain climber and rescue ranger haunted by his failure to save the girlfriend of his best friend, Hal Tucker
  • John Lithgow as Eric Qualen, a psychopathic British former military intelligence officer, now leader of the gang of thieves trying to rob $100 million from the U.S. Treasury. Lithgow was originally cast as the film's secondary villain, but was promoted after Christopher Walken left the film.[3]
  • Michael Rooker as Ranger Harold "Hal" Tucker, Gabe's best friend and a mountain ranger who blames Gabe for failing to save Sarah
  • Janine Turner as Ranger Jessica "Jessie" Deighan, a helicopter pilot and Gabe's girlfriend working in the same mountain search-and-rescue group and whom Gabe has become distant from since failing to save Sarah
  • Rex Linn as Richard Travers, a mentally unstable U.S. Treasury agent who is a double agent working for Qualen as his lieutenant
  • Caroline Goodall as Kristel, Qualen's pilot and companion
  • Leon Robinson as Kynette, Qualen's brutal henchman
  • Craig Fairbrass as Delmar, Qualen's sadistic ex-English football player-turned-henchman.
  • Gregory Scott Cummins as Ryan, Qualen's henchman
  • Denis Forest as Heldon, Qualen's henchman
  • Michelle Joyner as Sarah, Hal's ill-fated girlfriend who falls to her death after Gabe failed to save her
  • Paul Winfield as Walter Wright, a U.S. Treasury agent and Travers' superior who discovered Qualen's plot to rob the money from the U.S. Treasury
  • Ralph Waite as Ranger Frank, a search-and-rescue pilot working for Gabe, Jessie and Hal
  • Max Perlich as Evan, a thrill-seeking young man who is friends with Gabe and Hal
  • Trey Brownell as Brett, Evan's friend who is also a thrill-seeker
  • Vyto Ruginis as Matheson, an undercover FBI agent who foils the mid-air robbery
  • John Finn as FBI Agent Michaels
  • Bruce McGill as Treasury Agent
  • Zach Grenier as Davis, Wright's assistant
  • Jeff McCarthy as the pilot
  • Wolfgang Güllich as Gabe Walker (stunt double)

Production

Development and writing

Carolco Pictures had originally signed Sylvester Stallone to appear opposite John Candy in a comedy about feuding neighbors titled Bartholomew Vs. Neff, which was going to be written and directed by John Hughes. When that project was dropped, Stallone became involved in two other Carolco projects.

The first one was the futuristic science-fiction horror film Isobar, which was about a genetically-created monster who breaks free on a high-speed runaway train: between 1987, when Carolco first bought the original script by Jim Uhls for $400,000, and 1991, directors Ridley Scott and Roland Emmerich were each at different points in time attached to direct the film which would have had a $90 million budget with Stallone and Kim Basinger playing the main roles; however, due to disagreements between them and Carolco and producer Joel Silver about the script changes and lack of artistic freedom, both Scott and Emmerich gave up on the project, which in the end was cancelled.[4][5][6]

The second Carolco project in which Stallone was involved was an action disaster thriller entitled Gale Force, described as "Die Hard in a hurricane", which Renny Harlin was going to direct, and in which Stallone would play an ex-Navy SEAL who has to fight against a group of modern pirates who attack a coastal town during a large, catastrophic hurricane. The first version of the script for the film was written by David Chappe in 1984, who then wrote six more drafts between 1987 and 1989, and after his final draft received some praise and following the bidding war between several studios for it in 1989, Carolco bought his final draft for $500,000, with a promise of an additional $200,000 if the movie were made. Harlin was paid $3 million for directing the film, but because his contract also gave him full control of the project, he demanded many re-writes of the script to, amongst other things, increase the number of action sequences and make them bigger. Between 1990 and 1991 while they were working on the project, Carolco spent over $4 million on all the different screenwriters and versions of the script. One of the screenwriters who worked on it, Joe Eszterhas, was paid $500,000 to write his version. He re-wrote it as an erotic thriller, similar to his previous screenplays, so it was rejected.

