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Alive poster

Alive

year 1993decade 90sdirector Frank Marshallgenre Dramagenre Adventuregenre Biography

125 minutes

Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Ethan Hawke Nando Parrado
Vincent Spano Antonio Balbi
Josh Hamilton Roberto Canessa
Sam Behrens Javier Methol
David Kriegel Gustavo Zerbino
Bruce Ramsay Carlitos Paez
Kevin Breznahan Roy Harley
Jake Carpenter Alberto Antuna
Michael DeLorenzo Rafael Cano
Illeana Douglas Lilliana Methol
Ele Keats Susana Parrado
Christian Meoli Federico Aranda
John Haymes Newton Antonio Tintin Vizintin
Jack Noseworthy Bobby Francois
Danny Nucci Hugo Diaz
Jose Zuniga Fraga
David Cubitt Fito Strauch
Gian DiDonna Eduardo Strauch
John Cassini Daniel Fernandez
Michael Woolson Juan Martino
Chad Willett Pablo Montero
Richard Ian Cox Moncho Sabella
Gordon Currie Coche Inciarte
Josh Lucas Felipe Restano
Silvio Pollio Alex Morales
Nuno Antunes Alvaro Mangino
Michael Tayles Pancho Delgado
Steven Shayler Pedro Algorta
Jason Gaffney Victor Bolarich
Jerry Wasserman Co-pilot
Diana Barrington Sra. Alfonsin
Jan D’Arcy Eugenia Parrado
Seth James Arnett Tomas Alonso
Aurelio DiNunzio Dr. Solana
Fiona Roeske Sra. Solana
Tony Morelli Martinez
Patrick Romano Jorge Armas
John Malkovich Survivor/Narrator

Alive | The Rewatchables

host Bill Simmonshost Chris Ryanhost Craig Horlbeckproducer Craig Horlbeck theme One Word Movie Month
Explore episodeClose episode

Half-Assed Internet Research

Crash filming; technical adviser; mountain shoot; navigation; recovered belongings; earlier adaptation; fasting

In the discussion (12)
Approx. transcript time · 00:12:14Read transcript
  • The film's restrained cannibalism omits reported consumption of organs; the avalanche is discussed as tragically increasing available food, while a hypothetical Lord of the Flies escalation is speculation.
  • The crash reportedly took nine days to film and required motion-sickness medication for performers.
  • Premiere's account reportedly describes cable-rigged stunt performers being ejected from the rear of the plane.
  • Nando reportedly served as technical adviser.
  • The crash date was Friday the thirteenth.
  • The mountain shoot reportedly used Panorama in the Canadian Rockies, with five helicopters transporting cast and crew each day.
  • The pilot reportedly turned north before passing Curicó.
  • The year reportedly had unusually heavy snow, compounding the storm conditions.
  • A cited statistic says twenty-three of seventy-eight FH-227 aircraft crashed.
  • An American hiker reportedly found Eduardo's wallet, film, cash, identity papers and jacket in 2005 after thirty-three years buried.
  • The script reportedly circulated from 1980; the 1976 Mexican adaptation Survive is described as upsetting audiences and delaying another version, with its exact objectionable qualities unclear.
  • The actors reportedly fasted for two days before the decision-to-eat scene; a speaker doubts the preparation was necessary.

Picking Nits

Clothing; snow hydration; cramped shelter; abbreviated hike; rescue changes; search duration

In the discussion (11)
Approx. transcript time · 00:16:18Read transcript
  • Raw or sun-dried meat raises a nitpick because lighters and abundant cigarettes are available; possible aversion to smell is speculation, and the film omits a cooking discussion.
  • Not taking more clothing from the dead is questioned; frozen, wet garments are offered as an explanation.
  • Frostbite, makeshift boots and exposure make the actual survival seem remarkable.
  • Eating snow instead of waiting for meltwater is questioned.
  • Twenty-eight people sharing an eight-by-eleven-foot fuselage seems extraordinary; body heat may have helped.
  • The final hike jumps too quickly from commitment to discovery; another conversation would give the two strongest performers more material.
  • The real encounter with a horseman is a desired missing scene.
  • The actual survivors reportedly heard rescue was coming on the radio; the film’s surprise helicopter arrival is preferred by one voice, though a radio scene could also work.
  • The survivors reportedly initially underplayed cannibalism before addressing backlash; who disclosed it is unresolved, followed by joking cover stories.
  • Canessa reportedly did not return on the rescue helicopter because dysentery left him unable to walk, unlike the film's depiction.
  • Ending the search after roughly a week is questioned; vast terrain and weather explain difficulty, but checking again after conditions improve seems warranted.

