Description

Helen Mirren (Teaching Mrs. Tingle/Gosford Park) introduces the character of Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison in the first of the series PRIME SUSPECT, which aired on PBS in January 1992. There will be five series in all, with a sixth currently set to air in the summer of 2004. When a young woman is found brutally murdered and the DCI in charge is unable to take up the case, it is passed to Jane Tennison, the first female DCI to handle such responsibility. Between a slippery suspect and resistance from her team of detectives, Tennison has her hands full. But she's got the strength to take them all on. ... Read more

Reviews (53)

Cliffhanger
Renny Harlin's action flick Cliffhanger is an exciting adrenalin-pumping ride. And while it could be described as "Die Hard on a Mountain", it's still exhilarating fun that's one of Stallone's best films.

John Lithgow is the movie's main villain, and he works his stuff to great effect, and set up against Stallone's he-man heroics, the two are both tremendous. And the action ante is set up far more than other Die Hard rip-offs such as Executive Decision. Renny Harlin's direction makes the film's tendencies toward brutal violence get rather extreme at times, and to see Stallone manage to beat the meatloaf out of the bad guys after getting wasted is sometimes beyond believable, but as the DVD's deleted scenes show, they actually toned down the film's superman-like qualities to good effect.

Action aside, the plot is silly at times and some of the characters are taken straight from the big book of bad movie stereotypes. But Stallone's devotees don't care, as this film can be seen now as nostalgic after seeing the big guy's recent flop movies (Get Carter). And Harlin, from Die Hard 2 fame, brings much of the same cool action and stunts, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Action at it's most outrageous (Except maybe for Face Off).

Action & Scenery a plus...
Has Sylvester Stallone ever made a 5-Star movie? You bet. "Rocky" is one, and "Cliffhanger" is the other. John Lithgow plays the perfect villan set beautifully in the snow covered Rockies. This movie is non stop action and it has a bit of everything... like a nice plane crash scene; above average dialogue (yes, even for Sly); some good chases; kids on snowboards; and innocent people being mamed. There's even a few touching moments with Sly and his girlfriend (or should we say exgirlfriend?). This DVD package offers some nice features and the widescreen version with the great views is the only way to go. Stallone's made a ton of movies and this one is easily one of his best. Great action flick!

Exciting action flick, though not up to DIE HARD
A previous reviewer called CLIFFHANGER a "guilty pleasure," and that is pretty much the way I see the film.

CLIFFHANER was a return to action form for its star Sylvester Stallone, after he had made his indelible mark on the genre with his RAMBO trilogy in '80s. His character here, Gabe Walker, is drastically scaled-down, befitting the film's "high" concept, which is basically "DIE HARD on a mountain."

Okay, so the premise (which is actually credited in this movie to a man named John Long) is not breathtakingly original---a nasty group of robbers led by evil Eric Qualen (John Lithgow, effectively playing his role to the hilt) lose three cases of American money in the Rockies and force Walker and companion Hal Tucker (Michael Rooker, he of HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER) to help them find it. Director Renny Harlin---who also directed DIE HARD 2---brings all his action expertise to bear on the thin plot and actually succeeds in crafting a good action film out of it. He was lucky in getting cinematographer Alex Thomson on his team, and Thomson makes the most of the Italian Dolomites (standing in for the Rockies) mountain settings by creating shots that revel in its scenic grandeur and impart an appropriately dizzying sense of vertigo to the proceedings. And Harlin uses his penchant for fast action pacing to good effect here, generating an exciting sense of momentum that hardly ever lets up until the final showdown.

So, as action entertainment, CLIFFHANGER can be counted as a success. So why do I find it a "guilty" pleasure rather than simply a pleasure? Well, I have to admit that I found some of the violence in the second half of the film a little too much at times---not only gratuitous but sometimes downright brutal. The first half of the film is much more discreet with the bloodshed, relying more on genuine suspense-building and awesome special effects and stunts to make its proper effect (the first twelve-minute sequence is arguably the last word in sweat-inducing suspense and mounting tension). In the second half, though, the script (credited to Michael France and Stallone) and director let rip with gory abandon, and thus we get images of a black bad guy getting skewered upon a stalactite by the hero, and scenes like Tucker being kicked in the ribs and nose like a soccer ball for a good minute or so by a British terrorist (with some tasteless slo-mos to draw out the grand brutality). Did we really need to be subjected to such witless violence? Do the filmmakers assume that we are all so base in our tastes that we actually get turned on by this bloody stuff? Well, who knows? Maybe they have a point there, since I admit that the first time I saw this film I was shocked but hardly appalled by the violence on offer here. It is only after having seen it a few times since then that I am starting to question the validity of the violent scenes on offer here. Harlin started the film out so well, but then, after about an hour or so, it turns into a second-rate one-upping of icicle-in-the-eye scene in his superior DIE HARD 2.

