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Cliffhanger poster

Cliffhanger

year 1993decade 90sdirector Renny Harlingenre Actiongenre Adventure

112 minutes

Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Sylvester Stallone Gabe Walker
John Lithgow Eric Qualen
Michael Rooker Hal Tucker
Janine Turner Jessie Deighan
Rex Linn Rich Travers
Leon Kynette
Denis Forest Heldon
Paul Winfield Walter Wright
Ralph Waite Frank
Zach Grenier Davis
Vyto Ruginis Matheson
Don Davis Stuart
Scott Hoxby Agent Hayes
John Finn Agent Michaels
Bruce McGill Treasury agent
Rosemary Dunsmore Treasury secretary
Kim Robillard Treasury jet pilot
Mike Weis Co-pilot
Duncan Prentice Treasury helicopter pilot
Jeff Blynn Marvin

Cliffhanger | The Rewatchables

host Bill Simmonshost Kyle Brandtproducer Craig Horlbeck theme One Word Movie Month
Explore episodeClose episode

Producer review

Loved it; older action stars deserved current technology

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 00:09:40Read transcript
  • The producer's first watch was enthusiastic despite barely knowing the film. Too much new content discourages younger audiences from revisiting older action; Cliffhanger ranks above Rambo for him, alongside affection for Cop Land. — Craig Horlbeck
  • The invited producer regrets that peak nineties action stars preceded current effects technology; contemporary Rock films are considered weaker. The subsequent mixed-speaker quarterback analogy is not attributed exclusively to him.

What’s Aged the Worst?

Turner’s haircut; green screen; abrupt ending; stoner pair; avalanche shots; derivative premise; small payoff

In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 00:13:31Read transcript
  • Turner's beauty is praised while her haircut is flagged as aged worst.
  • Turner's haircut resembles Stallone's and makes them look like siblings, though her mature appeal and the style's brief popularity are acknowledged.
  • Rough green screen and comparison with Cruise’s later stunts are aged-worst points; contradictory reports of Stallone’s comfort with heights remain unresolved.
  • The abrupt credits are aged worst; a cabin aftermath scene is desired, and the stoner characters are introduced as another complaint.
  • The stoner pair is aged worst and a possible weak link, derivative of Bill/Ted, Wayne/Garth and Beavis/Butthead; their sudden shooting is nevertheless shocking, illustrating the era's harsh violence.
  • Shooting at the avalanche is enjoyable but inexplicable.
  • The mountain-guide premise is criticized as derivative of Shoot to Kill.
  • Gabe destroying the money without pocketing a bundle is frustrating.
  • The reduced prize of roughly 30 million seems too small to justify continuing the operation; even the original 100 million feels light beside Die Hard's 640 million and the bribes, crew and risk involved.

Half-Assed Internet Research

Abandoned projects; Carolco financing; physical-condition list; Dolomites; plane stunt; glove; hand injury

In the discussion (13)
Approx. transcript time · 00:21:13Read transcript
  • Bartholomew versus Neff reportedly paired Stallone and John Candy in a John Hughes feuding-neighbors comedy before collapsing.
  • Isobar reportedly involved a genetically created monster escaping on a train, with Stallone and Kim Basinger attached and successive departures by Ridley Scott and Emmerich.
  • Gale Force reportedly cast Stallone as an ex-Navy SEAL fighting pirates during a hurricane.
  • Harlin reportedly received three million dollars; four million went to writers, including a rejected erotic-thriller rewrite by Joe Eszterhas.
  • Cliffhanger reportedly followed the cancellation of Gale Force, with Harlin retaining his fee.
  • The rabbit’s survival reportedly required a100,000-dollar Stallone-funded reshoot after test screenings. The claim a rabbit was actually killed on camera is unverified speaker assertion.
  • The absurd forty-foot cliff jump was reportedly removed after trailer audiences laughed at it.
  • Carolco reportedly surrendered much of the revenue rights to finance production, stopped twice for inability to pay crews, overspent by 40 million and took a 2 million salary sacrifice from Stallone, leaving little benefit from the hit.
  • Stallone's reported top-three physical-condition films are RockyIV, Cliffhanger and RamboIII; RamboII is a wrong guess and Cobra misses the list.
  • Mountain filming reportedly used the Italian Dolomites near Cortina d’Ampezzo.
  • Simon Crane’s million-dollar plane crossing is reported as a record aerial stunt; failure to enter the second plane required an edited close-up.
  • The opening glove reportedly would not slip despite oversizing and Vaseline because Stallone held too tightly, eventually yielding the desired take.
  • Stallone reportedly injured his hand on a soundstage cliff but described it publicly as a climbing injury.

Roger Ebert's review

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 00:24:01Read transcript
  • Ebert gave three stars and called the film a fairly good machine for involving and thrilling viewers; no scale is spoken.