Recasting Couch

Ben Affleck as Antonio

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 00:18:59Read transcript
  • Cole Hauser, Damon, Affleck or DiCaprio could have strengthened the young ensemble.
  • Damon’s absence is especially surprising given his later commitment to roles involving starvation.
  • Affleck as Antonio is the strongest recasting proposal.
  • A young DiCaprio is proposed for an ensemble role.
  • Adding a future star such as Pitt, DiCaprio, Affleck or Damon is desired.
  • Pitt is imagined as Tintin or Nando instead.
  • Replacing Hawke is challenged, and Hamilton’s secondary role is defended.

Roger Ebert's review

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 00:20:54Read transcript
  • Ebert gave two and a half stars, questioning whether the survivors’ story could be told successfully; no scale is spoken.

Most Rewatchable Scene

Plane crash

In the discussion (22)
Approx. transcript time · 00:24:39Read transcript
  • The plane crash is an extraordinary scene candidate.
  • Other crash scenes considered are Fearless, Cast Away, The Grey and Flight; Sully is qualified as a landing rather than a crash.
  • The turbulence is terrifying.
  • Cast Away remains one preferred crash comparison.
  • The torn-open rear, cuts between pilots and passengers, and compacted seats make the crash harrowing.
  • An initially fake-looking airplane gives way to an impressive crash sequence.
  • Flight, Fearless and Alive are another voice’s three favorite crash scenes.
  • The crash reportedly took nine days to film and required motion-sickness medication for performers.
  • Premiere's account reportedly describes cable-rigged stunt performers being ejected from the rear of the plane.
  • The improvised triage is a strong sequence, including exposed bone, removing metal and treating six months of medical training as enough to lead emergency care.
  • The false rescue celebration and discovery that food is gone are nominated; Antonio's relentless positive spin is admired as a morale strategy.
  • The we-have-to-eat debate is an epic scene candidate, built around whether a departed soul leaves only a carcass and whether necessity overcomes disgust.
  • The avalanche is another strong scene, praised for realistic staging and disaster compounding disaster.
  • Nando and Canessa on the mountain, deciding to send Tintin back and continue west even if they die walking, is another scene candidate.
  • The mountain-top speech turns apparent rescue into the realization of impossibility and resolves to die walking rather than stop.
  • The helicopter rescue is an emotional scene with beautiful music, though hanging outside the open door is recognized as dramatized and physically dubious.
  • Malkovich’s opening monologue is a distinct scene choice because its religious reflection sets the moral dilemma.
  • The opening’s writing is praised, with playwright John Patrick Shanley credited.
  • Malkovich’s unadvertised appearance is admired as a surprise that immediately sets up the moral dilemma.
  • The plane crash receives two final scene choices.
  • Rowdy pre-crash behavior and consequential seat switching strengthen the crash scene.
  • The first hike with Roy is another scene candidate; his actor is recognized from Superbad.

The Great Shot Gordo Award for Most Cinematic Shot

Carrying Roy through the storm; mountain crevice rescue

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 00:33:14Read transcript
  • Hawke carrying Roy through the storm is the cinematic-shot choice, despite doubts about the physical plausibility.
  • The near-fall into the mountain crevice and rescue receive another cinematic-shot mention; the Michael Rooker comparison is an explicit joke about confusing movies.

What’s Aged the Best?