Notwithstanding my unease about the violence in this movie, though, it must be said that CLIFFHANGER works. It is sometimes very exciting and suspenseful, the performances basically get the job done, and overall this is one of the better DIE HARD clones, thanks to some great cinematography and noteworthy action scenes. If neither of the first two DIE HARD films are available for rental, this will fit the bill. Just don't be surprised, after it is over, if you feel a little guilty about having enjoyed it as much as you did.

See above
Sorry, posted this review more than once by accident. See above

Amazing Action Thriller
I don't understand why this movie has got such poor aver rating(3.5stars) and about those worst xxx awards.

This is one of the BEST action films i have ever seen.
picturization is superb.
It stands as one of the few movies i ever want to watch again and again. ... Read more

Description

Helen Mirren is Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison in the second season of Prime Suspect.This case involves a death in the Afro-Caribbean community that puts D.C.I. Tennison and the rest of the police force in the middle of a racial controvery. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

New DVD got rid of overdubbing and disk-flipping
I concur with other reviewers' high opinions of the artistic quality of this DVD, except for a minor quibble: I can't buy the biracial affair with a Detective Sergeant. (And in a later Episode, Mirren's character gets pregnant, likewise in a work-related situation, by a married consultant, father of four kids, who lives 6000 miles away.)

Jane Tennison is a hard-nosed and coolly logical Detective Chief Inspector who knows that the good ole boys, including a few big shots, are lurking in wait for an uppity woman like her to slip up. How many Caucasian female Lieutenant Colonels in our armed forces get mixed up with African Sergeants or married fathers, especially if they work or consult with the men regularly? (How many would keep their jobs if they did?) However Jane's passions might burn and seethe beneath that calm exterior, she would be unlikely to slake them at work, especially with these guys, and most especially without tending to birth control. She's savvy enough to graze more cautiously on some of the many safer possibilities in London. However, this is not worth deducting a star. Besides, as one writer got rich pointing out, smart women do sometimes make foolish choices. A few smart women might even cite me as proof of this.

I am happy to report that the new DVD version has the naughty words intact and does not need to be flipped. The audio and especially the video are still below the quality one should expect for something produced so recently, although not too distractingly so. Some stuff from the 70's is technologically better, though.

This is a great detective series with a unique point of view, generally quite believable except for the odd minor quibble as set out above. I have bought all available episodes. It does owe a bit to Morse (what a marriage that would have made!), but who cares? Miss Marple might not approve, but the jungle where Mirren's tigress prowls is hardly St. Mary Mead.

I liked PS2 more than the first one
Very interesting (starting at 15 min. mark), VERY well acted, very satisfying police drama/thriller. The quality of DVD isn't great but seems better than VHS. Run time about 3 hours, not 230 min as stated.

Great series, great acting, great writing
Superb series, well written. Helen Mirren is a miracle.

At last, the whole series has been reissued on DVD. Worth the investment...unlike most TV shows on DVD (hello, HBO and Fox?)

Beware of the old DVDs floating around from the original PBS presentations in the early 1990s. Strong language was dubbed over, rather poorly.

Absorbing Police Drama/Character Study from England
Helen Mirren returns in the second go-round of "Prime Suspect". The story is a superb "who dunnit" with outstanding writing and acting all the way around. In addition to being a great crime solving drama, "Prime Suspect 2" succeeds as a character study of a middle-aged, professional woman who has sacrificed much of her personal life to rise among the ranks of the police force.

The rating gets only 4 stars rather than 5 for Anchor Bay's DVD treatment. Normally they have done a great job with their releases, but "Prime Suspect 2" is, unfortuantely, not among their best. I'm not sure about the source material that was available to them, but the picture doesn't appear to be as crisp as one would expect from a DVD, particularly for material that was produced in 1993. You must also flip the disk over . . . it's presented in two parts, just as it was released on PBS in America. This release also replaces some minor profanity with toned-down language. Save for 20 chapter breaks (10 on each side) and English subtitles, there are no extras on this DVD. Still, the story and characterizations merit a view.