Most Rewatchable Scene

Opening rescue and Sarah’s fall

In the discussion (23)
Approx. transcript time · 00:26:25Read transcript
  • The rescue opening is a contender for the greatest opening scene, though the novice's ability to reach the summit and Hal's injured knee create obvious questions.
  • The opening's rescue plan is criticized as needlessly dangerous compared with lifting people directly by helicopter; the failed buckle lacks redundancy, and Gabe using one arm rather than both is questioned. Despite this, the scene is cinematic.
  • Hal's immediate hostile stare at Gabe after the fall seems to promise revenge that never comes and remains unfair given his own inaction.
  • Frank appears to smile in the background during the death; wind-induced squinting is a possible explanation, but the effect is unintentionally comic.
  • Gabe returning to Jesse eight months later is a favorite bad-acting scene: mumbling, overwrought dialogue and his greater trauma than Hal resemble a soap opera. Brandt recognizes lines from his own Days of Our Lives experience.
  • The midair transfer is an admired scene candidate.
  • The plane-to-plane stunt reportedly cost a million dollars and was performed for real.
  • Travers failing to ensure all his victims are dead is a major planning mistake.
  • The first suitcase and avalanche sequence is a favorite absurd scene.
  • The villain firing at the avalanche is baffling, while Gabe survives beneath a suitcase.
  • Forcing Gabe to remove his coat exposes his physique, while Hal suddenly worries about the man he blamed.
  • The nighttime sliding fight is a fun scene, ending with the climbing stake stopping the descent and an unconvincingly made-up scraped face.
  • The Leon fight is admired because Stallone takes an unusually one-sided beating before the obvious sharp cave formations pay off; stalactite death is proposed as an Apex.
  • Saving Jesse with another glove pull calls back to the opening, jokingly suggesting Gabe tries harder because he loves her and has no distracting shouting.
  • Frank's death brings another Rooker No and the emotional never-hurt-anybody line, punctured by Lithgow's Touching; the excess is enjoyed.
  • Delmar beating Hal while narrating soccer is the strongest alternative to the opening.
  • His soccer enthusiasm and racism are interpreted as 1993 villain coding before the 1994 World Cup changed American interest.
  • Season’s over, asshole supplies a celebrated payoff to the fight.
  • Stallone killing Travers is another scene candidate.
  • The dangling-helicopter finale is another favorite.
  • The dangling helicopter helps even the Stallone/Lithgow mismatch; a broken arm might have further helped.
  • The opening wins both final scene choices.
  • Hal confronting Gabe on the cliff is the runner-up, compared with Heat’s two-star confrontation.

Apex Mountain

Stalactite death; Turner; botched plane transfers; Delmar’s actor

In the discussion (14)
Approx. transcript time · 00:38:32Read transcript
  • Stallone is rejected for Apex.
  • Turner receives affirmative Apex for Northern Exposure alongside this hit.
  • Rooker loses to later Marvel fame, or Days of Thunder within this earlier era.
  • Climbing films lose to Free Solo.
  • Harlin remains unresolved, with this hit contrasted against Cutthroat Island and a marriage joke.
  • Botched plane transfers receive affirmative Apex, though the five-minute timer is questioned.
  • The greatest No remains unsettled, comparing RockyIV, Elijah Wood after Gandalf falls and this film.
  • Leon’s peak is placed in Above the Rim.
  • Delmar’s actor receives an affirmative choice.
  • Stallone’s cliff jump loses to First Blood.
  • Stallone climbing mountains loses to RockyIV.
  • Lithgow loses to Third Rock from the Sun.
  • The Leon fight’s stalactite death is explicitly proposed as an Apex.
  • Ill-fitting gloves receive a joking Apex proposal.

What’s Aged the Best?

Hal’s anger; frozen mumbling; money puns; score; Land Rover; tracking devices; cap callback

In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 00:44:10Read transcript
  • Hal's unfair anger and Gabe's disastrous bad-time-for-everybody/drop-it responses are aged-best comedy.
  • Frozen Stallone mumbling in the warming hut and his bad money-burning puns are aged-best pleasures, reflecting the era's Schwarzenegger-style one-liners.
  • Trevor Jones’s orchestral score is an aged-best choice.
  • Gabe’s Land Rover is an aged-best choice.
  • Qualen defining love as sacrifice before killing his girlfriend is an admired villain moment.
  • Removing the implausible jump is praised in contrast with Skyscraper’s disappointing execution.
  • Stallone’s handsome mountain-man appearance is praised.
  • Tracking devices are praised, with Total Recall as a comparison.
  • The backward-cap Over the Top callback is praised.

