To survive!

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Movie
German title To survive!
Original title Alive
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1993
length 127 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Frank Marshall
script John Patrick Shanley
production Kathleen Kennedy ,
Robert Watts
music James Newton Howard
camera Peter James
cut William Goldenberg ,
Michael Kahn
occupation

To survive! is an American disaster film from 1993. The film adaptation is based on the book Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors by Piers Paul Read and describes the struggle for survival of the passengers after the crash of the Fuerza Aérea Uruguaya flight 571 .

action

A rugby union team from Uruguay crashes on the way to a game in Chile because of a navigation error by the pilot in the Andes at an altitude of approx. 3,800 meters. Of the 45 people on board, twelve die during or immediately after the crash. The aircraft, of which only the front part of the fuselage is left, becomes the accommodation for the survivors, five more of whom die on the first night they are confronted with arctic temperatures. On the eighth day, the survivors heard on a small radio that the search had been stopped and that they had been officially declared dead. Another passenger dies that day. With no prospect of rescue and no possibility of adequately caring for the injured, inadequate clothing to withstand the low temperatures and hardly any food, the condition of the survivors becomes more critical every day. In order not to starve to death, they decide to eat the remains of the dead. The situation worsened when an avalanche buried the aircraft fuselage, killing eight more passengers.

After 62 days, the remaining 16 survivors decide to send three of them on an expedition to get help. Fernando Parrado, Roberto Canessa and Antonio Vinzintin march west, as they suspect they are on the western edge of the Andes and thus near Chile. To the west of their position, however, a high mountain blocks the way they are trying to overcome. Canessa almost falls to her death, but can be saved by the other two. Once at the summit, all you see again is a wide panorama with high, snow-covered mountain peaks. Canessa resigns, but Parrado discovers two peaks in the distance that are free of snow and is able to persuade Canessa to continue walking. Vinzintin is sent back to the wreck so Parrado and Canessa can have more meat supplies. A little later, the two of them cross the snow line and enter civilization. In the end, the 14 survivors who remained on the mountain are rescued by helicopter.

background

The film is based on a true story from 1972 and is based on the factual novel by Piers Paul Read , who wrote the book in collaboration with the survivors. Marshall's film, however, focuses on the events in the Andes, while the novel describes the fate of the stranded on a much broader scale and also provides insight into the lives of the survivors after the rescue. Fernando Parrado and Roberto Canessa's ten-day, strenuous march to the rescue into civilization is shown in a greatly reduced manner, as is the rescue by helicopter, which was actually much more difficult than shown in the film.

criticism

"Although the drastic portrayal of the situation (crash catastrophe, cannibalism) gradually takes a back seat to the recognizable efforts to respectful deepening, the film fails because of the insufficient individualization of the victims and the insufficient inspirational power of the staging."

- film service

Differences in the film

  • When crossing the western summit, Canessa almost falls to her death, which in reality did not happen.
  • During the rescue, Parrado and Canessa also sit in the helicopter, but the helicopter stayed behind in Los Maitenes due to his weakness.

Background information

  • Ethan Hawke and his colleagues had to lose a lot of weight during the shoot in order to realistically portray the starved people.
  • The film begins and ends with a prologue and epilogue with John Malkovich , who portrays one of the survivors and remembers the events.
  • The Ave Maria by Franz Schubert at the end of the film is sung by Aaron Neville .
  • Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall were Steven Spielberg's home producers for years . To survive! is one of the few directorial works that Marshall has ever done. Other works by him are Arachnophobia (1990) and Congo (1995).
  • Fernando Parrado, the most prominent survivor, can be seen at the beginning of the film as the team's coach in the photo that is faded in. He also acted as a consultant during the shooting.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Survive! In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used