The best in the series
This is by far the best installment of the Prime Suspect series. It stars Helen Mirren as Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison, who has to solve a grisly murder. She has a limited amount of time to solve it and does it amidst accusations of racism within the police department and disapproval from her colleagues for flimsy political reasons. This wonderful film is able to hold the viewers' attention the entire time it's on the screen. It also stars the talented and handsome Colin Salmon as her former lover and current colleague. This is a highly recommended film to purchase. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Denzel Washington adopts a British accent for the grim if compelling, 1989 social drama, For Queen and Country. Akin in mood and story to several American films (notably Rolling Thunder) about Vietnam veterans who return home to face indifference or hostility, For Queen and Country stars Washington as paratrooper Reuben James, a decorated veteran of the Falklands war and Britain's occupation of Northern Ireland. Returning to civilian life in the early '80s, Reuben discovers Thatcher's England (specifically London's East End) to be an intensely racist, violent ground for class warfare, crime, and drugs. Unable to find work, hassled by white cops, pressured by old mates to run afoul of the law, and rejected by a woman (Amanda Redman) who sees him as another product of a cruel and bloody era, Reuben's hope diminishes despite efforts to do the right thing. The downbeat, predictable drama is elevated by Washington's charismatic performance. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Helen Mirren's Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison, the only female DCI on an old boy's club London homicide squad, is like a phantom lurking around the edges of the action while the men rush through their latest murder case, joshing and winking in the kind of male camaraderie the cop genre has celebrated for decades. When DCI Shefford dies of a sudden heart attack, Tennison demands to take over. Despite her superintendent's resistance ("Give her this case and she'll start expecting more."), she becomes the squad's first woman to head a murder investigation. Scrutinized at every moment by her superior officers, Tennison is faced with a case that spirals out from a single murder to a serial spree, a second-in-command who undermines her authority and her investigation at every turn, a team resistant to taking orders from a woman, and a private life unraveling due to her professional diligence. Lynda La Plant's script is a compelling thriller riddled with ambiguity that turns dead ends, blind alleys, and the mundane legwork of real-life cops into fascinating details. Mirren commands the role of Tennison with authority, intelligence, and a touch of overachieving desperation. Superb performances, excellent writing, and understated direction make this BBC miniseries one of the most involving mysteries in years. Look for future British stars Ralph Fiennes and Tom Wilkinson in supporting roles. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Shows what television can be
There are very few television programs I would consider buying on DVD, but this is definitly one of them.

Watching Prime Suspect on DVD is a real treat. If you saw it in America on PBS, you don't realize how much continuity and tension are lost by all of the inevitable pledge breaks.

Helen Mirren is nothing short of brilliant as Inspect Jane Tennison, the first woman to hold the post of D.C.I. (Deputy Chief Inspector) on a major homicide investigation. She must not only solve a series of murders, but battle sexism and sabotoge within her department.

Great acting in the supporting roles and a first rate script (written by Linda LaPlante)are enough to carry this story. But what really sets it apart is how it manages to get you rooting for Jane Tennison without being cloying or sentimental. We see this woman as a human being, warts and all. Her obsession with work leads her to neglect her relationships. She is quick to anger. Sometimes her first judgement is not the right one. But through it all you want her to succeed. She gives everything to her job.

If you like mysteries or police stories, this is as fine as piece of television as you'll see.

The video and audio transfer are only so-so (by DVD standards), but this is the happy exception where the DVD is cheaper that VHS. You've got to flip the disk, but a small price to pay for an entire evening of great drama.

Unusual
The Prime Suspect series is unusual in that Jane Tennison as portrayed by Helen Mirren is not very endearing or likeable-and yet the storys work. Seeking to advance her career at every oportunity, even if it mean stabbing her co-workers in the back, Tennison represents unbridled ambition--in series 3, going as far as not pursuing completion of her investigation into a pedophile ring--on the condition that she receive a promotion.
Strange behavior--probably more realistic--but definitely less idealistic. Regardless, like the less than heroic "Cracker" as portrayed by Robbie Coltrane--this series is very interesting and well worth owning.
This particular episode finds Tennison's romantic life crumbling as she pursues a serial killer, though she seems as relentless in promoting herself as she does in capturing the guity party!
At 208 minutes--this episode is a little too much for viewing all at once--but watched a disc at a time--it's very good entertainment!