Score; smoking; sequential shooting; permission to eat; natural accents; leadership; married couple

In the discussion (15)
Approx. transcript time · 00:37:20Read transcript
  • The score and gorgeous main theme are aged-best choices.
  • The constant cigarette smoking makes the film a classic smoking movie.
  • The apparently inexhaustible cigarette supply across seventy days is questioned, including using cigarettes as birthday candles.
  • Duty-free purchases or cigarette smuggling are speculative explanations for the supply.
  • Smoking at altitude is questioned; hunger suppression and pleasure are proposed explanations.
  • Imagined nicotine withdrawal would make a survivor intolerable, and the film could have done more with cigarette scarcity.
  • Sequential shooting is praised for letting the cast grow thinner and more weathered as the story progresses.
  • Characters sincerely granting permission to eat them are admired as a rare dramatic situation.
  • Avoiding fake Uruguayan accents is an aged-best decision, compared with German characters using British accents and The Hunt for Red October's language transition.
  • The blunt announcement that Alberto is dead is an aged-best detail.
  • The emerging social hierarchy of leaders, healers and lazy people is admired.
  • Antonio demanding recognition as captain raises the difference between sporting authority and crisis leadership; imagined Ringer roles and Yellowjackets illustrate hierarchies changing under pressure.
  • The green-grass vision predicting a successful expedition is admired, with a joke that failed predictions would have no surviving witnesses to dispute them.
  • Nando's gradual persuasion of Canessa to keep walking is an aged-best leadership detail, sometimes using small tricks to make continued progress seem inevitable.
  • The married couple, including Douglas's character, supplies a convincing emotional anchor.

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Smell; captaincy; Roy’s deference and qualifications; sanitation; later diet

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 00:46:35Read transcript
  • Questions about breath, gangrene and the fuselage's smell lead to dark jokes about isolating the dying patient; these are reactions to the film, not survival advice.
  • Questions revisit cigarettes and cooking, ask whether Nando should always have been captain, and question Roy's deferential relationship to Antonio; possible crash-related impairment is speculation.
  • A proposed snow-rugby diversion runs into the reported use of rugby balls as urine containers; sanitation, outdoor defecation and the fuselage smell remain unresolved.
  • Roy being trusted with aircraft radio repair because he installed a stereo seems tenuous, though complex older audio wiring supplies a partial defense.
  • Questions ask how survivors' diets changed afterward, including possible aversion to red meat; vegetarianism, cereals and other choices remain imagined.

What’s Aged the Worst?

Hawke’s goatee; television presentation; missed nearby supplies; dangerous rugby travel; pre-internet navigation

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 00:48:57Read transcript
  • Hawke reportedly refused a full beard and retained a goatee, an aged-worst continuity issue interpreted as a movie-star differentiation tactic.
  • The film's diminished impact on television compared with wide theatrical images is an aged-worst limitation.
  • A reported 2005 expedition found the apparent road was real, making the survivors’ decision to go the other way an aged-worst choice.
  • The tail’s additional supplies were only three hours away; a counterpoint says the survivors lacked strength and were misled about their location by the pilot.
  • Crossing the Andes for college rugby is questioned.
  • Pre-internet navigation was frightening, illustrated by a family’s uncertain road choice in Acapulco; the danger beyond the turn remains unknown.
  • Whether modern tracking would improve rescue is debated against the continued geographical isolation.

Is There a Better Title for This Movie?

Alive; Miracle of the Andes (disputed)

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 00:55:56Read transcript
  • Miracle of the Andes is a serious alternative; Alive is defended as more visceral.
  • Snow Feast is a joking alternative title.
  • Snowburgers is a joking alternative title.
  • Human Sushi is a joking alternative title.
  • Cannibal Airlines is a joking alternative title.
  • Human Jerky is a joking alternative title.
  • Body Eat is suggested as another title, with Body Meat also heard in the exchange.

The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

Sports movie; more cannibalism detail; adversity as a test

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 00:57:37Read transcript
  • Alive functions as a sports movie.
  • The film should show more of the cannibalism’s practical unpleasantness; an objection predicts audiences vomiting.
  • An admitted privileged desire to face extreme adversity would test capacities that comfortable modern life never tests.
  • A further hot take wants more discussion of what was eaten, preparation, taste and reactions, while acknowledging the filmmakers' respectful restraint.

Casting What-Ifs

Brad Pitt’s unsuccessful Canessa audition

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:00:50Read transcript
  • Pitt reportedly gave a poor Canessa audition, leading to Hamilton’s casting.

