The Deep
The Deep, released in cinemas from 12th July, is a miraculous true story that shows how one man’s determination to stay alive saved his life, and this made us think, what other epic survival films are there? Here is our top ten...
- The Deep (2013)
Based on a truly remarkable story, The Deep is about one fisherman (Gulli played by Ólafur Darri Ólafsson) who managed to survive in the deadly cold Icelandic sea when his fishing boat and crew sank.
After five hours he was finally washed up on shore only to find that the Island was an uninhabitable lava field. After hours of walking on the sharp uneven larva surface he found a small village where he collapsed from exhaustion and was rescued.
But what made this story so interesting to director Baltasar Kormkur was how this one man managed to survive the odds in freezing water, which would usually kill a human being of hyperthermia within an hour.
The second half of the film then shows how Gulli became a scientific guinea pig and a reluctant national hero.
The Deep- 127 Hours (2010)
Back in 2003 a man named Aaron Ralston (played by James Franco) went for a day of canyoneering in Utah.
After meeting up with two lost young ladies he separated from the pair leaving him to explore the isolated Blue John Canyon, but as he was climbing down a narrow passage a boulder above him fell loose trapping his arm.
Aaron was forced to ration his food and water for five days before he took up the courage to break his arm and cut through the skin with a small knife releasing himself.
Director Danny Boyle showed in the film Aaron’s desperation to survive and how he had come to terms with dying before hallucinating about a small boy, which he believed to be his future son, giving him the courage to cut his way free.
127 Hours- Into the Wild (2007)
Real-life Christopher McCandles (played by Emile Hirsch) decided he wanted to leave civilisation for a life in the wild, giving all his saving to charity and living off the earth.
Instead of telling his family he upped and went, practically travelling the entire USA before he decided to travel from Mexico up to Alaska. On his journey he met a hippy couple and a lonely leather worker who became a fatherly figure to hiim for a short while.
However, once he reached his goal in Alaska and took shelter in an abandoned bus, he soon realised that the wild can be just as harsh as civilisation and longed to be back home with his family.
But in a twist of fate Christopher saw that the stream he had crossed had grew larger and more dangerous, trapping him on the other side.
After accidently eating some poisonous plants he soon became sick and slowly died. He was later found and his ashes was taken back home by his sister Carine (played by Jena Malone).
Into the Wild- Buried (2010)
Iraq based American truck driver Paul Conroy (played by Ryan Reynolds) is ambushed along with his other comrades and is knocked over the head and kidnapped.
Director Rodrigo Cortes then shows Conroy waking up in a coffin which has been buried deep under the sand with only a phone and a zippo knife. The kidnappers make regular calls, first asking for ransom money and then threatening to harm his family.
Now in a hostage situation, Paul is put into contact with Dan Brenner after the government refuse to pay ransom. Paul is then sent a video of the kidnappers executing a comrade and is forced by them to send a hostage video and another video of him cutting off his finger, otherwise his family would be at risk.
Brenner promises to free Paul, lying to him about another hostage that he claims was found buried alive in the past, when in reality he was left for dead. After speaking to his wife and believing that Brenner is on his way Paul tries to stay calm but then breaks down when he realises his fate.
Buried- The Way Back (2010)
Based on the true story of a young polish man (Janusz Wieszczek played by Jim Sturgess) during World War 2, The Way Back is a film that shows one man’s determination to be free from prison after he is wrongly accused of being a spy by Soviets.
After being sentenced to 20-years, Janusz meets a group of convicts who too desire to be free. After deciding to take action the group free themselves during a serve snow storm as a way to cover their tracks and now have to endure the harsh environment to survive.
One freezes to death on the second night and several other die from dehydration and exhaustion as they crossed the Gobi desert on their way to India. After being rescued by a Tibetan monk the rest survive, including Janusz who reunites with his wife 50-years later.
