Alive (1993)

Director:

Frank Marshall

Writers (WGA):

Piers Paul Read (book)
John Patrick Shanley (screenplay)

Release Date:

15 January 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | History | Thriller

Tagline:

They survived the impossible...by doing the unthinkable.

Plot:

Uruguayan rugby team stranded in the snow swept Andes are forced to use desperate measures to survive after a plane crash.

Plot Keywords:

Rugby | Rugby Team | Mountain | Stranded | Snow

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Ethan Hawke	...	Nando Parrado
Vincent Spano	...	Antonio Balbi
Josh Hamilton	...	Roberto Canessa
Bruce Ramsay	...	Carlitos Páez
John Newton	...	Antonio 'Tintín' Vizintín (as John Haymes Newton)
David Kriegel	...	Gustavo Zerbino
Kevin Breznahan	...	Roy Harley
Sam Behrens	...	Javier Methol
Illeana Douglas	...	Lilliana Methol
Jack Noseworthy	...	Bobby François
Christian J. Meoli	...	Federico Aranda
Jake Carpenter	...	Alberto Artuna
Michael DeLorenzo	...	Rafael Cano (as Michael De Lorenzo)
José Zúñiga	...	Fraga, the Mechanic
Danny Nucci	...	Hugo Díaz

Also Known As:

Alive: The Miracle of the Andes

MPAA:

Rated R for crash scenes too intense for unaccompanied children.

Runtime:

127 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | South Korea:15 | USA:R (Certificate #32112) | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:12 | Norway:15 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Film Andes S.A.

Trivia:

The crash sequence took nine days to film. As the set was mounted on a huge gimbel, most of the cast were taking motion sickness pills as they spent a large amount of time being tossed about.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: The story takes place in the southern hemisphere. However, the sun orientation suggests that they are in the northern hemisphere. Based on what is being described as East and West in the movie, the sun should be slightly to the north during the day, but it's slightly to the south.

Quotes:

Nando: I'm proud to be a man on a day like this.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Father Ted: The Mainland (#3.4)" (1998)

Soundtrack:

The Look Of Love

Remarkable

The very concept that this film is based on a true story makes it great. When you watch it you can't help but wonder what you would do in their situation. You want to think that you wouldn't, but then you think of their situation. After watching this movie the whole cannibalism thing sticks in your head, but you really should look at the whole movie. It really is a great story and is uplifting. I know Roger Ebert doesn't think that this movie really shows, what it would be like to be stranded there for 70+ days, but I don't think any movie truly could. But Alive gets really close at doing that, they just keep getting in one bad situation after the other. It really shows how strong the human spirit is. I give it a 10/10!