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Alive

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

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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.
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.

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.

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.