Two mountain rescuers are forced to guide a group of thieves to their missing loot.Two mountain rescuers are forced to guide a group of thieves to their missing loot.Two mountain rescuers are forced to guide a group of thieves to their missing loot.
- Nominated for 3 Oscars
- 1 win & 12 nominations total
Don S. Davis
- Stuart
- (as Don Davis)
Featured reviews
Hold on for dear life as Sylvester Stallone takes you on the ride of a lifetime. With extreme non-stop action, gripping and suspense-filled scenes; Stallone has proven why he is a SUPERSTAR with his role in "Cliffhanger." I knew I would be in for an action packed treat as soon as I realized Stallone was starring in this film; however, I failed to realized how great the other actors were in this film.
Stallone is joined by Michael Rooker, Janine Turner and John Lithgow as they produce quite possibly the best action film of 1993. The cast is perfectly selected and chosen to play their parts. It was a joy to see a reversal of roles. I'm not accustomed to seeing Rooker as a hero or Lithgow as a villain; it is a refreshing change.
I couldn't have asked for a better villain than Lithgow. He is one of the most ruthless and cunning villains I've seen. I enjoyed how he never let anything get in his way and spared no expense to get what he wanted. I'm glad I got the chance to see him play the villain and hope I see it again.
Turner gives tremendous support to this film and creates an atmosphere where it is enjoyable to watch. She is the heat that warms a cold room because everytime she comes on screen it seems as though it is hot. It is a delight to see an incredible actress to have that much power. Rooker makes up the other the third of talented actors that makes "Cliffhanger" a delight to watch. Rooker brings a fresh view to the film as well as credibility; all I have to say is awesome work, Michael.
There is an avalanche of talent in "Cliffhanger." Stallone is an unstoppable force and incredible action hero. After watching "Cliffhanger," I'm convinced that Stallone was the only man for this job. Stallone had the fire in his eyes for this part that told me he means business. Only true action stars have the fire I saw; furthermore, I was fascinated with the strength, power and conviction with which he took on the role.
Another reason I enjoyed "Cliffhanger" was the writing because it contained unbelievable action sequences, a man dealing with redemption and dialogue is awesome. I was impressed to see that Stallone also co-wrote the script because he really has a knack for what action fans want.
"Cliffhanger" is a super-charged, heart-racing, suspense-filled action thrill ride that you should take because at the end it will leave you asking for more.
Stallone is joined by Michael Rooker, Janine Turner and John Lithgow as they produce quite possibly the best action film of 1993. The cast is perfectly selected and chosen to play their parts. It was a joy to see a reversal of roles. I'm not accustomed to seeing Rooker as a hero or Lithgow as a villain; it is a refreshing change.
I couldn't have asked for a better villain than Lithgow. He is one of the most ruthless and cunning villains I've seen. I enjoyed how he never let anything get in his way and spared no expense to get what he wanted. I'm glad I got the chance to see him play the villain and hope I see it again.
Turner gives tremendous support to this film and creates an atmosphere where it is enjoyable to watch. She is the heat that warms a cold room because everytime she comes on screen it seems as though it is hot. It is a delight to see an incredible actress to have that much power. Rooker makes up the other the third of talented actors that makes "Cliffhanger" a delight to watch. Rooker brings a fresh view to the film as well as credibility; all I have to say is awesome work, Michael.
There is an avalanche of talent in "Cliffhanger." Stallone is an unstoppable force and incredible action hero. After watching "Cliffhanger," I'm convinced that Stallone was the only man for this job. Stallone had the fire in his eyes for this part that told me he means business. Only true action stars have the fire I saw; furthermore, I was fascinated with the strength, power and conviction with which he took on the role.
Another reason I enjoyed "Cliffhanger" was the writing because it contained unbelievable action sequences, a man dealing with redemption and dialogue is awesome. I was impressed to see that Stallone also co-wrote the script because he really has a knack for what action fans want.
"Cliffhanger" is a super-charged, heart-racing, suspense-filled action thrill ride that you should take because at the end it will leave you asking for more.
When Hal Tucker's girlfriend dies in a botched mountain rescue, Gabe blames himself and leaves. Years later he returns for his own girlfriend. Meanwhile a cash transfer by plane gets hijacked and the cases are lost in the mountains. The hijackers use Tucker and Gabe to recover the mountain however Gabe escapes and must get the cases before the criminals to in order to bargain for Hal's life.