The Ruffalo / Hanna / Rubinek / Partridge Overacting Award

Hawke waking from his coma; Roy; mechanic

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:02:23Read transcript
  • Hawke immediately after waking from the coma is an overacting choice, especially the abrupt shifts when hearing about his mother and sister.
  • Roy is an alternative overacting choice.
  • The mechanic is an alternative overacting choice and seems to belong in another film.

Apex Mountain

Uruguayan rugby movies; Andes film setting

In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 01:07:16Read transcript
  • Plane crashes receive a top-three assessment rather than a definitive Apex.
  • Ethan Hawke is rejected for Apex.
  • Survival films lose to Cast Away; The Revenant is also discussed, and a preference for group-survival stories is retained.
  • Cannibalism movies are discussed without a settled Apex, comparing Bones and All, an unclear Cannibal Hall title, Sweeney Todd and Lecter; Alive may be unusual as non-horror.
  • Uruguayan rugby movies receive an affirmative Apex choice.
  • The Andes as a film location receive an affirmative Apex choice.
  • Josh Hamilton is rejected for Apex.
  • Cigarette movies are rejected here in favor of The Verdict, with Mad Men, Goodfellas and The Godfather Part II supplying other screen-smoking peaks.

Best Race Horse Name from This Movie

Tintin; Canessa; Nando

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:09:21Read transcript
  • Tintin is a racehorse-name candidate and receives a second endorsement.
  • Canessa is another racehorse-name candidate.
  • Nando is another racehorse-name candidate.
  • Oh My Legs is floated jokingly as an unsuitable horse name.
  • I’m in Agony is another joking horse-name suggestion.

Sequel, Prequel, Limited Series, or All-Black Remake

Probably untouchable

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:14:56Read transcript
  • The film is considered probably untouchable; an all-Black remake is an absurd hypothetical because even the existing cast speaks American English as Uruguayans, with Majors imagined as Antonio.

Is This Movie Better With…?

Wayne Jenkins

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:15:07Read transcript
  • Wayne Jenkins is proposed through a cannibalism-related imagined monologue, without a specific replacement role yet identified.

Just One Oscar

Score

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:16:17Read transcript
  • Hawke receives one hypothetical Oscar choice.
  • The score receives two hypothetical Oscar choices.

What Piece of Memorabilia Would You Want From This Movie?

Aviator glasses; red sneakers; glass knife

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:21:41Read transcript
  • Aviator glasses are a memorabilia choice.
  • The red sneakers are another memorabilia choice.
  • The improvised glass knife is another memorabilia choice.
  • The urine-filled rugby ball is explicitly rejected as memorabilia.

The Coach Finstock Award for Best Life Lesson

Act sooner; preserve strength; search for the tail

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:22:02Read transcript
  • Accept the necessary action sooner to preserve strength instead of debating for days.
  • An immediate hike is proposed, then challenged because of winter and possible rescue.
  • Searching for the tail earlier is a hindsight improvement.

