Cliffhanger

Cliffhanger (1993)

Timing: 1:53 (113 min)

6.514/10
2591

7.289/10
77624

6.5/10
148000

All about film

Video 7

Photo 83

Actors and characters

Release date

1993-05-28

Country

France, Italy, Japan, United States

Production

Canal+, TriStar Pictures, Carolco Pictures, RCS Video, Cliffhanger Productions, Pioneer, Le Studio Canal+, Pioneer LDCA, Inc., Cliffhanger B. V., Pioneer

Genre

Action, Adventure, Thriller

Budget

$70 000 000

Revenue

$255 000 211

Website

Director

Renny Harlin

Actors

Sylvester Stallone, John Lithgow, Michael Rooker, Janine Turner, Rex Linn, Caroline Goodall, Leon, Craig Fairbrass, Gregory Scott Cummins, Denis Forest
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Alan Marshall, Renny Harlin, Mario Kassar

Operator

Alex Thomson

Composer

Trevor Jones

Artist

Marco Trentini

Audition

Mindy Marin

Editing

Frank J. Urioste, Joel Marx
All team (284)

• Around 30 world-renowned climbers were involved in the filming process, performing the most complex stunts.
• Christopher Walken was chosen for the role of the main villain, Kvolen, but left the project shortly before it began. John Lithgow was hastily found as a replacement.
• The film is set in Colorado, but filming had to be done in Italy. The American Environmental Protection Agency did not allow filmmakers to shoot on US territory, fearing that the film crew could cause significant damage to the mountain ranges. Italy was then chosen as a compromise.
• One of the most beautiful scenes, involving Stallone's character making a 12-meter jump from one cliff to another, was removed from the film after test screenings. This fragment can be seen in one of the trailers for the film. The audience laughed out loud, rightly believing that such a jump was impossible. As a result, the producers replaced this scene with a more believable one, reducing the distance between the mountain peaks.
• During preliminary screenings, the audience was so outraged by the killing of a rabbit with a rifle that Sylvester Stallone invested his own $100,000 in reshooting the scene, in which the rabbit escapes.
• During the filming of the scene with the bats, there were no actual bats. They were added to the frame later as a special effect. In fact, a whole detachment of bats was prepared to fill the corresponding cave, but Stallone and Janine Turner flatly refused to film with live bats.
• Paramount Studios was forced to pay approximately $750,000 to three independent authors, each of whom was able to prove that they owned the plot idea.
• This film is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records in the category of “most expensive and dangerous aerial stunt.” The filming of this stunt was performed at an altitude of 15,000 feet without any safety measures. When the insurance company learned of the film crew's intention to film this stunt, they refused to insure the stuntman. Sylvester Stallone then offered to reduce his fee and pay that amount to the stuntman who dared to perform the deadly number. Stuntman Simon Crane, who was assigned to perform this stunt (transferring from one plane to another), was unable to complete it. However, thanks to excellent editing, everyone gets the impression that he succeeded.
• The full version of the film has a runtime of 118 minutes.
• The two-tiered mountain sets built for the film burned down in 8 minutes when a miniature helicopter flying around them accidentally exploded. The fire was so intense that one of the nearby cameras melted.
• Renny Harlin initially declined the offer to direct the film.
• Initially, the film was to be called "Gale Force" and was to be produced by Carolco Pictures. The plot revolved around Stallone's struggle against a gang of terrorists and thieves in a coastal town during a hurricane. However, after spending $2 million on script development, the studio decided that it would be too expensive a project (it was very difficult to create a hurricane).
• During one of the episodes, Harline noticed that the safety wires were visible. The stunt performers then performed the trick without safety wires.
• Stallone's stunt double climber, Wolfgang Güllich, died in a car accident shortly after finishing work on the film.
• One of the most beautiful scenes, in which Stallone's character makes a 12-meter jump from one cliff to another, was removed from the film after test screenings. This fragment can be seen in one of the trailers for the film. The audience laughed out loud, rightly believing that such a jump was impossible. As a result, the producers replaced this scene with a more believable one, reducing the distance between the mountain peaks.