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Sylvester Stallone, John Lithgow, Michael Rooker, Janine Turner, Rex Linn ... see more see more... , Caroline Goodall , Leon , Paul Winfield , Ralph Waite , Craig Fairbrass , Denis Forest , Michelle Joyner , Max Perlich , Rosemary Dunsmore , John Finn , Zach Grenier , Scott Hoxby , Jeff McCarthy , Bruce McGill , Kim Robillard , Vyto Ruginis , Don S. Davis , Mindy Marin , Gregory Scott Cummins

In Cliffhanger, Sylvester Stallone plays Gabe Walker, a member of a mountain-climbing rescue team. Gabe is haunted by an incident from his past when he couldn't save the girlfriend of his best friend,... read more read more... Hal Tucker (Michael Rooker), from falling to her death. As the story begins, Gabe has left mountain-climbing rescue work and has set up business in Denver. He returns to the mountain rescue office to persuade his lover, Jessie (Janine Turner), to quit and come back to Denver with him. While he is begging Jessie to head out to Denver, things are happening in the skies overhead. A gang of professional crooks headed by psychotic Eric Qualen (John Lithgow) has hijacked a U.S. Treasury plane carrying millions of dollars. But the plane crashes, and the bad guys find themselves stranded on top of a mountain with the money (put into three cases) scattered around the wreckage and with no way to get down off the pinnacle to retrieve the cases. They put in a phony distress call that is received by the mountain rescue team. Gabe agrees to take part in one last rescue attempt, and they head up to help rescue the thieves. But Qualen has plans for the rescuers -- to force them to climb through the dangerous snow-covered peaks to find the three suitcases of cash. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Flixster Users

47% liked it

165,981 ratings

Critics

82% liked it

33 critics

R, 1 hr. 53 min.

Directed by: Renny Harlin

Release Date: May 28, 1993

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DVD Release Date: November 11, 1997

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Stats: 3,671 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (3,671)

  • fb733768972
    May 7, 2012
    fb733768972
    Cliffhanger may seem like your ordinary cliched action film, but I can assure you that it is far more than just that. Sylvester Stallone actually pulls of a decent performance and the entire cast is very likeable. After the accident of losing his best friends girlfriend, Gabe (St... read moreallone) has to live with the fact that his friend will never forgive him. Once they get caught up together again in a situation that causes the incident, they want nothing to do with each other. The action is top notch, the acting is pretty good, the visuals are decent, but the story and the execution of the plot is really what counts here, and it is done phenomenally. I must complain that the dialogue can become a little silly sometimes and the green/blue screens may be noticeable, but it is still a great action film! "Cliffhanger" is awesome!
  • CloudStrife84
    November 29, 2011
    CloudStrife84
    Severely underrated Stallone flick. I had only seen bits and pieces of it before on TV, where it gave me a mediocre impression. But now that I saw it in its full length, I'm really surprised to say it was a great and well-paced actioner. John Lithgow is superb as the film's chief... read more villain, and I bet it was this performance they looked back to, when they cast him as a serial killer in Season 4 of Dexter (which, by the way, is also my favourite season thus far). A non-stop ride of thrills and excitement, which despite some minor defects in the dialogue, climbs all the way to the top with a rousing series of intrigues.
  • TheGame90
    September 18, 2011
    TheGame90
    I don't understand how a movie this bad can be so good
  • cosmo313
    August 28, 2011
    cosmo313
    Featuring some excellent location shooting and cinematography, this is a thrilling, and entertaining action/adventure yarn about some mountain rescure climbers who are called in to rescue some plane crash survivors, only to discover they are really stranded criminals who need hel... read morep searching for a ton of cash they had recently acquired through illegal means.

    This film is just reall, a crazy B-Movie, but it's so damn entertaining and well done that it's hard not to like. It's got suspense, acton, tons of violence, it looks terrific, features wonderful scenery, and has some great music too.

    This was also back when Renny Harlin was a good director of this sort of thing before he became a joke and enterted a state of failure he has yet to recover from. Like Die Hard 2 (which preceeded this film), this is Harlin doing a fantastic job of taking a simple premise, throwing in lots of thrills, getting a good cast together, and making a totally awesome piece of entertainment.