More from the conversation

The opening names Craig Horlbeck and Chris Ryan alongside Bill Simmons; Craig discusses the NFL Draft feed after fantasy season.
Approx. transcript time · 00:01:13Read transcript
Alive remains riveting despite slow stretches and a length over two hours; a proposed secret sports-movie reading maps the team, leadership changes and final hike onto championship-story beats.
Approx. transcript time · 00:02:56Read transcript
The film invites what-would-you-do survival questions, while the avalanche functions like the darkest setback in a sports story.
Approx. transcript time · 00:04:23Read transcript
Craig's prior altruistic-cannibalism take motivates his guest-host return after Mission: Impossible – Fallout; the survivors' actions are discussed as necessity rather than ritual violence.
Approx. transcript time · 00:04:48Read transcript
The historical premise is identified as the Uruguayan rugby team's October 13, 1972 crash, with sixteen survivors and twenty-nine deaths, based on the book Alive.
Approx. transcript time · 00:05:32Read transcript
Harrowing true stories seem less available to drama because continuous news and social media already narrate them; Thirteen Lives, Apollo 13 and the Hatchet Hitchhiker documentary complicate the argument.
Approx. transcript time · 00:06:06Read transcript
The film sits awkwardly between horror and adventure, but its crash received respected shot-by-shot coverage; reported gross is $82.5 million, about twice budget.
Approx. transcript time · 00:07:45Read transcript
Hawke's Dead Poets Society, White Fang and Explorers history attracted interest; the young ensemble is compared with School Ties, while Hamilton, Spano, Ramsay, Nucci and DeLorenzo's later careers are discussed.
Approx. transcript time · 00:08:33Read transcript
Spano's run includes City of Hope, Alive, Indian Summer, The Ascent and The Tie That Binds; Indian Summer is criticized as a weak but watchable Big Chill-style reunion.
Approx. transcript time · 00:09:16Read transcript
Spano's captain losing authority to Hawke's awakened survivor reinforces the proposed sports-movie structure.
Approx. transcript time · 00:09:51Read transcript
A first-time family viewing raises questions about modern audiences' desensitization; survival cannibalism is distinguished from horror ritual, and the restrained jerky-like depiction is less nauseating than graphic horror.
Approx. transcript time · 00:10:33Read transcript
The team's Catholic background makes the moral debate central; an imagined secular response would reach necessity sooner, but the speakers acknowledge differences between theory and crisis.
Approx. transcript time · 00:13:48Read transcript
A deliberately morbid family-viewing conversation ranks hypothetical food sources and debates earlobes versus muscle; the speaker concedes real reactions under trauma are unknowable.
Approx. transcript time · 00:15:06Read transcript
Respectful, discreet presentation is linked to the production's survival-adventure framing rather than exploitative horror; the inevitable cannibalism reveal is compared with anticipating Jaws's shark.
Approx. transcript time · 00:17:16Read transcript
The movie seems too long and slow in the middle; the group’s decision-making and religious debates are its most compelling material.
Approx. transcript time · 00:18:17Read transcript
Hawke's Alive–Reality Bites–Before Sunrise run establishes an indie reputation, while Gattaca and Training Day mark different stages toward adult movie-star status.
Approx. transcript time · 00:20:02Read transcript
The social hierarchy is disputed: assigned roles and emergent leadership are praised, but a counterview wants fuller authority conflicts; fidelity to real events limited the invented violent rivalry common in fictional survival stories.
Approx. transcript time · 00:21:12Read transcript
Morbid viewing jokes lead to the reported exception that Nando's mother and sister were not eaten; the conversation clarifies emotional reluctance rather than a medical rule about relatives.
Approx. transcript time · 00:30:00Read transcript
Hypothetical questions ask whether the survivors ranked bodies or health traits; imagined reversals leave the first eater alone or interrupted by rescue, explicitly jokes rather than reported events.
Approx. transcript time · 00:31:06Read transcript
Nucci's five-year run is enumerated as Alive, Crimson Tide, The Rock, Eraser and Titanic, with a hypothetical Bronx Tale opportunity discussed.
Approx. transcript time · 00:42:56Read transcript
A Malaysia Airlines tangent explicitly retracts the hoax suggestion as a joke and recounts a secondhand claim about militants denying responsibility; no theory is established.
Approx. transcript time · 00:53:50Read transcript
A flash-flood car-moving anecdote illustrates unexpected exhilaration in danger; Survivor, compulsory outdoor challenges and a technology-free week are comparisons, not actual plans.
Approx. transcript time · 00:58:29Read transcript
Nando's adviser role prompts a question about making survival a public life's work versus moving on, compared with Mike Eruzione's enduring Olympic identity and modern podcast publicity.
Approx. transcript time · 01:05:40Read transcript
Comparing survival settings favors Cast Away's resources over the Andes, though isolation worries an extrovert; mountains are still preferred to desert by one voice.
Approx. transcript time · 01:20:30Read transcript
Sledding looks fun but dangerously uncontrolled, prompting an imagined competitive league rather than a real survival recommendation.
Approx. transcript time · 01:22:45Read transcript
A closing hypothetical asks what missed news would motivate escape, including sports developments and Heat 2; imagined Fennessey determination and stolen cigarettes remain jokes.
Approx. transcript time · 01:23:58Read transcript
The closing explicitly credits Craig Horleck, matching the fuller opening Horlebeck and official identity, and says One-Word Movie Month continues.
Approx. transcript time · 01:25:36Read transcript