Stallone's sort of semi-come back film, Cliffhanger is yet another `Die Hard in a ' type film. However that doesn't mean it's bad on the contrary it's quite good. The opening 10 minutes sets out the stall well heights, good visuals and real fear. However this doesn't hold and soon we are back in standard thriller mode with Stallone picking off the gang one by one in a Die Hard fashion. This is all still fun if formulaic and the director uses the vertigo inducing locations well.
All the Die Hard trademarks are there the one liners, the multinational villains, big shoot outs etc. Most of it is really good and while it never gets to the heights of Die Hard in terms of action or tension, it is solid entertainment none the less.
The cast is a strange mix. Stallone is OK as the hero he can do this tough, wisecracking stuff in his sleep (and seems to occasionally). Lithgow is actually quite good, isn't the way that the bad guys have the best parts! `You want to kill me don't you?' he asks at one point `well, take a number and get in line'. Corny tough guy lines but hammy enough to be good. The rest are weird Turner (from Northern Exposure) is ok but then we have Craig Fairbrass from Eastenders!
Overall it's not as good as Die Hard and it's open setting prevents real tension or claustrophobia but it's still very enjoyable. Solid enjoyment without too much flash although it is a downside that the best bit is over in the first 10 minutes.
Stallone's sort of semi-come back film, Cliffhanger is yet another `Die Hard in a ' type film. However that doesn't mean it's bad on the contrary it's quite good. The opening 10 minutes sets out the stall well heights, good visuals and real fear. However this doesn't hold and soon we are back in standard thriller mode with Stallone picking off the gang one by one in a Die Hard fashion. This is all still fun if formulaic and the director uses the vertigo inducing locations well.
All the Die Hard trademarks are there the one liners, the multinational villains, big shoot outs etc. Most of it is really good and while it never gets to the heights of Die Hard in terms of action or tension, it is solid entertainment none the less.
The cast is a strange mix. Stallone is OK as the hero he can do this tough, wisecracking stuff in his sleep (and seems to occasionally). Lithgow is actually quite good, isn't the way that the bad guys have the best parts! `You want to kill me don't you?' he asks at one point `well, take a number and get in line'. Corny tough guy lines but hammy enough to be good. The rest are weird Turner (from Northern Exposure) is ok but then we have Craig Fairbrass from Eastenders!
Overall it's not as good as Die Hard and it's open setting prevents real tension or claustrophobia but it's still very enjoyable. Solid enjoyment without too much flash although it is a downside that the best bit is over in the first 10 minutes.
Watching Cliffhanger makes me nostalgic for the early '90s, a time when virtually every new action movie could be described as "Die Hard in a /on a." Cliffhanger is "Die Hard on a mountain," and pretty good, for what it is.
But unlike Passenger 57 and Under Siege, which are decent Die Hard clones on their own terms, Cliffhanger dispenses with the enclosed feeling of many action movies and embraces breathtaking landscapes that, in their immensity, threaten to overwhelm and trivialize the conflicts of the people fighting and dying among the peaks.
Years before other movies like A Simple Plan and Fargo dramatized crime and murder on snowbound locations, Cliffhanger director Renny Harlin recognized the visual impact of juxtaposing brutal violence and grim struggles to survive against cold and indifferent natural surroundings.
The opening sequence has already received substantial praise, all of which it deserves: its intensity allows us to forget the artifice of the camera and the actors and simply believe that what we are seeing is actually happening. Not even Harlin's shot of the falling stuffed animal, which is powerfully effective but still threatens to become too much of a joke (and which he repeated in Deep Blue Sea), or the ridiculous expression on Ralph Waite's face, can dim the sequence's power.
The next impressive set-piece is the gunfight and heist aboard the jet. As written by Stallone and Michael France and directed by Harlin, the audience is plunged into the action by not initially knowing which agents are involved in the theft and which are not: the bloody double-crosses are completely unexpected. As Roger Ebert has observed, the stuntman who made the mid-air transfer between the planes deserves some special recognition.
Later, during the avalanche sequence, one of the terrorists/thieves appears to be actually falling as the wall of snow carries him down the mountain. So far as I know, no one was killed in the making of this movie (a small miracle, considering the extreme nature of some of the stunts), so obviously a dummy was used for the shot. But the shot itself remains impressive because we're left wondering how Harlin (or more likely one of the second-unit directors) knew exactly where to place the camera.
I'll take Sly Stallone as my action hero any day of the week, because he's one of the few movie stars I've ever seen who's completely convincing as someone who can withstand a lot of physical and emotional pain, and at the same time actually feels that pain. The role of Gabe Walker really complements Stallone's acting strengths: he plays an older, more vulnerable kind of action hero, giving an impressively low-key performance as a mountain rescuer who must redeem himself.