Carolco, believing the intended $40 million budget would be too big, and unable to figure out how to make special effects for the film, cancelled that project two weeks before production was supposed to begin; but Harlin still kept his $3 million, and he and Stallone and everyone else involved in it then moved on to Cliffhanger, another Carolco project, which had a budget of $70 million, almost double that of Gale Force.[7][8][9][10][11][12]

Harlin wanted David Bowie for the role of Qualen but he couldn't work it out with his schedule, the role eventually went to John Lithgow.[13]

Reviewers have suggested that the 1956 dramatic film The Mountain provided some of the inspiration for Cliffhanger, which has multiple specific similarities.[14]

Before production began, Stallone rewrote Michael France's script: his work changed the film significantly enough that Carolco petitioned the Writers Guild of America for him to get credit.[15]

Half of the film's budget was provided by TriStar Pictures in exchange for complete distribution rights in North America, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, and France.[16] Other funding was provided by Rizzoli-Corriere della Sera, Le Studio Canal+, and Pioneer Electric Corporation. The financing arrangement was the result of Carolco's serious debt issues, and as a result, the studio would ultimately receive very little of the box office gross.[17] During principal photography, production was shut down twice when Carolco could not afford to pay the crew; the movie went $40 million over budget. Stallone reportedly had to forego $2 million of his $15 million salary as a result.[15]

Filming

The large majority of the film's scenes were shot in the Dolomites in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. For example, the bridge scene was shot on Monte Cristallo in the via ferrata VF Ivano Dibona, which was reconstructed immediately after the movie. The climbing was mostly on the Tofane cliffs, and in some scenes toward the end of the movie the audience clearly sees the three Tofane, the Croda da Lago, and the town of Cortina; the location of this is on top of Mount Faloria, at the arrival of the funivia Faloria. In other scenes are the sentiero ferrato Astaldi, over the Rifugio Dibona. The small house has been constructed on the sand of the river Boite, in Fiames, close to the heliport. Some filming took place in Durango, Colorado. The credits of the film also thank the Ute Tribe for filming in the Ute Mountain reservation.[18]

Cliffhanger is in the Guinness Book of World Records for the costliest aerial stunt ever performed. Stuntman Simon Crane was paid $1 million to perform the aerial transfer scene, where he crossed between two planes at an altitude of 15,000 feet (4,600 m).[19]

The principal climbing doubles were Ron Kauk and Wolfgang Güllich. Kauk performed as Stallone's climbing double after Güllich died in a car accident in 1992.[20] The doubles filled in for Stallone on most of the climbing scenes due to the actor's fear of heights; an injury to Stallone's hand, reported to have occurred on one of the cliffs, actually occurred on a soundstage.[15]

When asked about the director's cut, Stallone explained that "the director's cut was met with a lot of disapproval at the screening and received some alarmingly low scores. Mainly because the stunts were absurdly overblown. For example, the average man can jump maybe twelve feet across a gorge, and the stunts had me leaping maybe three hundred feet or more, so situations like that had to be pared down and still then were fairly extreme...so you're probably better off with this cut. By the way, the second unit crew that filmed the majority of the action was extraordinary."[21]

Music

Cliffhanger: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Studio album by
Trevor Jones
Released23 May 1993
RecordedCine-Tele Sound (CTS) Studios, Wembley, United Kingdom
GenreStage & Screen
Length42:18
LabelScotti Bros. Records 514 455-2
ProducerTrevor Jones
Trevor Jones chronology
The Last of the Mohicans
(1992) 		Cliffhanger: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
(1993) 		Death Train
(1993)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[22]

The orchestral score to Cliffhanger was composed by film score veteran Trevor Jones with the National Philharmonic Orchestra. In his review for the Cliffhanger soundtrack, Filmtracks.com reviewer Christian Clemmensen mentioned its similarities to Jones' previous work on The Last of the Mohicans, stating: "with Cliffhanger would come a title theme strikingly similar to that of Last of the Mohicans, possibly too reminiscent in fact for some listeners to tolerate." However, his review was still positive, giving the Cliffhanger score four out of a possible five stars, concluding, "No matter your view of whether or not composers should recycle their own material, Jones' main identity for Cliffhanger stands on its own as a remarkable piece, and an often enjoyable action underscore will maintain your interest in between the theme's statements."[23] The soundtrack has been released twice; through Scotti Bros./BMG Music on 23 May 1993 and an extended version through Intrada Records on 21 February 2011.[23]

