Cliffhanger
Short description
A year after a rescue attempt ended with a climber falling to her death, former ranger Gabe Walker has stayed away from the mountains. When a distress call comes in from the peaks, he and his colleague Hal return to the same rock face, only to find that the climbers they were sent to help are actually criminals who have seized a fortune in cash and now need guides who know the terrain. Trapped on the mountain with the gang holding hostages, Gabe turns the hunt against them.
Renny Harlin directed the film, the sixth of twenty-eight features he has made in chronological order, following The Adventures of Ford Fairlane and preceding Cutthroat Island. Sylvester Stallone stars as Gabe and shares screenplay credit with Michael France; Alan Marshall and Harlin produced. John Lithgow plays the gang's leader, with Michael Rooker as Hal, Janine Turner as Jessie Deighan, Rex Linn as Travers and Caroline Goodall as Kristel, among a credited cast of thirty and a crew of 285.
The film was released in May 1993 and runs 113 minutes. Made for about 70 million dollars, it took roughly 255 million dollars worldwide, a strong return on its budget. On IMDb it holds 6.5/10 from around 148,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.5/10 from 2,741 votes, closely matching the critics' rating of 6.3/10 from 56 reviews.
What's left behind the scenes
- 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.
- 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.
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