10 best movies about survival in hellish conditions

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

What movie heroes will not do to save themselves.

The subgenre of adventure literature, which focuses on survival in difficult conditions, is far from young. And even Daniel Defoe with his novel "Robinson Crusoe" was not a pioneer. At that time, the topic had already been raised more than once in the world classics.

But most of the survival films were made quite recently. Undoubtedly, the wave of attention to him was spurred on by the American drama television series "Lost", whose heroes found themselves on a desert tropical island somewhere in Oceania.

And the interest of the audience is easy to understand: after all, cinema about survival allows you to reveal the topic of overcoming and look at a person's capabilities from an unusual perspective.

1. Survivor

• USA, 2015.
• Drama, western.
• Duration: 156 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 0.

The plot is based on the biographical novel of the American writer Michael Pahnke. The main character - a seriously wounded hunter Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) - will have to survive all alone among the unexplored primeval lands of the Wild West.

An emotional film about the severity of moral choice brought Leonardo DiCaprio his first long-awaited Oscar. And the audience could enjoy the unique work of director Alejandro Iñarritu and cameraman Emmanuel Lubezki. Iñarritu literally quoted 17 scenes of The Revenant in comparison with Andrei Tarkovsky scenes by Tarkovsky, while Lubezki completely abandoned artificial light. Some particularly difficult scenes, such as the battle between the hunters and the Indians, were filmed for two weeks.

2. Outcast

• USA, 2000.
• Drama, adventure.
• Duration: 143 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 8.

In the center of the plot - the inspector of the FedEx delivery service Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks), after the plane crash, found himself all alone on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Parcels caught from the water help him to survive. In one of them, Chuck finds a volleyball and calls it Wilson.

This "come to life" ball has an interesting background. The fact is that screenwriter William Broyles decided to spend a week on an isolated beach in the Gulf of California to get a better feel for his character. At some point, a volleyball was thrown ashore. So Broyles came up with a great idea for creating dialogues in a film where the main character is mostly alone.

3.17 hours

• USA, UK, 2010.
• Drama, thriller.
• Duration: 97 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 6.

The plot of the film directed by Danny Boyle is centered on the true story of the climber and canyon conqueror Aaron Ralston, played by James Franco. During the next trip, the climber's hand was squeezed by a heavy stone in one of the narrow canyons of Utah. And none of Aron's relatives and friends knew where he went and where to look for him.

The filmmakers were actively helped by Ralston himself, who has not abandoned his hobby and is still engaged in mountaineering. Aron's story is a living example of overcoming difficulties in spite of any circumstances.

4. Kon-Tiki

• Norway, Denmark, Great Britain, Germany, Sweden, 2012.
• Drama, adventure, historical film.
• Duration: 118 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 2.

The film is based on the true story of the Norwegian archaeologist and traveler Thor Heyerdahl, who was inspired by the ancient drawings of the Spanish conquistadors and set off on a makeshift Kon-Tiki raft across the Pacific Ocean from South America to Polynesia.

Producer Jeremy Thomas dreamed of making this film since 1996, but received the rights to film adaptation only before Heyerdahl's death in 2002. By the way, the real Kon-Tiki raft is still kept in one of the museums in Oslo. They say that he is still able to withstand a long swim.

5. Survive

• USA, 1993.
• Drama, biography.
• Duration: 127 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 1.

The film, directed by Frank Marshall, is based on true events and tells how the passengers of a plane crashed in the Andes are trying to survive in inhuman conditions without food, warm clothes and medicine. In order not to die of hunger, people had to eat the corpses of their dead comrades.

From the radio broadcast, the survivors learned that they would no longer be looked for: the white plane merged with the snowy mountain landscape. After several unsuccessful sorties, the unspoken leader Nando Parrado (Ethan Hawke) and two other daredevils go on a hike to find help.

The real Nando Parrado agreed to become a technical consultant for the film, and the lines for John Malkovich were written by Carlitos Paes, one of the real participants in the events. Among these phrases there is a famous quote: “There is a God, the doctrine of which I was taught at school. And there is a god who is hidden from us by all the benefits of civilization. And I found this god in the mountains."

6. Buried alive

• Spain, USA, France, 2010.
• Drama, thriller.
• Duration: 95 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 0.

The main character of the film Paul Conorey (Ryan Reynolds) comes to his senses and realizes that he is in a wooden box underground. He only has a lighter and a mobile phone with him. The hero only has an hour and a half to figure out how to get out of the deadly trap.

For director Rodrigo Cortez, Buried Alive was the first feature film of his career. And this debut brilliantly proves that even with a small budget, an incredibly exciting movie can be made. The main thing is an original idea and good drama.

7. Lost in the ice

• Iceland, 2019.
• Drama, adventure.
• Duration: 98 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 9.

The main character of the film - pilot Huxley Overgard (Mads Mikkelsen) - crashes in the Arctic and tries to survive. He hopes that one day he will be noticed and saved. But the only helicopter passing by, ironically, also crashes. Among the passengers, only a seriously wounded young woman survives.

Cannes warmly welcomed Joe Penn's directorial debut: at the premiere, the audience honored the picture with a long standing ovation. And the great acting performance of Mads Mikkelsen further embellished this poignant drama about how the desire to live is stronger than death - even in the middle of the endless Arctic desert.

8. Hope will not fade away

• USA, 2013.
• Adventure thriller.
• Duration: 100 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 9.

Actor Robert Redford's unnamed character goes to sea in his sailboat and is shipwrecked. To stay alive, the main character will have to apply all his skills and knowledge: after all, he has no means of communication with the rest of the world. In the end, a powerful storm hits the ship.

The film directed by JC Chandor is a unique "one-actor theater": chamber action, only location, one artist and almost complete absence of dialogue. The film was appreciated by critics, and the leading actor was nominated for a Golden Globe.

9. Frozen

• USA, 2010.
• Drama, thriller, horror.
• Duration: 94 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 2.

Friends Parker (Emma Bell), Dan (Kevin Zegers) and Joe (Sean Ashmore) are having fun at the ski resort. Ironically, they get stuck on the lift seat very high above the ground.

Interestingly, the film was shot without the use of computer graphics. And the actors had to play at a height of 15 meters.

10. Victim

• USA, Canada, 2010.
• Drama, adventure.
• Duration: 91 minutes.
• IMDb: 5, 3.

The main character (Adrian Brody) woke up with a broken leg in a wrecked car in the middle of the jungle. He does not remember his name, there are corpses around, and in the car there is a revolver and a bag full of money. The protagonist will have to get to the people and remember on the way what happened after all.

Adrian Brody accomplished a real acting feat: in order to get used to the character, he spent a winter night in the woods. In addition, Brody himself did all the tricks and even swam in icy water, abandoning a stunt double.