Great series - poor DVD
This is more of a review for people that loved the series Prime Suspet and are thinking about purchasing the dvd. The series is fantastic, but the dvds available in the US are quite poor quality. There are weird artifacts in the images as a result of poor compression rate, etc. If you want to get good high-quality dvds of this series you're better off ordering them from the UK (amazon.co.uk has them), but make sure your dvd player can play Region 2 dvds!

Helen Mirren is at the top of her form....
As usual the UK has produced and delivered a series that puts to shame anything that American television has to offer. Helen Mirren is ranked one of the world's best actors-and for good reason.
I have all of the DVD's in the Prime Suspect series, having watched them first on public television's ExxonMobil Theatre. If you are one of those who make deliberate choices based on quality, then do not miss this series. It is one of, if not THE best, that television has to offer.

One of the Best Crime Dramas Ever!
If you like great acting, great directing and a great suspense story, look no further. Helen Millen does a superb job of portraying a female detective (DCI Tennison) in London who takes over a homicide investigation into serial murders after her male colleague passes away. Besides trying to come up with concrete evidence to put the prime suspect away, she must battle her own department, run by male colleagues who don't trust her competence simply because she's a woman. Tennison is able to rise to the occasion, rally the department behind her, and solve the murders. Mirren does a fascinating job of portraying Tennison as an intelligent and competent detective, an overchiever who often puts her work ahead of her relationships. Even though Tennison is seen with her flaws and all, the audience believes in her and roots for her all the way. This excellent drama was originaly an HBO miniseries and is followed by several sequels, which are just as outstanding. Highly recommended!

Even though I loved this movie, I was disappointed by the DVD in that it did not have close-captioning. ... Read more

Reviews (53)

Cliffhanger
Renny Harlin's action flick Cliffhanger is an exciting adrenalin-pumping ride. And while it could be described as "Die Hard on a Mountain", it's still exhilarating fun that's one of Stallone's best films.

John Lithgow is the movie's main villain, and he works his stuff to great effect, and set up against Stallone's he-man heroics, the two are both tremendous. And the action ante is set up far more than other Die Hard rip-offs such as Executive Decision. Renny Harlin's direction makes the film's tendencies toward brutal violence get rather extreme at times, and to see Stallone manage to beat the meatloaf out of the bad guys after getting wasted is sometimes beyond believable, but as the DVD's deleted scenes show, they actually toned down the film's superman-like qualities to good effect.

Action aside, the plot is silly at times and some of the characters are taken straight from the big book of bad movie stereotypes. But Stallone's devotees don't care, as this film can be seen now as nostalgic after seeing the big guy's recent flop movies (Get Carter). And Harlin, from Die Hard 2 fame, brings much of the same cool action and stunts, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Action at it's most outrageous (Except maybe for Face Off).

Action & Scenery a plus...
Has Sylvester Stallone ever made a 5-Star movie? You bet. "Rocky" is one, and "Cliffhanger" is the other. John Lithgow plays the perfect villan set beautifully in the snow covered Rockies. This movie is non stop action and it has a bit of everything... like a nice plane crash scene; above average dialogue (yes, even for Sly); some good chases; kids on snowboards; and innocent people being mamed. There's even a few touching moments with Sly and his girlfriend (or should we say exgirlfriend?). This DVD package offers some nice features and the widescreen version with the great views is the only way to go. Stallone's made a ton of movies and this one is easily one of his best. Great action flick!

Exciting action flick, though not up to DIE HARD
A previous reviewer called CLIFFHANGER a "guilty pleasure," and that is pretty much the way I see the film.

CLIFFHANER was a return to action form for its star Sylvester Stallone, after he had made his indelible mark on the genre with his RAMBO trilogy in '80s. His character here, Gabe Walker, is drastically scaled-down, befitting the film's "high" concept, which is basically "DIE HARD on a mountain."

