Cliffhanger
Tri-Star Pictures
CAST: Sylvester Stallone, John Lithgow, Michael Rooker, Janine Turner,
Leon, Paul Winfield, Craig Fairbrass, Ralph Waite
DIRECTOR: Renny Harlin
RATING: R for violence and language
RUNNING TIME: 113 minutes
1993
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The creation of a central theme is all but lost among the current crop of screenwriters. While the basic mechanics of plot will always remain the backbone of cinema, it is the central theme of a story that actually gives the film proper subtext. For once the central theme has been properly established, the writer can further layer the screenplay, thus giving the character(s) a deep emotional resonance that wouldn't have existed otherwise.
Although terribly underrated, Sylvester Stallone has nonetheless achieved remarkable success in the field of screenwriting. From his Oscar nominated script for the original “Rocky” to the life lessons taught in “Driven”, Stallone has honed his literary instincts to a fine edge. What makes his particular action scripts work so well is the unique attention lavished upon structure, turning points, and central themes. The revolutionary work on Rambo: First Blood Part II (the end result coming after Sly's exhaustive seventeen rewrites) is a prime example. While the key plot of the film is about the rescue of American POW's from Vietnam, the central theme of the story is something else entirely. When confronted with the possibility of returning to Vietnam the Rambo character articulates a single line that provides subtext for the remainder of the film: “Do we get to win this time?” That potent question is the central theme of the story.
No less effective is the script for Cliffhanger. Set against the backdrop of treacherous mountain peaks and featuring a team of terrorists hell-bent on getting away with the perfect heist, the premise could easily be described as nothing more than “…Die Hard on a mountain.” But to casually dismiss Cliffhanger in that fashion is akin to calling Jurassic Park nothing more than “…Westworld with dinosaurs.” Both films are light years away from mere copycat cinema.
Arguably the most intense front ten-minutes in cinema history, the tragic death which opens Cliffhanger introduces a protagonist that must eventually fight to overcome as many personal demons as physical opponents. While the cursory plot of Cliffhanger is about a mountaineer battling terrorists, the central theme of the story can be found within the horrifying imagery of Sarah's fall. What makes this sequence remarkable is the final seconds before the fall itself. While Stallone watches helplessly as Sarah's hand slowly slips from his grasp, he looks into her eyes, whispering: “Sarah… please.” This is a plea not to somehow prevent the death of an innocent person, but to divert the incredible guilt this moment will cause. Within the final look that both characters exchange, the central theme of Cliffhanger is established.
From here the movie begins proper as an international gang of terrorists attempt to hijack a treasury plane in mid-flight. When the heist goes bad and the plane crashes over the Rocky Mountains, the thieves (led by a wonderfully sadistic John Lithgow) forcefully recruit a mountain rescue team to assist them in finding the scattered loot. Using the natural elements as a weapon, the mountaineers engage the terrorists and a race to find the money begins.
Renny Harlin (arguably the world's most formidable action director) is in no small way responsible for the tremendous box office success of Cliffhanger. By daring to take an action movie into this kind of majestic element, Harlin utilized an equal amount of skill and sheer bravura filmmaking. In sequence after sequence, Harlin features the Dolomites as not just lavish scenery, but as an actual character in the film. It is this singular vision that lifts Cliffhanger from an ordinary action movie into an extraordinary action spectacle. This is truly the pinnacle of action filmmaking.
--Yim Kip
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