Release

Cut version

For its British cinema release, the film was cut by over a minute, then by a further 16 seconds on video and DVD to gain a '15' certificate. Chief victim was the scene in which Delmar beats up Tucker, but other cuts included aggressive strong language and other moments of violence. However, the 2008 DVD release was given a '15' with no cuts made.[24]

Home media

Cliffhanger was released on VHS for rental in the United States in December 1993.[25] It was released on DVD on November 26, 1997 and re-released for the Collector's Edition on June 13, 2000 by Columbia TriStar Home Video.[26][27] The film on Blu-ray was released first in United Kingdom on August 4, 2008, Australia and Mexico in 2009 by Optimum Home Entertainment and Universal Studios Home Entertainment under the StudioCanal banner,[28][29][30] and in the United States on January 12, 2010,[31] and on 4K UltraHD Blu-ray on 15 January 2019.[32] The film was re-released on Blu-ray in Australia and United Kingdom only from 2018 to 2019 for the film's 25th anniversary under the Classics Remastered and Brand New Restoration.[33][34] The film was re-released with Last Action Hero on Blu-ray 2-Movie Collection on November 2, 2021.[35]

Reception

Box office

Cliffhanger grossed $20.5 million during its opening weekend, ranking in first place at the box office ahead of Sliver, Super Mario Bros., Made in America and Dave.[36][37] The film was a box office hit grossing $255 million worldwide.[1][38] The film grossed $84 million in the United States and Canada,[1] $14 million in the United Kingdom and $13 million in Germany.[39] It spent 11 consecutive weeks at the top of the Japanese box office.[40]

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 68% based on 55 reviews, with an average rating of 6.2/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "While it can't escape comparisons to the movies it borrows from, Cliffhanger is a tense, action-packed thriller and a showcase for the talents that made Sylvester Stallone a star."[41] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 60 out of 100 based on reviews from 16 critics.[42] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.[43]

The film was screened out of competition at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival.[44] It was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Sound (Michael Minkler, Bob Beemer, and Tim Cooney), Best Sound Effects Editing (Gregg Baxter), and Best Visual Effects, all losing to Jurassic Park.[45][46]

It was nominated for Worst Picture, Worst Supporting Actor (John Lithgow), Worst Supporting Actress (Janine Turner), and Worst Screenplay at the 14th Golden Raspberry Awards.[47] Roger Ebert gave the film 3 out of 4 stars.[48] Although most people enjoyed Lithgow's performance, he was criticized for his inauthentic-sounding English accent, especially when next to native English actors Fairbrass and Goodall.[49][50][51]

Michael Benge of Climbing magazine was critical of the film's unrealistic portrayal of mountaineering, including the fictional gun which fires pitons directly into rock.[52]

Other media

A novelization based on the film by Jeff Rovin titled Cliffhanger, was released in 1993.[53]

A video game based on the film was released via numerous game consoles on November 17, 1993.[54]

Future

In 1994, TriStar announced plans to develop a sequel titled Cliffhanger 2: The Dam, with Stallone reprising his starring role. The plot revolved around Gabe Walker combating terrorists who took control of the Hoover Dam. The project remained in development hell until 2008, when the project was revived with Stallone's involvement, before once again being shelved.[55] By May 2009, it was announced that reimagining was in development. Produced by Neal H. Moritz the project would be a joint-production between Original Film and StudioCanal. The story would focus around a group of young climbers, and was tentatively scheduled to begin principal photography the following year. Moritz stated that his intent is to adapt the story in a similar manner comparable to J.J. Abrams' work on Star Trek.[56] By May 2014, Joe Gazzam was hired as screenwriter after pitching his approach to the story to Moritz who was impressed.[57] By May 2015, Stallone expressed interest in developing a direct sequel to the original film.[58] In May of 2019, the project developed into a female-led adaptation. Ana Lily Amirpour was hired as director, with a new draft of the script written by Sascha Penn. Jason Momoa was in early negotiations to feature in a prominent cameo role; while Mortiz brought on Toby Jaffe, Thorsten Schumacher, and Lars Sylvest as additional producers. The story was described as a survival thriller action movie, with elements of espionage. An official production poster was released for the project's presence at Cannes, with a tentative commencement for principal photography was set for 2020. Moritz stated that there are plans for more than one installment to be made.[59]

