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The Movie:
In the genre of "mindless action", "Cliffhanger" is definitely above average. Director Renny Harlin did fine work with this picture, but I think he's been improving since, with the recent "Deep Blue Sea" being a fine example of what an action picture like this should be. "Cliffhanger" has some spectacular action and stunts, but there are a few too many pauses here and there that could have been trimmed to pick up the pace even further.
The movie stars Sylvester Stallone as Gabe Walker, an ace mountain climber who comes back to visit his friends after a tragic incident forced him to leave. While he's there, the group recieves a distress call from what they think is a group of stranded climbers in the snow. It turns out to be a group of criminals who are stuck after their plane crashes during a midair robbery. The criminals are lead by Eric Qualan, played to evil perfection by John Lithgow("3rd Rock From The Sun"). The criminals need both Stallone and another climber, Tucker(Michael Rooker) to help them find the money they've lost in the mountains, as well as get out of the wilds.
The rest of the movie is a series of chase after chase up the mountain and quite frequently, down the mountain, with plenty of impressive stunts. Stallone's performance is solid, and easily one of his better performances in recent years, although "Daylight" wasn't too bad. Lithgow creates quite an impressive villian though and a solid opponent for Stallone. Obviously though, we know how the movie's going to end up. For those seeking a solid action thriller, "Cliffhanger" is definitely a good rental.
The DVD
Note: The audio and video quality for this new "special edition" are the same as the original edition. An example of Tristar's great work even early in the DVD world, the first release of "Cliffhanger" boasts audio and video quality that need no improvement.
VIDEO:
Although the usual transfer from Tristar is excellent, there are instances where they have created image quality that is nothing short of breathtaking, and "Cliffhanger" is certainly one of those instances. Images are wonderfully sharp and clear as glass, or in this case, the more appropriate term might be clear as ice. Detail is excellent, and I was consistently impressed by the consistent level of high quality. There's not too much in the way of colors, but what colors do make an appearance are natural and vivid. Flesh tones also are fine, looking natural and accurate. What few problems there are are absolutely not distracting - just one or two instances of shimmering. Nothing else - the print used is in excellent condition - no marks visible.
SOUND: While not as impressive as the audio for Stallone's "Daylight", "Cliffhanger" still sounds excellent once the action gets going, with some powerful explosions and constant gunfire. Surrounds are put into use frequently and all speakers work agressively during some of the more intense sequences. Even during some of the slower scenes, there are some nice subtle touches like the winds blowing through the mountains. Crystal clear sounding score and dialogue complete what is an enjoyably intense audio presentation.
MENUS:: Tristar rarely does animated main menus, but when they do choose to offer them, they do a fantastic job; this one's no different, with an animated "computer" shot of the mountain making up the main menu. The sub-menus aren't animated, but like all Tristar menus, they are easily navigated and look pretty good.
EXTRAS: Tristar has taken many of the extra features that were available on the pricey laserdisc special edition and brought them over to this new set, and also, has included some new tidbits as well.
Commentary One: This is a commentary track from director Renny Harlin and actor Sylvester Stallone. The two are recorded at different times and edited together; Harlin's comments definitely dominate the track, with only the occasional commment offered by Stallone on how hard the climbing was.
No matter, Harlin(as he has demonstrated on the "Deep Blue Sea" commentary) is definitely interesting enough to listen to for the running time of the movie. He offers a very enthusiastic, very detailed discussion that covers a lot of different areas of the production, from the filming locations to stories of how a lot of the shots were achieved. Stallone occasionally offers a few entertaining comments about his fear of heights, but there isn't much more than that from the actor. To compare the frequency of Stallone's comments with another commentary, it's sort of similar to the level of what Bruce Willis contributed to the commentary for the Criterion version of "Armageddon"; in other words, not a whole lot.
Harlin is certainly a filmmaker that has dealt with major productions such as this one many times, so he is able to discuss in detail how some of the effects were done and also, a lot about the camerawork. At one point, he even discusses his views on violence in cinema as well as this film specifically. It's a very good commentary that's worth a listen, just don't expect lots of comments from Stallone. This commentary was part of the laserdisc special edition and has been brought over to the DVD.
Commentary Two: This is a commentary from the technical crew that is a newly recorded track specifically for the DVD. While not a film that quite compares with some of the effects in newer films, "Cliffhanger" remains pretty technically solid for it's time, and in this track, we learn a lot about what it took to accomplish many of the bigger sequences and even some of the smaller moments in the film. We hear from effects supervisor John Bruno as well, who has gone on to direct films such as "Virus" and be the effects supervisor on films such as "True Lies".
A few other members of the effects crew contribute as well, and some of them seem to be recorded together. It was really quite interesting to hear about the stunts both computer generated and some of the physical effects/stunts that came together to make some of the scenes work. Some viewers may not be too crazy about hearing a lot of technical information, but I really found it very informative. Definitely a good track.
Trailers: Trailers for "Cliffhanger" and an older Stallone film called "The Lords Of The Flatbush".
Trailer: How It Was Produced: Director Renny Harlin leads us through a 4 minute featurette that talks about the marketing of the movie. He talks about how scenes were selected, and how the trailer was put together. It was definitely interesting to hear how the director is even thinking about the trailer while he's making the film. This featurette could have been called "What Makes A Trailer Moment".
Special Effects: How It Was Done: Two featurettes, one on "Helicopter Explosion" and the other on the opening scene of the film. Both of these featurettes actually take us to the production and show us, in depth, all of the levels and elements that needed to come together to make these scenes work. Effects crew members and director Renny Harlin lead us through what we're actually seeing on-screen.
Storyboard Comparisons: Split-screen storyboard comparisons for 3 scenes: "Helicopter Explosion", "Air-to-Air Transfer" and the opening scene of the film.
"Stallone: On The Edge": It's pretty promotional in nature, but it's actually quite funny, which is refreshing for one of these documentaries. Lasting about 20 minutes total, it takes us behind-the-scenes to show us some of the stunt work that it took to make some of the action scenes in "Cliffhanger" so remarkable. Also included are quite a few interviews with cast members like John Lithgow, Stallone and others, along with some members of the crew. Speaking of Lithgow, I wish that he'd been included, or at least edited into, one of the commentary tracks. It's a very well-done documentary that I enjoyed.
Deleted Scenes: 2 deleted sequences, with an intro from director Harlin.
Also: Weblink, photo gallery, personal introduction from director Renny Harlin and cast/crew bios.
Final Thoughts Although "Cliffhanger" isn't exactly a favorite film of mine, Columbia really has done an outstanding job here; although some of the extras are from the laserdisc, the DVD offers excellent video quality and outstanding audio quality, although with a couple of new extras along for the ride. Recommended.
Film Grade
The Film C+
DVD Grades
Video 93/A = (372/400 possible points)
Audio: 94/A = (376/400 possible points)
Extras: 91/A = (273/300 possible points)
Menus 89/B+ = (178/200 possible points)
Value: 85/B = (255/300 possible points)
TOTAL: 1454/1600
DVD GRADE:A/91%
FILM GRADE: C+
DVD GRADE: A
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