The Way Back- Touching the Void (2003)
Back 1988 two climbers, Joe Simpson and Simon Yates, embarked on the journey of climbing Siula Grande in the Andes. Safely reaching the top the pair celebrated but it was on the way down when they faced their toughest decisions and fight to survive.
Based on this true story, director Kevin MacDonald filmed the docudrama Touching the Void, reliving the struggles the pair faced as they descended back down the mountain. Problems first started when Simpson broke his leg and with fuel running low to melt the ice for water, the pair needed to get down quickly.
Yates decided to lower Simpson on a rope but with weather conditions worsening Yates couldn’t see or hear Simpson and with Simpson’s frost bitten hands he dropped one of the ascending ropes leaving him hanging mid air. They were stuck and after hours of torment Yates cut the rope leaving Simpson to fall into a deep crevasse.
Yates assumed Simpson was dead after he didn’t find a body but luckily Simpson was able to crawl through the crevasse and found another way out. The pair understandably found it difficult when returning with director Kevin McDonald for the film, with Yates pulling out due to the stress.
Touching the Void- Open Water (2003)
Loosely based on the true story about a high flying American couple, Open Water tells the story of how a husband and wife went on a scuba diving holiday in hope of rekindling their love, only to be forgotten and left stranded in the water.
After hours of hoping the boat would return the couple realised they were being circled by sharks and that small bites that they couldn’t feel because of the wet suits was being taken all over their bodies.
When night fell husband Daniel (played by Daniel Travis) was attacked by the sharks. Wife Susan (played by Blanchard Ryan) was then forced to let go of her husband when she realised he was dead, leaving him to be eaten.
Giving up she then took off all her scuba diving gear and attempted to drown herself before she too was eaten.
Open Water- Deliverance (1972)
Director John Boorman created the story which concentrated on the journey of four city men (Ed, Lewis, Bobby and Drew) who embarked on a ‘fun’ canoeing trip in north Georgia. Unwelcome by the locals the four felt uneasy and quickly left for the river after a duelling banjo match against a local boy.
After setting up camp on the first night the pairs were split up the next day. Bobby and Ed was found by two hillbilly men and one was violently raped before the other two returned killing one of the hillbilly’s.
Shook by what had just happened they hurried back down the river convinced that the other hillbilly was after them. They were soon hit by dangerous rapids killing Drew and convinced he was shot the three went in search for who they thought was the lone hillbilly and killed him before they headed back into town and back to safety.
Deliverance- Cast Away (2000)
Work obsessed Fed-ex system analyst Chuck Noland (played by Tom Hanks) finds himself stranded on an uninhabited island after his plane crashes into the Pacific Ocean. For four years he survives on washed up Fed-ex parcels and makes a friend out of a Wilson ball cleverly named ‘Wilson’.
He only leaves the angel winged parcel unopened and adapts to spearing fish and making fires. He soon becomes accustom to the idea of being stranded until a portable toilet washes up on shore. Using the side walls he building a sale which helps him get a raft over the surf.
After days of floating, Wilson falls over board leaving Chuck feeling overwhelmingly lonely before a ship finds him. He later returns back to civilisation only to find that the world he had left had changed.
Cast Away- Alive (1993)
Based on the well know true story of the plane that crashed in the Andes in 1972, director Frank Marshall explored the fight surviving passengers faced once stranded on the mountain.
The story begins aboard the plan with magnificent views of the Andes and only twenty minutes left till landing when turbulence hits the plane causing it to crash. Some died but the survivors are left to help those wounded and ration a small amount of chocolate between them.
Some more passengers died over night and after seeing a few planes dipped their wings they celebrate by eating all the rations, expecting to be picked up the next day.
After nine days the search was cancelled and they are still stranded stretching them to extreme limits and resulting in them beginning to eat the dead. Three leave the group in search of help and after getting over the mountain they alert the authorities. Out of the 45 passengers and crew aboard the plane only 16 survived.
AliveThe Deep will be released in cinemas from 12th July.