Plot: What’s it about?
After a tragic accident with an inexperienced climber, mountain rescue worker Gabe Walker (Sylvester Stallone) is destroyed mentally and leaves his previous lifestyle behind. Nine months later, Gabe comes back to start over and rekindle the fires with his true love, Jessie (Janine Turner). When he arrives he learns of a routine rescue mission about to be embarked upon, so he joins Jessie and his best friend Hal (Michael Rooker) to rescue five trapped climbers before time runs out for them. But once they’re on the scene, it seems as though nothing is as they expected. The trapped climbers are really a group of criminals who suffered a bad transaction, and have lost thirty-million dollars in the mountains. Now that they’ve been rescued they want their money to be saved also, and will do whatever it takes to regain it. After a series of events, it all comes down to Gabe, who must rescue his friends, capture the money, and stay alive long enough to thwart the criminals. But when you’re surrounded by icy peaks, freezing cold temperatures, and thieves armed with automatic weapons, survival isn’t as easy as it sounds.
My reactions to this release are two fold, as I am very pleased with the film itself, but I am overjoyed with the treatment Columbia has given it here. When Cliffhanger was first released, I was very disappointed with the lack of features but decided to pick it up anyway, since I liked the movie a lot. When I saw the specifications listed when this re-release was announced, I was almost stunned. While the dizzying list of bonus materials was impressive on paper, I was even more pleased in person with this disc, very cool supplements, not just some stuff tossed on for the sake of extras. The supplements actually enhance the enjoyment of the film, which is not often the case by any means. As far as the movie goes, this is a must have for me as I’m sure it is for most action lovers out there. The stunts are excellent, they look awesome and grand in scale as well as being pretty realistic also. For an action movie the storyline is actually good, with some human emotion exploration you might not expect. I recommend the movie to all those who love a fun ride with a movie. This Superbit edition offers enhanced visuals and sound, but loses the excellent extras, so its case by case on which version is more worthwhile. The original still looks and sounds great however, so perhaps it offers more of a total value.
This film was directed by Renny Harlin, who seems to have found his niche with big budget action movies. While the focus of his films is the action and stunts involved, they also contain some complex characters, at least most of them do. His camera moves fast, but not too fast and he loves to let his camera soak up natural beauty, which comes across here often. While not all his films have been financial successes, Harlin does know how to entertain his audience, so I can’t criticize him too much. Joining this film on Harlin’s resume are Die Hard 2, The Long Kiss Goodnight, Deep Blue Sea, and more. The lead in this film is played by action superstar Sylvester Stallone, who also helped write the screenplay. Stallone (Rocky, Demolition Man) is at his finest here in his natural element. He seems at home in every scene, and I think this is his best work of the 90s, at least as far as action movies go. The impressive supporting cast includes Janine Turner (Monkey Shines, Steel Magnolias), Leon (Cool Runnings, Bats), Paul Winfield (Relax…It’s Just Sex), John Lithgow (A Civil Action, The Pelican Brief), and one of my personal favorites, master thespian Michael Rooker (Brown’s Requiem, Days of Thunder).
Video: How does it look?
Cliffhanger is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. The Special Edition transfer looked superb for this movie, so I wondered how much of an improvement could be found here. As it turns out, the visuals do get a slight enhancement, but the difference isn’t immense. Of course, this movie is reliant on grand visuals, so perhaps even a minor enhancement in this case could mean more than in most pictures. The same print is used, so the main improvement is in overall detail depth, as is often the case with Superbit discs. But you will see some added detail, subtle touches that can add a little extra to the visual impact. Let me stress however, the previous treatment looked excellent, so if you’re on the fence, rent this edition before you purchase.
Audio: How does it sound?
I was floored by the Dolby Digital 5.1 option on showcase in the Special Edition, but now some time has passed. As new titles have surfaced, the audio on Cliffhanger still seems potent, but not as awesome as it once was. Even so, the speakers boom and shake, offering up an active and power laced experience. So maybe this isn’t reference level stuff anymore, but your surround system will have to keep pace with this one. The addition of a DTS track pops a little air back into the tires, but still can’t keep up with more recent audio dynamos. But a great sounding movie now sounds even better, so fans should be quite pleased. This disc also includes subtitles in English and French, should you need those.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes no bonus materials.