In May 2023, it was officially announced that the project will be redeveloped as a legacy-sequel. Ric Roman Waugh will serve as director (replacing Amirpour), from a new script written by Mark Bianculli. Stallone will reprise his role from the original, in addition to taking on a role as producer. The plot will detail the continued adventures of climber-turned-rescue ranger Gabriel "Gabe" Walker alongside a supporting cast, and include the Italian Alps. Casting underway for additional ensemble lead and supporting roles. Waugh expressed excitement for the challenge of working with Stallone, stating: "Growing up with the biggest action films of the '80s and '90s, ...Cliffhanger was by far one of my favorite spectacles. To be at the helm of the next chapter, ...with the legend himself...is a dream come true. It's going to be a great challenge and blast taking this franchise to new heights, a responsibility I don't take lightly." Moritz, Jaffe, Schumacher, Sylvest, and Braden Aftergood will serve as additional producers. The project will be a joint-venture production between Original Film, Balboa Productions, StudioCanal, Rocket Science Films, Wright Productions & Entertainment, and Front Row Entertainment. The movie had a presence at Cannes, where additional funding and distribution would be decided.[60][61][62] In December of the same year, it was announced that Jean-François Richet had replaced Waugh as director; while additional film studios joined the project including FilmFernsehFonds Bayern, Black Magic Films, Supernix, Maze Pictures, and Occupant Entertainment. Philipp Kreuzer and Joe Neurauter will serve as additional producers, while principal photography is scheduled to commence in the summer of 2024.[63]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Cliffhanger". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 1, 2016.
  2. ^ "Cliffhanger". AllMovie. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  3. ^ "John Lithgow Breaks Down His Most Iconic Characters". GQ. YouTube. July 1, 2022. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  4. ^ "Money talks State Senate President Phil Rock is..." Articles.chicagotribune.com. September 24, 1990. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  5. ^ "SCI FI Wire - The News Service of the SCI FI Channel - SCIFI.COM". September 3, 2007. Archived from the original on September 3, 2007. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  6. ^ The Greatest Sci-fi Movies Never Made by David Hughes
  7. ^ Brennan, Judy (December 21, 1995). "Troubled Route to Pirate Epic 'Cutthroat'; Movies: As the swashbuckling adventure starring Geena Davis, directed by her husband, Renny Harlin, opens this weekend, financial woes surround its release". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
  8. ^ "How Deals Get Done Over A Hot Script". Article.latimes.com. August 3, 1989. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  9. ^ "Sylvester Stallone's Gale Force". Ew.com. October 4, 1991. Archived from the original on August 14, 2020. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  10. ^ WILLMAN, CHRIS (July 4, 1990). "Renny Harlin Finds Plenty of Action in Hollywood : Movies: With 'Die Hard 2' and 'Ford Fairlane' opening almost simultaneously, the Finnish director of adventure films is taking the industry by storm". Articles.latimes.com. Retrieved September 30, 2017 – via LA Times.
  11. ^ Gelder, Lawrence Van (July 13, 1990). "AT THE MOVIES". The New York Times. Retrieved September 30, 2017 – via www.nytimes.com.
  12. ^ "Total Free Fall". Europe.newsweek.com. March 8, 1992. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
  13. ^ "David Bowie Was the First Choice to Play One of the Best '90s Movie Villains Ever [Exclusive]". May 17, 2024.
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