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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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.