Okay, so the premise (which is actually credited in this movie to a man named John Long) is not breathtakingly original---a nasty group of robbers led by evil Eric Qualen (John Lithgow, effectively playing his role to the hilt) lose three cases of American money in the Rockies and force Walker and companion Hal Tucker (Michael Rooker, he of HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER) to help them find it. Director Renny Harlin---who also directed DIE HARD 2---brings all his action expertise to bear on the thin plot and actually succeeds in crafting a good action film out of it. He was lucky in getting cinematographer Alex Thomson on his team, and Thomson makes the most of the Italian Dolomites (standing in for the Rockies) mountain settings by creating shots that revel in its scenic grandeur and impart an appropriately dizzying sense of vertigo to the proceedings. And Harlin uses his penchant for fast action pacing to good effect here, generating an exciting sense of momentum that hardly ever lets up until the final showdown.

So, as action entertainment, CLIFFHANGER can be counted as a success. So why do I find it a "guilty" pleasure rather than simply a pleasure? Well, I have to admit that I found some of the violence in the second half of the film a little too much at times---not only gratuitous but sometimes downright brutal. The first half of the film is much more discreet with the bloodshed, relying more on genuine suspense-building and awesome special effects and stunts to make its proper effect (the first twelve-minute sequence is arguably the last word in sweat-inducing suspense and mounting tension). In the second half, though, the script (credited to Michael France and Stallone) and director let rip with gory abandon, and thus we get images of a black bad guy getting skewered upon a stalactite by the hero, and scenes like Tucker being kicked in the ribs and nose like a soccer ball for a good minute or so by a British terrorist (with some tasteless slo-mos to draw out the grand brutality). Did we really need to be subjected to such witless violence? Do the filmmakers assume that we are all so base in our tastes that we actually get turned on by this bloody stuff? Well, who knows? Maybe they have a point there, since I admit that the first time I saw this film I was shocked but hardly appalled by the violence on offer here. It is only after having seen it a few times since then that I am starting to question the validity of the violent scenes on offer here. Harlin started the film out so well, but then, after about an hour or so, it turns into a second-rate one-upping of icicle-in-the-eye scene in his superior DIE HARD 2.

Notwithstanding my unease about the violence in this movie, though, it must be said that CLIFFHANGER works. It is sometimes very exciting and suspenseful, the performances basically get the job done, and overall this is one of the better DIE HARD clones, thanks to some great cinematography and noteworthy action scenes. If neither of the first two DIE HARD films are available for rental, this will fit the bill. Just don't be surprised, after it is over, if you feel a little guilty about having enjoyed it as much as you did.

See above
Sorry, posted this review more than once by accident. See above

Amazing Action Thriller
I don't understand why this movie has got such poor aver rating(3.5stars) and about those worst xxx awards.

This is one of the BEST action films i have ever seen.
picturization is superb.
It stands as one of the few movies i ever want to watch again and again. ... Read more

Amazon.com

In the first PrimeSuspect, Helen Mirren's ballsy woman Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennyson battled the boys club and their sexist barbs to prove herself in a chauvinist department. In Prime Suspect 2, she's assigned to head a racially charged murder investigation in a largely African/Caribbean neighborhood. It's politics as usual in theimage-conscious organization, so the superintendent adds to the team black Detective Robert Oswalde (Colin Salma), a sharp but hot-headed investigator who has just broken off an affair with Tennyson. Now Tennyson grapples with her own conflicted feelings while fighting political and public-relations battles both in the media and within the police system itself in the midst of investigating the labyrinthine case. Between the scant clues left to sift, a prime suspect on the verge of death himself, and divisions in her own team that result in a devastating death, Tennyson soon begins to suspect she's been hung out to dry by the department. Screenwriter Allan Cubitt dives into the murky waters of volatile racial and social relations to create an even more complex and compelling mystery in Tennyson's second appearance, and Mirren rises to the challenge to explore the contradictions of an uncompromising cop in a compromising position. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (6)

New DVD got rid of overdubbing and disk-flipping
I concur with other reviewers' high opinions of the artistic quality of this DVD, except for a minor quibble: I can't buy the biracial affair with a Detective Sergeant. (And in a later Episode, Mirren's character gets pregnant, likewise in a work-related situation, by a married consultant, father of four kids, who lives 6000 miles away.)

Jane Tennison is a hard-nosed and coolly logical Detective Chief Inspector who knows that the good ole boys, including a few big shots, are lurking in wait for an uppity woman like her to slip up. How many Caucasian female Lieutenant Colonels in our armed forces get mixed up with African Sergeants or married fathers, especially if they work or consult with the men regularly? (How many would keep their jobs if they did?) However Jane's passions might burn and seethe beneath that calm exterior, she would be unlikely to slake them at work, especially with these guys, and most especially without tending to birth control. She's savvy enough to graze more cautiously on some of the many safer possibilities in London. However, this is not worth deducting a star. Besides, as one writer got rich pointing out, smart women do sometimes make foolish choices. A few smart women might even cite me as proof of this.