    Give this one a watch. It's great.
  • fb1463751009
    August 16, 2011
    fb1463751009
    I remember having a lot of fun with this movie. That's what it is- a B movie.
  • DragonEyeMorrison
    August 3, 2011
    DragonEyeMorrison
    Generic Stallone vehicle, but well shot and with actual moments of tension. Back when CGI was used just for dinosaurs and such. Lithgow needs to play villians more often.
  • TheDudeLebowski65
    April 13, 2011
    TheDudeLebowski65
    Cliffhanger directed by Renny Hsrlin, who has been dubbed one of the worst directors is actually a fairly decent action film. Sure the film is cheesy, cliche and all, but it's also what it makes it fun to watch. Cliffhanger follows the usual formula established by previous Sylves... read moreter Stallone flicks. One can expect that watching Cliffhanger you won't exactly get am Oscar worthy performance out of Stallone. The performance of the film belongs to John Lithgow. Lithgow is terrific as the villain, Ertic Qualen. Cliffhanger does have good action scenes, but at times it feels a little flat. This isn't the best action film, but it definitely isn't the worst. Quite an entertaining ride, Cliffhanger is good enough entertainment for anyone looking for a mindless thrill. Cliffhanger is a fun film not to be taken seriously. I found Cliffhanger to be solid, enjoyable and fun. It's understandable that this film isn't everyone's cup of tea. But to those looking for a good action film, Cliffhanger is the one to check out. Considering that Renny Harlin made this, he delivers a good film despite the fact that the mainstream critics see him as a terrible director. Harlin has made good films throughout his career, and he is no where near as the worst film maker in cinema. Cliffhanger among other films proves this. Harlin can craft a watchable action film thats fun and thrilling for the viewer. Cliffhanger though flawed, proves to be a very enjoyable 2 hours of action packed entertainment.
  • FilmFanatik
    January 22, 2011
    FilmFanatik
    A very enjoyable action flick. It's not perfect - there are some silly uses of slow motion and some poor character moments that make the thing drag in spots, but overall, action-driven and a lot of fun.
  • sanjurosamurai
    January 15, 2011
    sanjurosamurai
    made me wanna climb the dirt pile in my backyard
  • ythelastman89
    May 16, 2010
    ythelastman89
    Just all kinds of cool, it's an original setting and take on the "one man army" scenario. Sylvester Stallone is a god when it comes to these types of movie premises because he's so good at making a lovable character within the first two minutes. I love the villians and their coml... read moreetely ruthless nature, very often do people get so shamelessly killed off. Not since Die Hard has there been such an iconic action feel. It's just a great straight-forward, simple plot.

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Critic Reviews

Richard Schickel
July 25, 2010
Richard Schickel, TIME Magazine

We are not at Cliffhanger for realism; we're there for the cliffhanging, and there's plenty of it. Full Review

Owen Gleiberman
July 7, 2010
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

Despite the don't-look-down Olympian settings, Cliffhanger's spirit is brutal and earthbound. The movie is like one of those computer-designed simulator rides that whip you around until you're dizzy a... Full Review

Todd McCarthy
March 26, 2009
Todd McCarthy, Variety

Cliffhanger lives up to its title as a two-hour rollercoaster ride that never stops. Full Review

Rita Kempley
January 1, 2000
Rita Kempley, Washington Post

A predictably thick-headed, occasionally plodding bacchanalia of blood, grunts and testosterone. Full Review

James Berardinelli
January 1, 2000
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

Whether Cliffhanger will bring Stallone's name back into the top echelon of action movie stars has yet to be determined, but if this film can't, the task may be impossible. Full Review

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Cliffhanger is a device to entertain us, and it works, especially during those moments when Stallone is hanging by his fingernails over a three-mile fall, and the bad guys are stomping on him. Full Review

Desson Thomson
January 1, 2000
Desson Thomson, Washington Post

Just pull the plug on your judgment, good sense and values. Remember to leave enough motor skills to face forward -- that's where the screen is. Full Review

July 25, 2010
Film4

Big-budget nonsense that still manages to provide plenty of thrills thanks to its high-rise settings. Full Review

July 25, 2010
TV Guide's Movie Guide

It may go down in screen history as the nail in the coffin of the Die Hard sub-genre, in which all the key elements of that blockbuster have been recycled to the point of self-parody. Full Review

Peter Canavese
January 24, 2010
Peter Canavese, Groucho Reviews

As preposterous as this "Die Hard on a mountain" flick is, Cliffhanger remains one of the zestier big-budget action pictures of the nineties. [Blu-ray] Full Review

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Facts

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    • Eric Qualen: Kill a few people they call you a murderer. Kill a million, and you are a CONQUEROR.
  • Christopher Walken was originally cast as Qualen but left the production before filming began, so John Lithgow was cast at the very last minute.
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Cliffhanger Trivia

  • This actor linked to all of these movies: Demolition Man Cliffhanger Get Carter Rocky Rocky 2  Answer »
  • Who plays the main character in the film Cliffhanger?  Answer »
  • In "Next" Liz and Cris stay at a Hotel which has the same name as a Sylvester Stallone film. What is it?  Answer »
  • In the movie Cliffhanger- How much money is in the three lost cases (total)?  Answer »
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