New Celebrity Sightings

Cliffhanger was released in 1993 and features Sylvester Stallone in the lead role. This action movie was instrumental in resurrecting his career after the hiatus of Rambo. The plot is predictable:-

1. Stallone as Gabe Walker, a rock climber who has been traumatised after being unable to prevent a friend falling to her death.
2. John Lithgow as Eric Qualen, in a Hannibal Lectre type role. A master criminal with no feelings who masterminds an audacious aerial robery from the USA mint.
3. $100m of notes , spread across 3 suitcases, each case in a different mountain location.
4. Two groups, the good ones and the bad ones , each trying to get to the cases before the other one does.

The scenery is fabulous with the film being shot in both the Italian dolomites and in Durango, Colorado.

The movie was a huge commercial success netting over $250 million with an estimated cost of just over $60m.

Critically it suffered quite hard with predictable assessments of the acting.

Stallone, as expected, takes every opportunity to shed his shirt and apart from one cold night when he nearly freezes to death there is no real endorsement of the kind of cold weather gear sold be suppliers like Nanok. The film starts with fine weather but as it reaches its climax the weather deteriorates to the point where you expect everyone to sitting round a camp fire with a kelly kettle brewing a hot drink. Oddly enough, just in time for the final confrontation when Stallone faces down John Lithgow in a helicopter, the weather improves again.

There are several notable features around the stunts

1. The $1m paid to stunt man Simon Crane for the film sequence when he transfers on a wire between two planes.
2. The controversy over the climbing sequence when a bolt gun is used.
3. The fantastic stunt double work of Wolfgang Gullich.
4. The film was directed by Rene Harlin, and as in all his films he manages to include the Finnish flag. This time it is used as a parachute on a base jumper.
5. The use of the steel ladders which are used in the Italian dolomites to help provide access to rock faces.

Overall the film was a success to both make money and to resurrect Stallone’s career.