In contrast to many of today's post-Matrix, comic book-inspired action heroes, Stallone's Walker is an ordinary man who becomes a hero without any paranormal or computer-enhanced abilities. In Cliffhanger, the hero almost freezes to death, and his clothes start to show big tears as he barely escapes one dangerous situation after another. He winces when he's hit and bleeds when he's cut, particularly in the cavern sequence when he takes a Rocky-style pummeling from one of the mad-dog villains.
It should be noted that the utterly despicable villains really contribute to the movie's effectiveness: when I first saw this movie as a teenager, I was rooting for the good guys every step of the way and anticipating when another bad guy would bite the dust (or rather, the ice); at one point I actually cheered as one of the most cold-blooded characters in the movie deservedly suffered a violent demise.
Lithgow's British accent is as unconvincing as the movie's occasional model plane or model helicopter, but he's fundamentally a good actor, and one of the few who can perfectly recite silly dialogue: in one scene, looking at his hostages Stallone and Rooker, trying to decide which tasks to give them, he actually says "You, stay! You, fetch!" Even a better actor, such as Anthony Hopkins, might have had trouble with that line.
Even if Cliffhanger occasionally tosses credibility aside, it does so only for the sake of a more entertaining show.
Early in the movie, for example, Lithgow openly says to one of his men "Retire [Stallone] when he comes down." No real criminal mastermind would have made this mistake even unconsciously: his carelessness allows Rooker to shout a warning up to Sly on the rock face, and this precipitates a gripping tug-of-war between Stallone and the bad guys trying to pull him down by the rope tied to his leg.
Lithgow could have given his order by a more subtle means, but the sequence might not have been as much fun to watch if it hadn't given Rooker an opportunity to openly defy the arrogance of his captor.
Done very much in the style of a Saturday matinee serial or (at times) a Western, Cliffhanger is built on such a solid foundation that it survives some weak elements that would have undermined a lesser film.
Besides the painfully obvious aircraft models mentioned before, the weak moments include a couple of scenes shot on cheap indoor sets with REALLY fake snow, as well as two other scenes involving bats and wolves that seem unnecessary in an already action-packed narrative. Finally, Harlin's decision to film some of the death scenes in slow motion seems pointless, since the technique contributes nothing to the scenes.
It's a shame that Stallone is now too old for action movies, because his character in this movie seems so credible that inevitably I wonder what he would be like years later. But perhaps it's best that Cliffhanger stands on its own for all time, without a sequel: there are enough tired and obsolete movie franchises already. There was an unofficial sequel that called itself Vertical Limit: compared to that clinker, Cliffhanger belongs on the IMDb's Top 250 list.
Rating: 8 (Very good, especially considering most of Stallone's other movies.)
But unlike Passenger 57 and Under Siege, which are decent Die Hard clones on their own terms, Cliffhanger dispenses with the enclosed feeling of many action movies and embraces breathtaking landscapes that, in their immensity, threaten to overwhelm and trivialize the conflicts of the people fighting and dying among the peaks.
Years before other movies like A Simple Plan and Fargo dramatized crime and murder on snowbound locations, Cliffhanger director Renny Harlin recognized the visual impact of juxtaposing brutal violence and grim struggles to survive against cold and indifferent natural surroundings.
The opening sequence has already received substantial praise, all of which it deserves: its intensity allows us to forget the artifice of the camera and the actors and simply believe that what we are seeing is actually happening. Not even Harlin's shot of the falling stuffed animal, which is powerfully effective but still threatens to become too much of a joke (and which he repeated in Deep Blue Sea), or the ridiculous expression on Ralph Waite's face, can dim the sequence's power.
The next impressive set-piece is the gunfight and heist aboard the jet. As written by Stallone and Michael France and directed by Harlin, the audience is plunged into the action by not initially knowing which agents are involved in the theft and which are not: the bloody double-crosses are completely unexpected. As Roger Ebert has observed, the stuntman who made the mid-air transfer between the planes deserves some special recognition.
Later, during the avalanche sequence, one of the terrorists/thieves appears to be actually falling as the wall of snow carries him down the mountain. So far as I know, no one was killed in the making of this movie (a small miracle, considering the extreme nature of some of the stunts), so obviously a dummy was used for the shot. But the shot itself remains impressive because we're left wondering how Harlin (or more likely one of the second-unit directors) knew exactly where to place the camera.
I'll take Sly Stallone as my action hero any day of the week, because he's one of the few movie stars I've ever seen who's completely convincing as someone who can withstand a lot of physical and emotional pain, and at the same time actually feels that pain. The role of Gabe Walker really complements Stallone's acting strengths: he plays an older, more vulnerable kind of action hero, giving an impressively low-key performance as a mountain rescuer who must redeem himself.