I am happy to report that the new DVD version has the naughty words intact and does not need to be flipped. The audio and especially the video are still below the quality one should expect for something produced so recently, although not too distractingly so. Some stuff from the 70's is technologically better, though.

This is a great detective series with a unique point of view, generally quite believable except for the odd minor quibble as set out above. I have bought all available episodes. It does owe a bit to Morse (what a marriage that would have made!), but who cares? Miss Marple might not approve, but the jungle where Mirren's tigress prowls is hardly St. Mary Mead.

I liked PS2 more than the first one
Very interesting (starting at 15 min. mark), VERY well acted, very satisfying police drama/thriller. The quality of DVD isn't great but seems better than VHS. Run time about 3 hours, not 230 min as stated.

Great series, great acting, great writing
Superb series, well written. Helen Mirren is a miracle.

At last, the whole series has been reissued on DVD. Worth the investment...unlike most TV shows on DVD (hello, HBO and Fox?)

Beware of the old DVDs floating around from the original PBS presentations in the early 1990s. Strong language was dubbed over, rather poorly.

Absorbing Police Drama/Character Study from England
Helen Mirren returns in the second go-round of "Prime Suspect". The story is a superb "who dunnit" with outstanding writing and acting all the way around. In addition to being a great crime solving drama, "Prime Suspect 2" succeeds as a character study of a middle-aged, professional woman who has sacrificed much of her personal life to rise among the ranks of the police force.

The rating gets only 4 stars rather than 5 for Anchor Bay's DVD treatment. Normally they have done a great job with their releases, but "Prime Suspect 2" is, unfortuantely, not among their best. I'm not sure about the source material that was available to them, but the picture doesn't appear to be as crisp as one would expect from a DVD, particularly for material that was produced in 1993. You must also flip the disk over . . . it's presented in two parts, just as it was released on PBS in America. This release also replaces some minor profanity with toned-down language. Save for 20 chapter breaks (10 on each side) and English subtitles, there are no extras on this DVD. Still, the story and characterizations merit a view.

The best in the series
This is by far the best installment of the Prime Suspect series. It stars Helen Mirren as Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison, who has to solve a grisly murder. She has a limited amount of time to solve it and does it amidst accusations of racism within the police department and disapproval from her colleagues for flimsy political reasons. This wonderful film is able to hold the viewers' attention the entire time it's on the screen. It also stars the talented and handsome Colin Salmon as her former lover and current colleague. This is a highly recommended film to purchase. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Cliffhanger was a 1994 comeback of sorts for action hero Sylvester Stallone, this time thanks to director Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2 and Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master) and some spectacularly rugged and vertigo-inducing high- mountain terrain. The opening sequence alone delivers what the title promises, and there's a doozy of an airplane stunt that was later reprised, with modifications, in Air Force One. Stallone, looking as tough and craggy as the mountains themselves, is a rescue climber who finds himself going after a gang of crooks (headed by John Lithgow in his bad-guy mode) who've hijacked a U.S. Treasury plane and crash landed in the Rockies (played by the Italian Dolomites) with millions of bucks. Outrageous action-packed, snow-packed, and scenery-packed chase sequences (featuring whirring helicopters, whooshing skis, popping gunfire, and clanging pitons that earned the movie Oscar nominations for sound and sound editing) take full advantage of the digital video disc's Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. --Jim Emerson ... Read more

Reviews (53)

Cliffhanger
Renny Harlin's action flick Cliffhanger is an exciting adrenalin-pumping ride. And while it could be described as "Die Hard on a Mountain", it's still exhilarating fun that's one of Stallone's best films.

John Lithgow is the movie's main villain, and he works his stuff to great effect, and set up against Stallone's he-man heroics, the two are both tremendous. And the action ante is set up far more than other Die Hard rip-offs such as Executive Decision. Renny Harlin's direction makes the film's tendencies toward brutal violence get rather extreme at times, and to see Stallone manage to beat the meatloaf out of the bad guys after getting wasted is sometimes beyond believable, but as the DVD's deleted scenes show, they actually toned down the film's superman-like qualities to good effect.

