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The Edge (1997)
Director: Lee Tamahori
Cast overview: Anthony Hopkins, Alec Baldwin
Running time: 117 minutes
This is an excellent survival thriller, and probably the best film of 1997. Centring around a plane crash in the Alaskan wilderness, and the struggle of a billionaire and two other men to survive in those conditions, it's well-made, well-directed, and is probably the most underrated film I've seen in a long while. Titanic took the plaudits for 1997, but I'd say this beats it hands down.
Hopkins and Baldwin are two respected actors in their own right, particularly the former, while director Lee Tamahori has proven himself an adept filmmaker, though also made one of the worst Bond films in Die Another Day. While that was a blip on his career, this is probably the high point. But what makes it so great? Firstly, the cinematography. The shots of Alaska are simply stunning, and it looks so good on film. The sense of isolation is heightened but there exists also a true sense of the beauty of the region. Secondly, the acting is top-notch, with both Hopkins and Baldwin turning in realistic performances that show the stresses and flaws of their individual characters. The nuances and strains of such a perilous situation are all-too-present onscreen, and Tamahori shows this well. Jerry Goldsmith's score is stirring and evocative, both grand yet subtle, and rounds off the film nicely.
In short, this has become instantly one of my favourite films, and an underrated gem among those I've watched. It's perfect in every way, from the Alaskan setting, to the wonderful acting, to the music, to the thrilling qualities and sense of danger and adventure. It also happens to be, in my view, extremely underrated, and that's part of what adds to its appeal. Surely one of the most underrated films of all time.
Quotes
Charles Morse: You know, I once read an interesting book which said that, uh, most people lost in the wilds, they, they die of shame.
Stephen: What?
Charles Morse: Yeah, see, they die of shame. "What did I do wrong? How could I have gotten myself into this?" And so they sit there and they... die. Because they didn't do the one thing that would save their lives.
Robert Green: And what is that, Charles?
Charles Morse: Thinking.
Stephen: A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow.
Charles Morse: Today, I'm-a-gonna-kill the mutha ****a.
Trivia
Anthony Hopkins had a brush with death during shooting in Alberta, Canada. During filming he was taking painkillers for a neck problem. He fell in a river, and didn't feel how cold he was becoming until he began to suffer from hypothermia. He had to be rushed to hospital to be treated.
This film inspired a highly successful TV reality show of the same name in Brazil, where participants were selected from normal people, including executives, graduates and clerks, left in a wild and deserted area of Brazilian landscape and had to survive using techniques similar to the ones mentioned by Anthony Hopkins's character.
The rifle they find in the house is a Winchester Model 1886 45-70.
Trailer
Director: Lee Tamahori
Cast overview: Anthony Hopkins, Alec Baldwin
Running time: 117 minutes
This is an excellent survival thriller, and probably the best film of 1997. Centring around a plane crash in the Alaskan wilderness, and the struggle of a billionaire and two other men to survive in those conditions, it's well-made, well-directed, and is probably the most underrated film I've seen in a long while. Titanic took the plaudits for 1997, but I'd say this beats it hands down.
Hopkins and Baldwin are two respected actors in their own right, particularly the former, while director Lee Tamahori has proven himself an adept filmmaker, though also made one of the worst Bond films in Die Another Day. While that was a blip on his career, this is probably the high point. But what makes it so great? Firstly, the cinematography. The shots of Alaska are simply stunning, and it looks so good on film. The sense of isolation is heightened but there exists also a true sense of the beauty of the region. Secondly, the acting is top-notch, with both Hopkins and Baldwin turning in realistic performances that show the stresses and flaws of their individual characters. The nuances and strains of such a perilous situation are all-too-present onscreen, and Tamahori shows this well. Jerry Goldsmith's score is stirring and evocative, both grand yet subtle, and rounds off the film nicely.
In short, this has become instantly one of my favourite films, and an underrated gem among those I've watched. It's perfect in every way, from the Alaskan setting, to the wonderful acting, to the music, to the thrilling qualities and sense of danger and adventure. It also happens to be, in my view, extremely underrated, and that's part of what adds to its appeal. Surely one of the most underrated films of all time.
Quotes
Charles Morse: You know, I once read an interesting book which said that, uh, most people lost in the wilds, they, they die of shame.
Stephen: What?
Charles Morse: Yeah, see, they die of shame. "What did I do wrong? How could I have gotten myself into this?" And so they sit there and they... die. Because they didn't do the one thing that would save their lives.
Robert Green: And what is that, Charles?
Charles Morse: Thinking.
Stephen: A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow.
Charles Morse: Today, I'm-a-gonna-kill the mutha ****a.
Trivia
Anthony Hopkins had a brush with death during shooting in Alberta, Canada. During filming he was taking painkillers for a neck problem. He fell in a river, and didn't feel how cold he was becoming until he began to suffer from hypothermia. He had to be rushed to hospital to be treated.
This film inspired a highly successful TV reality show of the same name in Brazil, where participants were selected from normal people, including executives, graduates and clerks, left in a wild and deserted area of Brazilian landscape and had to survive using techniques similar to the ones mentioned by Anthony Hopkins's character.
The rifle they find in the house is a Winchester Model 1886 45-70.
Trailer