In contrast to many of today's post-Matrix, comic book-inspired action heroes, Stallone's Walker is an ordinary man who becomes a hero without any paranormal or computer-enhanced abilities. In Cliffhanger, the hero almost freezes to death, and his clothes start to show big tears as he barely escapes one dangerous situation after another. He winces when he's hit and bleeds when he's cut, particularly in the cavern sequence when he takes a Rocky-style pummeling from one of the mad-dog villains.
It should be noted that the utterly despicable villains really contribute to the movie's effectiveness: when I first saw this movie as a teenager, I was rooting for the good guys every step of the way and anticipating when another bad guy would bite the dust (or rather, the ice); at one point I actually cheered as one of the most cold-blooded characters in the movie deservedly suffered a violent demise.
Lithgow's British accent is as unconvincing as the movie's occasional model plane or model helicopter, but he's fundamentally a good actor, and one of the few who can perfectly recite silly dialogue: in one scene, looking at his hostages Stallone and Rooker, trying to decide which tasks to give them, he actually says "You, stay! You, fetch!" Even a better actor, such as Anthony Hopkins, might have had trouble with that line.
Even if Cliffhanger occasionally tosses credibility aside, it does so only for the sake of a more entertaining show.
Early in the movie, for example, Lithgow openly says to one of his men "Retire [Stallone] when he comes down." No real criminal mastermind would have made this mistake even unconsciously: his carelessness allows Rooker to shout a warning up to Sly on the rock face, and this precipitates a gripping tug-of-war between Stallone and the bad guys trying to pull him down by the rope tied to his leg.
Lithgow could have given his order by a more subtle means, but the sequence might not have been as much fun to watch if it hadn't given Rooker an opportunity to openly defy the arrogance of his captor.
Done very much in the style of a Saturday matinee serial or (at times) a Western, Cliffhanger is built on such a solid foundation that it survives some weak elements that would have undermined a lesser film.
Besides the painfully obvious aircraft models mentioned before, the weak moments include a couple of scenes shot on cheap indoor sets with REALLY fake snow, as well as two other scenes involving bats and wolves that seem unnecessary in an already action-packed narrative. Finally, Harlin's decision to film some of the death scenes in slow motion seems pointless, since the technique contributes nothing to the scenes.
It's a shame that Stallone is now too old for action movies, because his character in this movie seems so credible that inevitably I wonder what he would be like years later. But perhaps it's best that Cliffhanger stands on its own for all time, without a sequel: there are enough tired and obsolete movie franchises already. There was an unofficial sequel that called itself Vertical Limit: compared to that clinker, Cliffhanger belongs on the IMDb's Top 250 list.
Rating: 8 (Very good, especially considering most of Stallone's other movies.)
Wracked with guilt after a lot of things felt apart on that ledge, an ace mountain rescue climber Gabriel Walker (Stallone) comes back for his girlfriend Jessie (Janine Turner), while over the cloudy skies where the weather looks a bit threatening, a spectacularly precarious mid-air hijacking goes wrong and $100 million taken from a Treasury Department plane get lost in the middle of nowhere followed by a crash landing
Stranded off the snowy peaks, and needing mountain guides to win back the stolen cash, the high-trained hikers make an emergency call asking the help of a rescue unit
Unfortunately, Gab and Hall (Michael Rooker) have to team up to arrive at the scene of the crash unaware that the distress call was a fake, and a bunch of merciless terrorists led by a psychotic (John Lithgow),are waiting for them only to find out a way off the stormy mountain with the dumped cases of money
With breathtaking shots, vertiginous scenery, dizzying heights, perilous climbs, freezing temperatures, "Cliffhanger" is definitely Stallone's best action adventure movie
Stranded off the snowy peaks, and needing mountain guides to win back the stolen cash, the high-trained hikers make an emergency call asking the help of a rescue unit
Unfortunately, Gab and Hall (Michael Rooker) have to team up to arrive at the scene of the crash unaware that the distress call was a fake, and a bunch of merciless terrorists led by a psychotic (John Lithgow),are waiting for them only to find out a way off the stormy mountain with the dumped cases of money
With breathtaking shots, vertiginous scenery, dizzying heights, perilous climbs, freezing temperatures, "Cliffhanger" is definitely Stallone's best action adventure movie
Gabe Walker (Sylvester Stallone) is an expert climber, but after a tragic incident leaves a girl dead, he leaves the mountains to get his head together. After his self imposed break he returns in the hope of rekindling a relationship with Jessie (Janine Turner). Whilst at the rescue centre he is called to help a group who are stranded in the mountains, he agrees to help out this one last time, unaware that the group in the mountains are heavily armed murderous thieves and they need help of another kind...
