The Edge (1997)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Lee Tamahori

Writer (WGA):

David Mamet (written by)

Release Date:

26 September 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Action | Adventure | Thriller

Tagline:

They were fighting over a woman when the plane went down. Now, their only chance for survival is each other.

Plot:

A billionaire and two other men are stranded, unequipped, by a plane crash in a dangerous wilderness. How many will survive to be rescued?

Plot Keywords:

Photo Shoot | Supermodel | Crash | Alaska | Wilderness

Cast

Anthony Hopkins	...	Charles Morse
Alec Baldwin	...	Robert Green
Elle Macpherson	...	Mickey Morse
Harold Perrineau	...	Stephen
Bart the Bear	...	The Bear
L.Q. Jones	...	Styles
Kathleen Wilhoite	...	Ginny
David Lindstedt	...	James
Mark Kiely	...	Mechanic
Eli Gabay	...	Jet Pilot
Larry Musser	...	Amphibian Pilot
Brian Arnold	...	Reporter
Bob Boyd	...	Reporter
Kelsa Kinsly	...	Reporter
Gordon Tootoosis	...	Jack Hawk

Also Known As:

Bookworm (USA) (working title)
The Wild (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some adventure gore/violence.

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Peru:14 | USA:R (certificate #35275) | Iceland:14 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Belgium:KT | Finland:K-16 | Germany:12 (w) | Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade) | Singapore:NC-16 | Spain:T | Sweden:15 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Alberta, Canada

Company:

Art Linson Productions

Trivia:

After reaching Jack Hawk's empty cabin, and after convincing Morse (Anthony Hopkins) to fly further to Big Bass Lake in search of Hawk, Green (Alec Baldwin) exclaims elatedly, "There's the spirit that beat the Japanese!" Alec Baldwin eventually went on to play Lt. Col. James Doolittle, who planned and led the counter-strike against the Japanese in Pearl Harbor (2001).

Goofs:

Errors in geography: As the characters are running from the bear in the "remote" woods, there are yellow hiking markers nailed into the trees.

Quotes:

[after successfully fighting a bear]
Charles Morse: For all my life, I've have wanted to do something that was, um, that was unequivocal.
Robert Green: Well, Charlie, I certainly think this qualifies.
Charles Morse: Or something.
Robert Green: See, Charles, that's why they call it personal growth. A month ago, old Smokey here would've reared up, you probably would've called your lawyer!
Charles Morse: Nah, I wouldn't do that to an animal.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Alec Baldwin/Christina Aguilera (#32.5)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Happy Birthday

A Morality Play in an Immoral Age

A very strong performance by Anthony Hopkins, Bart the Bear, and Alec Baldwin, in that order, in a film that deals with the important subjects of virtue, wisdom, and morality. I can understand why some of the modern audience might find that to be a turn-off. The sets and locations alone are worth a rental, especially of the DVD, the haunting Goldsmith score lingers in the memory and enhances the viewer's pleasure in the film. What a joy it is to see a film that is tautly and expertly written, that tells the salient details of the plot but leaves you guessing--through repeated viewings--of the whys, wheres and whens of the development. If you favor serious drama--if you relish philosophy--if you don't need a film spoon fed to you or so puerile that they try to stun you with explosions--you will enjoy The Edge. My choice of a collegiate vocabulary in this review is deliberate.