After Arnold Schwarzenegger was greeted with tremendous success outside of the action genre with comedies like Twins and Kindergarten Cop, it only seemed natural for Sylvester Stallone to follow suit. The results were two of the most unpopular films of his career; Oscar and Stop! Or my Mom will shoot. Playing it safe Stallone returned to his comfort zone with Cliffhanger, a film he co-wrote, that was directed by Renny Harlin, the man behind Die Hard 2. Was it a return to form for Stallone?
Film
After a daring mid-air heist, a group of thieves, led by international terrorist Eric Qualen played by John Lithgow, find themselves stranded in the Rocky mountains after their plane goes down resulting in the lost of three suitcases containing millions of dollars in stolen money. They call mountain rescue, led by Gabe Walker played by Sylvester Stallone, for assistance, but have other plans in mind. When help arrives, they force their “saviours” to help them locate their loot.
Filled with plenty of action and exciting stunts, Cliffhanger was a brilliant return to form for Sylvester Stallone. It’s easily the best movie he made in the nineties and it stands up well today. Renny Harlin keeps the pace moving quickly and you can’t help but be on the edge of your seat. John Lithgow is really good fun as the villain, although admittedly after years of watching him on 3rd Rock from the Sun, it’s a little amusing to take him so seriously now.
The supporting cast is also very impressive. Of particular note is Rex Linn, a frequently used character actor in the action genre. He gives a very memorable performance as the ill-tempered Travers and his freak outs always made me laugh. Michael Rooker was also quite good as the guilt stricken Hal Tucker. It’s an emotional performance that stands out in this type of movie.
One of the biggest pluses of this movie is the impressive stunts which include an amazing sequence where a stunt man travels from one jet to another via a rope without the aid of any safety devices. Apparently, Simon Crane, the man who performed the stunt, was paid a million dollars to do it and the money came directly off of Sylvester Stallone’s already reduced paycheck because no insurance company would cover the cost of the stunt and the film could not be made any other way.
Not only is the film one of the staple action films of the early 90′s, but the stories behind the production (like the aforementioned million dollar stunt) prove that this is actually an important action film that was made using the old school approach similar to Stallone’s recent film ‘The Expendables‘, where they didn’t rely on CGI and green screen, but rather used real stuntmen and real elements of danger.
Video
The film is presented in 2.40:1 and in 1080p/MPEG-4 AVC and this being my first Tri-star film to review, I was interested to see how their transfers held up against some of the ones I’ve seen from other companies (Lionsgate does a great job with older films).
I was happy to see another movie getting a great transfer… There was a couple scenes that look a little blurry, but that might’ve been the director of photography’s fault and not the actual blu-ray transfer, because I remember a few shots had peculiar focusing when I first watched the movie.
The color scheme is great throughout the film and adds to the general idea of isolated freedom, the scheme focuses on the greys and light blues which when you watch the movie, you’re surrounded by sky blue (what represents freedom better than a clear sky), and then the grey clouds and mountains creating a vignette and barring you within. The whole movie has that tone, which adds to the suspense and was definitely a great choice by the D.P.
Overall the film is sharp, the colors are clean and the motion is smooth with very few artifacts. I was impressed.
Audio
Cliffhanger‘s audio comes at us in English and French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and the option for subtitles for both languages is available. Although the sound is very well mixed and clear, there is a lack of dynamic range.
When a plane crashes into the ground, you’d expect to feel some rumble from the sub, and some noise coming at you from all directions to make you feel like you’re in the plane… However a lot of the sound mixing was straight forward, with very little interesting mixing techniques. The sound is great and clean, but for such a popular 90′s action film, I expected a little more on the Blu-ray release.
Special Features
Cliffhanger covers the bases in terms of special features on this new release; unfortunately they’re all in standard definition (besides the commentaries of course).
There are two commentary tracks; one with Stallone and director Renny Harlin and another that is a technical crew commentary where they focus more on the aspects of production. There’s a couple behind-the-scenes featurettes such as “Stallone on the edge” and special effects featurettes. And lastly there are a few deleted scenes, also in standard definition.
Although there are a few worthwhile features on this release, most have come from past releases, having to sit through standard definition ruins the purpose of buying a Blu-ray. For those who are interested, there is BD-Live and movieIQ.
Final Thoughts
A definite classic of the action genre in my opinion and next to Lock Up, easily one of Sylvester Stallone’s best none-franchise films. Fans will be very impressed with the look of this movie and after 16 years it’s fun to look back at an old favorite again. For fans and newcomers alike, this one is definitely worth a purchase if you’re in the market for a classic action film