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Henchman profit shares; Delmar’s soccer ability; bats; Hal revenge ending

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 00:56:16Read transcript
  • Questions imagine terrorist profit shares and whether underlings should expect betrayal: Travers and Qualen might each take a third, while lesser henchmen receive percentages or are killed before payment. These are hypotheses, not explicit film contracts.
  • Delmar's actual soccer ability is questioned because repeated kicks fail to finish Hal; minor-league/club or teenage-level ability is imagined.
  • The cave bats raise questions about bite risk and damage, with uncertainty explicit and First Blood as another Stallone cave comparison.
  • A proposed alternate ending has Hal throw Jesse off the mountain to even the score, setting up a villainous-Rooker sequel.
  • Throwing Jesse into helicopter blades would escalate the hypothetical ending further, and both speakers favor the outrageous bookend.

The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

Sarah’s fall as planned suicide; Turner displaced by Moore

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:01:12Read transcript
  • Brandt's hot take interprets Sarah's fall as a planned suicide to escape an abusive relationship and leave Hal guilty, citing the kiss, dinner remark and inability to pull herself up. It is explicitly a speculative reading, not a confirmed plot event. — Kyle Brandt
  • Turner is imagined as losing career opportunities to Moore, who shared an early General Hospital connection and similar look; an alternate view proposes Bullock, with discussion of the generational sequence and hypothetical roles/marriage.

Casting What-Ifs

David Bowie; Christopher Walken; Dana Delany

This discussion recalls a choice from an earlier episode.

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:04:49Read transcript
  • Bowie reportedly declined the first offer for Qualen.
  • Walken was reportedly cast but left before filming, and Lithgow joined late.
  • Walken is preferred hypothetically as a colder villain and more plausible physical opponent; the timing of True Romance is corrected from two years earlier to the same 1993 release year.
  • Dana Delany reportedly declined Jesse; Turner is preferred as the eventual choice.

The Joey Pants “That Guy” Award

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:07:57Read transcript
  • Rex Linn as Travers is a that-guy candidate.
  • Caroline Goodall as Crystal is another candidate, with Disclosure and Hook credits recalled.
  • Bruce McGill is considered a graduated that-guy actor and underused here.
  • Ralph Waite is ruled recognizable by name from The Waltons.
  • Max Perlich is initially favored after recognition from Beautiful Girls.
  • Zach Grenier as Davis replaces Perlich as the final that-guy winner.

Recasting Couch

Bullock; Snipes; Gibson; Newman; Tommy Lee Jones

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:11:00Read transcript
  • Bullock is proposed as the romantic lead.
  • Snipes is proposed instead of Leon.
  • Gibson replacing Rooker would create two huge male leads, though it provokes objection and guilt.
  • Newman is proposed as Frank.
  • Tommy Lee Jones is proposed as Travers, with more background and material required.
  • Jones could also replace Lithgow.

Picking Nits

Hal’s reversal; frostbite; missing headgear; climbing realism; Denver Mint; physique; small crew; travel jumps

In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 01:18:34Read transcript
  • Hal changes quickly from hatred to protecting Gabe.
  • Gabe surviving in a T-shirt without freezing and everyone lacking headgear seem implausible.
  • The second stoner’s fate remains unclear despite Frank rescuing him.
  • A gunshot dispersing all the coyotes seems too easy.
  • A climbing critic reportedly objected to the unrealistic piton-firing gun.
  • The Denver Mint produces coins rather than the film’s paper currency.
  • Stallone's bodybuilder physique seems wrong for a climber, whose lower weight and sinewy build would make repeated pull-ups more plausible.
  • A late nitpick questions the tiny rescue staff and absence of younger recruits.
  • Characters cover enormous mountain distances implausibly fast, including reaching the distant hut and warming with only a thin thermal.

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

The Dam sequel; contemporary remake

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:21:56Read transcript
  • The planned sequel The Dam would place Gabe at Hoover Dam against terrorists; attempts in 1994–95 and 2008 reportedly failed. A sequel could supply the missing Hal/Gabe resolution after the remarkably abrupt ending, timed at 84 seconds after the villain's death.
  • A Rock remake is imagined as a meme source, but his action career is criticized as bland and disappointing compared with Schwarzenegger's iconic films; Pain & Gain and the Fast films are partial exceptions, with Cousins/Rivers sports analogies debated.

Is This Movie Better With…?

Jackson as Travers; Baker Hall’s Floyd Gondolli as Frank

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:25:39Read transcript
  • Jackson as Travers is an affirmative better-with choice, including an imagined profane Fetch line.
  • Baker Hall as Frank, specifically playing Floyd Gondolli, is the other choice; that character’s monologue is adapted to rescuing hikers.

Just One Oscar

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:26:50Read transcript
  • Rooker receives both hypothetical Oscar choices. The cited supporting-actor field is Hackman, Nicholson, Pacino, Paymer and Davidson, with Paymer the imagined replacement; the cited field's year is retained as podcast discussion, not externally corrected.