Directed by Renny Harlin, this is one of those films that shows that Stallone once had box office clout as big as his bodily frame. It's a delightful no brain action film that delivers royally to those with a bent for the action genre. What really lifts Clifhanger above average is the wonderful use of suspenseful situations. The film opens with a quite breath taking sequence and then kicks on to literally have us hanging on by our fingernails. The bad guys are deliciously over the top, none more so than the bullishly nasty John Lithgow as Eric Qualen, whilst Sly gets beefcake support from the ever reliable Michael Rooker. Cinematography by Alex Thomson is gorgeous as he brings to life the Cortina d'Ampezzo area of the Dolomites in Italy. Score is by Trevor Jones, who keeps it orchestral as he lifts from his own work for Last of the Mohicans, which in turn is mixed with what sounds like the lead theme of Alan Silvestri's work on Predator.
Slam bang action, tense fraught moments, and a script written with knowing tongue in cheek persuasion, Cliffhanger literally does ROCK. 7.5/10
Directed by Renny Harlin, this is one of those films that shows that Stallone once had box office clout as big as his bodily frame. It's a delightful no brain action film that delivers royally to those with a bent for the action genre. What really lifts Clifhanger above average is the wonderful use of suspenseful situations. The film opens with a quite breath taking sequence and then kicks on to literally have us hanging on by our fingernails. The bad guys are deliciously over the top, none more so than the bullishly nasty John Lithgow as Eric Qualen, whilst Sly gets beefcake support from the ever reliable Michael Rooker. Cinematography by Alex Thomson is gorgeous as he brings to life the Cortina d'Ampezzo area of the Dolomites in Italy. Score is by Trevor Jones, who keeps it orchestral as he lifts from his own work for Last of the Mohicans, which in turn is mixed with what sounds like the lead theme of Alan Silvestri's work on Predator.
Slam bang action, tense fraught moments, and a script written with knowing tongue in cheek persuasion, Cliffhanger literally does ROCK. 7.5/10
Did you know
- TriviaThe film is in the Guinness Book of World Records for the costliest aerial stunt ever performed. Stuntman Simon Crane was paid $1 million to cross once between two planes at fifteen thousand feet, without the aid of any safety devices or trick photography. The insurance company refused to insure a stuntman for this, so Sylvester Stallone offered to reduce his own fee for the movie by the amount that the stunt cost to produce, in order that the film could be made. The stunt was filmed in the United States, as such a stunt is illegal in Europe, where most of the film was shot. Crane couldn't actually get inside the second plane, but good editing gives the appearance that he does.
- Goofs(at around 30 mins) The plane crashes in the mountains, and appears to have stopped half way off a cliff. When people leave the plane, the plane is fully on the ground.
- Quotes
Hal Tucker: Delmar, from me to you, you're an asshole.
Delmar: Yeah? And you're a loud-mouth punk slag, who's about to die.
Hal Tucker: Maybe. But in a minute I'll be dead, and you, will always be an asshole. So Go Ahead And Shoot
[mockingly]
Hal Tucker: I'm Getting Cold... SHOOT
Delmar: [grabs Hal by the collar...] Who's Shooting?
[and head-butts him]
- Crazy creditsEnd credits include a message which explains that the Black Diamond harness used in the opening scene was specially modified so that it would fail.
- Alternate versionsBritish cinema and video versions were edited for violence to achieve a 15 certificate with the video/DVD versions being more extensively cut by the BBFC (losing 1 minute 24 secs in total). Most of the cuts were made to punches and kicks during the fight scenes although the underwater shooting scene was also considerably altered (the uncut version shows Travers being hit by Stallone's pitons). The complete version has been broadcast on Sky's movie channels. The cuts were fully restored in the 2008 Optimum DVD release.
- ConnectionsEdited from Cerro Torre, le cri de la roche (1991)
Sylvester Stallone's Most Iconic Roles
Sylvester Stallone's Most Iconic Roles
We're celebrating the iconic Sylvester Stallone with a look back at some of his most indelible film performances, from Rocky and Rambo, to Joe in the new superhero movie Samaritan.
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Riesgo total
- Filming locations
- Monte Lagazuoi, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Belluno, Veneto, Italy(footbridge scenes, and final scenes with the helicopter fight)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $70,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $84,049,211
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $16,176,967
- May 30, 1993
- Gross worldwide
- $255,000,211
- Runtime
- 1h 53m(113 min)
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content