Audio problem: Just before the crashed jet skids to a stop, you can hear the jet engines despite them being ripped off with the tail fin quite a way back, so you shouldn't be able to hear them.
Cliffhanger (1993)
Directed by: Renny Harlin
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, John Lithgow, Michael Rooker, Janine Turner
Factual error: How is it that when Sly comes out of the freezing, icy water, his hair and clothes are bone dry? I don't know too much about hypothermia, but I would imagine that his fairly thin sweater isn't wind proof. I'm sure by the time the movie ended, he would be suffering from more symptoms of hypothermia other than chattering teeth.
Continuity mistake: When the jet crashes, we see a shot from below showing a large portion of it poking out over the cliff. We then cut to the parachutists, and when we cut back to the jet, we see that very nearly all of it is safely on rock.
Trivia: The stunt early on in the film where Eric Qualen and his team do the plane to plane transfer was performed by British stuntman Simon Crane. The stunt was performed at an altitude of 2.95 miles (4.75 km) and was the most expensive stunt ever performed costing £568,000(£1 million). Sly Stallone is said to have reduced his fee by that amount to ensure the stunt was made.
Trivia: In an interview with GQ, John Lithgow revealed that he was originally supposed to be the film's secondary villain, with Christopher Walken playing the main antagonist. However, Walken exited the project, leading to Lithgow being promoted to main antagonist.
Sarah: Help me! I don't want to die.
Gabe: You're not gonna die.
Qualen: You want to kill me, don't you, Tucker? Well, get a number and get in line.
Travers: Get off my back, Qualen.
Qualen: Off? I haven't even got on it... yet.
Question: What was Hal's plan in the beginning? He wanted to send an harness to his girlfriend who was hanging in midair, so his girlfriend has the strength to lift herself and tie herself from that position. She was dangling in midair.
Question: Why was Hal mad and blamed Gabe for Sarah's death? It wasn't his fault. Also, how did Sarah get to that height at the beginning of the movie with no climbing experience? I mean, I can barely climb an indoor climbing wall, but she can climb a mountain like a walk in the park. (02:16:00 - 02:16:35)
Question: I'd like to know who performed the stunt near the end of the movie where Gabe jumps from the cliff as he runs from Qualin in the helicopter, and then catches the ladder on the way down. I thought that looked incredible.
Answer: There are two stunt doubles for Mr Stallone on imdb.com, their names are Mark De Alessandro and Jeff O' Haco. The site doesn't specify who did what.
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Answer: There was no realistic reason. First, the steel buckle on the safety harness would never just bend and break like that. The accident was not Gabe's fault, but Hal is supposedly so angry and grief-stricken that he unfairly claims Gabe ignored his advice when rescuing her. The movie uses melodramatic plotting to contrive a conflict between the two men. It's also unrealistic that Sarah, an inexperienced climber, was able to make such a difficult climb, even with Hal's help. The movie had many plot holes.
raywest ★