The Andy and Red – Zihuatanejo Award for What Happens the Next Day?

Gabe’s gym; short romance; damaged rescue operation

The panel is imagining how this might look in the future.

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:30:49Read transcript
  • Gabe secretly keeping500,000 dollars and opening a bodybuilding gym is imagined.
  • Gabe and Jesse are predicted to have an intense one-month romance and then split.
  • The rescue operation's lost helicopter, dead Frank, injured or dead stoners and multiple falls create a grim business aftermath, with missing money and FBI scrutiny unresolved.

The Coach Finstock Award for Best Life Lesson

Avoid reckless novice climbs; let the friend attempt his own rescue

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:32:31Read transcript
  • The life lesson is not to bring an inexperienced girlfriend onto a terrifying mountain with an injured knee; a modern remake is imagined around social-media photographs and exploitation, explicitly speculative.
  • The cynical life lesson is to let the friend rescue his own girlfriend, since attempting it risks blame. — Craig Horlbeck
  • A novice surfer entering Point Break’s giant storm wave illustrates the irresponsibility of bringing Sarah onto the mountain.

More from the conversation

Kyle Brandt joins for a Stallone film that revived excitement after RockyV, Oscar and Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot; a Florida visit was timed to its1993 opening.
Approx. transcript time · 00:01:33Read transcript
Cliffhanger is proposed as the best non-Rocky/non-Rambo Stallone film, combining early-nineties violence, dated technology and peak physical charisma; its opening remains the defining scene.
Approx. transcript time · 00:03:08Read transcript
Hal's anger at Gabe seems unjustified: Hal brought an inexperienced climber into danger, is injured himself and offers little useful help, while Gabe risks himself trying to save her. The blame nevertheless drives the whole film.
Approx. transcript time · 00:04:07Read transcript
Gabe's guilt and Turner's encouragement resemble earlier Rocky plots, including guilt over Mickey and Apollo; the familiar emotional formula is still enjoyed.
Approx. transcript time · 00:05:48Read transcript
Modern HD reveals green-screen work and Cruise's later real stunts raise the bar, but the original theatrical experience felt astonishing. Promised trailer stunts missing from the film are flagged for later discussion.
Approx. transcript time · 00:06:46Read transcript
The film's fast110-minute pace and entertaining cheesy dialogue make it satisfying; its weaker cultural visibility than Rocky and Rambo may keep young viewers away.
Approx. transcript time · 00:08:34Read transcript
The film is praised as an ideal ambitious nineties action rewatchable, with many irresistible scenes and an opening that can be enjoyed alone, compared with Jaws and Scream.
Approx. transcript time · 00:10:38Read transcript
The Die Hard on a blank formula is defended; Sudden Death is correctly identified after confusion with Double/Sudden Impact, and its NHL cooperation and lengthy goalie sequence prompt amused disbelief.
Approx. transcript time · 00:11:40Read transcript
Rooker's strong six-year run is enumerated as Eight Men Out, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, Sea of Love, Days of Thunder, JFK, Cliffhanger and Tombstone; his slow-motion No performance may be a Mount Rushmore contender, without a complete list.
Approx. transcript time · 00:14:49Read transcript
Rooker seems to dominate the film and deserved a trial as an action lead, though lacking conventional dreaminess or muscularity may explain his supporting niche. Later Walking Dead/Marvel popularity and toe-to-toe work with Cruise and Stallone show his value.
Approx. transcript time · 00:15:45Read transcript
Lithgow is proposed as the best Rickman-style villain imitation, with Tommy Lee Jones in Under Siege the rival finalist; Toy Soldiers is a disliked extreme despite affection for that film.
Approx. transcript time · 00:18:15Read transcript
Dark Lithgow is praised across Ricochet, Blow Out, Footloose, Dexter and Garp; the accent criticism is acknowledged but his campy villainy works. The explicit top five is Garp, Blow Out, Dexter, Cliffhanger and Footloose, unranked within the five.
Approx. transcript time · 00:18:55Read transcript
The reported budget is seventy million dollars against 255 million in receipts; three technical Oscar nominations reportedly all lost to Jurassic Park.
Approx. transcript time · 00:24:01Read transcript
A speculative sexual reading imagines the couple had just had sex on the summit, explaining Hal's relaxed demeanor and Sarah's tension; this is an interpretation, not a stated event.
Approx. transcript time · 00:27:50Read transcript
Leon's Cool Runnings, Above the Rim and Cliffhanger run is praised; Passenger57 or Demolition Man starring him is considered, while a recent Rucker appearance reflects his lasting basketball-film reputation.
Approx. transcript time · 00:37:02Read transcript
The closing names producer Craig Horacek and Kyle Brandt, and explicitly launches January's One-Name Movie Month, the same one-word-title theme.
Approx. transcript time · 01:38:02Read transcript