the fresh films reviews

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Alive (1993)

Director:
Frank Marshall

COUNTRY
USA

Genre
Survival/Drama

NORWEGIAN TITLE
Alive

RUNNING TIME
125 minutes

Producer:
Kathleen Kennedy
Robert Watts
Screenwriter:
John Patrick Shanley

Based on the book by:
Piers Paul Read


Cast includes:

CHARACTER ACTOR/ACTRESS RATING
Nando Parrado Ethan Hawke
Antonio Balbi Vincent Spano ½
Roberto Canessa Josh Hamilton ½
Carlitos Paez Bruce Ramsay -
Tintin John Newton -
Felipe Restano Josh Lucas -
Nando, 20 years later John Malkovich -

 

Review

The riveting story of the Uruguayan rugby team who had to find unorthodox methods for survival after their chartered plane crashed into the Andes en route to an away game in Chile in 1972 is relatively well adapted to the big screen by Steven Spielberg's regular partners Frank Marshall (director) and Kathleen Kennedy (producer). Marshall directs the air disaster brilliantly, but cannot avoid some B-movie sensibilities in the film's first part. He is an old-school director, meaning that even the interpersonal elements – which are the most interesting part of the story – come off as action-driven. I suspect the film may have made more of a lasting impression had they been made to carry the script to a larger degree. Still, once Ethan Hawke's character finds his footing, the film becomes truer, more poignant and a tad less Hollywoodized. Alive may well derive a large part of its effectiveness from the fact that it's based on real events, but it's effective nonetheless.

Re-reviewed: Copyright © 13.03.2021 Fredrik Gunerius Fevang
Original review:
Copyright © 22.10.1996 Fredrik Gunerius Fevang