Cliffhanger

1993
R
1h 53m

IMDb RATING

6.5/10

142K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

Play trailer1:28

Mountain Adventure Action Adventure Thriller

A botched mid-air heist results in suitcases full of cash being searched for by various groups throughout the Rocky Mountains.A botched mid-air heist results in suitcases full of cash being searched for by various groups throughout the Rocky Mountains.A botched mid-air heist results in suitcases full of cash being searched for by various groups throughout the Rocky Mountains.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.5/10

142K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

2,431

826

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 3 Oscars
- 1 win & 12 nominations total

Trivia
The 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 credits
End 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 versions
British 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.

Connections
Edited from Scream of Stone (1991)

Soundtracks
Do You Need Some?
Written by Matt Mercado
Performed by Mind Bomb
Courtesy of Mercury Records

User reviews268

Review

Featured review

7/10

The majestic mountains are a magnificent character in the film!

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

Top picks

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.

See the full gallery