Auf Leben und Tod

This survival story of an athletic man (played by the athletic Conrad), his athletic son, and his two daughters is based on a true story.

If so, there aren't any punches pulled on the hatefulness and evil of one of the characters. The father is realistic, and bases his hopes for his family on realism. The son is believable enough as a jock with a decent enough heart. The youngest daughter is subject to harassment and hate that looks to have been going on for way too much from her vicious older sister.

The older sister is, quite frankly, a demonic creature that torments her younger sister even at the point of death. If this was her true character, one would feel sorry for anyone under her control. One must feel for the younger daughter, who can't even trust her own family, and for good reason, and whose struggle for survival is against all the odds.

The story itself has a ring of truth to it, but also a ring of stupidity on the father's part for putting them in this situation, and for being so callous as to allow the youngest daughter to be put through a Hell no one should have to go through. Granted, he's fairly moderate, but the hatefulness of the older sister goes beyond normal "picking". It's sheer demonic possession and evil at best.

As for the rest, it looks like very realistic drama, with the weakening of the senses and the brains affecting even the healthy male members of the party, making the struggle even harder. One should not think this is a fault of their own. It's simply the human body succumbing to the elements, struggling to make the right decisions.

This is a fantastic true story drama, that introduced the world to hollywood hero, Matt LeBlanc. A family are left stranded on an unknown island, all they have is each other, and human spirt. Though out the mind numbing twists in this classic adventure the close family have to make some life or death decisions that keep you on the edge of your seat, thoughout. Although Matt LeBlanc has only gone onto world stardom in such classics as "The red shoe diaries 3 and 7" and "Reform School Girl" i don't think we should forget the performance of Emily Perkins (Krista) who really made the film what it is. A fantastic emotional rollacoster of a film that you leave you breathless. Congradulations to Zale Dalen for making the greatest TVM EVER.

Based on a true story, this television drama was filmed along Canada's west coast, in winter. The cast and crew worked in icy waters and freezing rain. It was a miserable "shoot" but so was the horror of the real people involved. You will notice a very young and green Matt Leblanc in a roll years before "Friends". Robert Conrad was very strong and real...a true professional.

Richard Long

Otherwise known as "Almost too late" this based on a true story tale see's a families boat capsize. They are forced to seek refuge on an island but as the cold sets in it becomes increasingly difficult to stay alive.

I'm always sceptical of true stories, chances are at least half of it is untrue and/or exaggerated.

Starring Matt "Friends" LeBlanc and Emily "Gingersnaps" Perkins this is some really made for tv stuff. It looks passable, the writing is mostly okay but the whole thing just comes across painfully generic.

Alas the further in the movie goes the more it starts to trail off and by the end I didn't find myself caring quite as much as I'm sure I was supposed to.

For fans of these cheesy made for tv efforts you can do worse but this is hardly a movie worth most folks time.

The Good:

Perkins is a solid actress

The Bad:

Generic stuff

Ending is questionable

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Before he was famous Matt LeBlanc was known as Matthew LeBlanc, edgy!

Too many movies about being lost in the Arctic are Disneyized views of playing in the snow, waiting for the inevitable rescue. This movie shows the real dangers of hypothermia, dehydration, frostbite and isolation, and the hopelessness of waiting for rescue if no one knows you're lost.