Action aside, the plot is silly at times and some of the characters are taken straight from the big book of bad movie stereotypes. But Stallone's devotees don't care, as this film can be seen now as nostalgic after seeing the big guy's recent flop movies (Get Carter). And Harlin, from Die Hard 2 fame, brings much of the same cool action and stunts, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Action at it's most outrageous (Except maybe for Face Off).

Action & Scenery a plus...
Has Sylvester Stallone ever made a 5-Star movie? You bet. "Rocky" is one, and "Cliffhanger" is the other. John Lithgow plays the perfect villan set beautifully in the snow covered Rockies. This movie is non stop action and it has a bit of everything... like a nice plane crash scene; above average dialogue (yes, even for Sly); some good chases; kids on snowboards; and innocent people being mamed. There's even a few touching moments with Sly and his girlfriend (or should we say exgirlfriend?). This DVD package offers some nice features and the widescreen version with the great views is the only way to go. Stallone's made a ton of movies and this one is easily one of his best. Great action flick!

Exciting action flick, though not up to DIE HARD
A previous reviewer called CLIFFHANGER a "guilty pleasure," and that is pretty much the way I see the film.

CLIFFHANER was a return to action form for its star Sylvester Stallone, after he had made his indelible mark on the genre with his RAMBO trilogy in '80s. His character here, Gabe Walker, is drastically scaled-down, befitting the film's "high" concept, which is basically "DIE HARD on a mountain."

Okay, so the premise (which is actually credited in this movie to a man named John Long) is not breathtakingly original---a nasty group of robbers led by evil Eric Qualen (John Lithgow, effectively playing his role to the hilt) lose three cases of American money in the Rockies and force Walker and companion Hal Tucker (Michael Rooker, he of HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER) to help them find it. Director Renny Harlin---who also directed DIE HARD 2---brings all his action expertise to bear on the thin plot and actually succeeds in crafting a good action film out of it. He was lucky in getting cinematographer Alex Thomson on his team, and Thomson makes the most of the Italian Dolomites (standing in for the Rockies) mountain settings by creating shots that revel in its scenic grandeur and impart an appropriately dizzying sense of vertigo to the proceedings. And Harlin uses his penchant for fast action pacing to good effect here, generating an exciting sense of momentum that hardly ever lets up until the final showdown.

So, as action entertainment, CLIFFHANGER can be counted as a success. So why do I find it a "guilty" pleasure rather than simply a pleasure? Well, I have to admit that I found some of the violence in the second half of the film a little too much at times---not only gratuitous but sometimes downright brutal. The first half of the film is much more discreet with the bloodshed, relying more on genuine suspense-building and awesome special effects and stunts to make its proper effect (the first twelve-minute sequence is arguably the last word in sweat-inducing suspense and mounting tension). In the second half, though, the script (credited to Michael France and Stallone) and director let rip with gory abandon, and thus we get images of a black bad guy getting skewered upon a stalactite by the hero, and scenes like Tucker being kicked in the ribs and nose like a soccer ball for a good minute or so by a British terrorist (with some tasteless slo-mos to draw out the grand brutality). Did we really need to be subjected to such witless violence? Do the filmmakers assume that we are all so base in our tastes that we actually get turned on by this bloody stuff? Well, who knows? Maybe they have a point there, since I admit that the first time I saw this film I was shocked but hardly appalled by the violence on offer here. It is only after having seen it a few times since then that I am starting to question the validity of the violent scenes on offer here. Harlin started the film out so well, but then, after about an hour or so, it turns into a second-rate one-upping of icicle-in-the-eye scene in his superior DIE HARD 2.

Notwithstanding my unease about the violence in this movie, though, it must be said that CLIFFHANGER works. It is sometimes very exciting and suspenseful, the performances basically get the job done, and overall this is one of the better DIE HARD clones, thanks to some great cinematography and noteworthy action scenes. If neither of the first two DIE HARD films are available for rental, this will fit the bill. Just don't be surprised, after it is over, if you feel a little guilty about having enjoyed it as much as you did.

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Amazing Action Thriller
I don't understand why this movie has got such poor aver rating(3.5stars) and about those worst xxx awards.

This is one of the BEST action films i have ever seen.
picturization is superb.
It stands as one of the few movies i ever want to watch again and again. ... Read more