Cliffhanger (film)
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Renny Harlin |
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| Music by | Trevor Jones |
| Cinematography | Alex Thomson |
| Edited by | Frank J. Urioste |
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| Distributed by | TriStar Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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113 minutes |
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| Language | English |
| Budget | $70 million |
| Box office | $255 million |
| Cliffhanger (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) | ||||
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| Studio album by Trevor Jones | ||||
| Released | 23 May 1993 | |||
| Recorded | Music performed at CTS Studios London | |||
| Genre | Stage & Screen | |||
| Length | 42:18 | |||
| Label | Scotti Bros. Records 514 455-2 | |||
| Producer | Trevor Jones | |||
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Cliffhanger is a 1993 American action adventure film directed by Renny Harlin and starring Sylvester Stallone, Michael Rooker, Janine Turner, and John Lithgow. Based on a concept by climber John Long, the film follows Gabe (played by Stallone, who co-wrote the screenplay), a mountain climber who becomes embroiled in the failed heist of a U.S. Treasury plane flying through the Rocky Mountains. The film earned $255 million worldwide.
Rangers Gabriel "Gabe" Walker and Jessie Deighan are dispatched to rescue their friend Hal Tucker and his girlfriend Sarah after Hal suffered a knee injury and stranded them on a peak in the Colorado Rockies. As they try to rescue Sarah, part of her harness breaks, and though Gabe is able to grab her, her gloved hand slips out, and she falls to her death. Frank finds all this amusing, and bursts into laughter. Hal blames Gabe for Sarah's death and Gabe is overcome with guilt, taking an extended leave.
Eight months later, Gabe returns to the ranger station to gather his remaining possessions and convince Jessie to leave with him. While there, they receive a distress call from a group of stranded climbers. Hal goes to locate the climbers and Jessie is able to convince Gabe to help out. Hal remains bitter towards Gabe over Sarah's death, at one point threatening to send Gabe over a ledge. When they find the climbers, they discover the distress call was a ruse and are taken prisoner by former Military Intelligence operative Eric Qualen and several mercenaries. Qualen, along with turncoat U.S. Treasury agent Richard Travers, were able to steal three suitcases full of uncirculated bills valuing over $100 million. Their escape plan backfired, sending their plane crashing into the mountain, and they now require Gabe and Hal's help to locate the cases with the help of beacon locators.
At gunpoint, Gabe leads them to the first case, located at the top of a steep rock face. They force Gabe to tether himself to reach it, and Gabe uses the opportunity to escape. The mercenaries attempt to fire on Gabe, which causes an avalanche that kills one of their members. When they see the money from the first case fluttering away, Qualen believes Gabe is dead, and orders Hal to lead them onward. Gabe races ahead to find Jessie at an abandoned cabin. They recover old mountaineering gear to reach the second case before Qualen does. By the time Qualen arrives, Gabe and Jessie have emptied the case and left only a single bill with the taunting message "Want to trade?" on it. Qualen orders his men to split up, allowing Gabe to dispatch two more of Qualen's men. Gabe attempts to call for help from Frank, their rescue helicopter pilot, on one of the mercenaries' radios, but Hal alerts him to explosives Qualen has rigged above them on the mountain. Gabe and Jessie escape the falling debris in time. Elsewhere, when Hal sees two friends, Evan and Brett, he warns them away before Qualen orders his men to open fire. Brett is killed while Evan is wounded, though he manages to ski off the mountain and parachute to safety. Night falls on the mountain and both groups take shelter. Frank, having not heard from Gabe or the others, scouts the mountain in the helicopter, spots Evan's parachute, and is able to get him to safety while contacting the authorities.
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