Cliffhanger (Released in 1993) - Action adventure on the mountains - Starring Sylvester Stallone, John Lithgow, Michael Rooker

Gabriel Walker (Sylvester Stallone) is a mountain climber and rescue ranger, who is on a rescue mission to help an injured climber Hal with his girlfriend and partner Sarah (Michelle Joyner). Fastened with cables, Gabe is hanging out the side of a cliff, silhouetted against an amazing backdrop of jagged edged cliffs of the Rocky Mountains. The trio must now make an arduous slither across the valley to the waiting chopper, at four thousand feet! Hal makes it, and a visibly nervous Sarah takes to the cables to make her way across. The wind is picking up, and this could risk the rescue mission, Gabe tells Sarah not to look down, and she moves across the line. Suddenly, one of the clips gives way and she is hurtled downward, as she cries and tries to hold onto the flimsy support, Gabe hurries across, just as the cable give way - she grabs his forearm, unfortunately her glove slips and she falls to her death, as an angry Hal looks at Gabe with blame in his eyes.
Gabe looks up Jessie Deighan, the chopper pilot that day and his girlfriend, who is upset that Gabe took off after Sarah’s funeral instead of facing the consequences. Now he wants to leave the town and wishes that Jess would go along with him. She wants him to stop feeling guilty about what happened out on the ledge, logically questioning why Hal took an inexperienced Sarah with him in the first place, Gabe won’t have any of it, and continues to hold himself responsible for the mishap. Jess and Hal are called to another rescue mission - the boys who met Gabe are stranded on the ledge. Jess asks him to help - and he does, but a still angry Hal tries to throw Gabe off the cliff.




Elsewhere, bank money is being transported in flight, as the threat of burglary is high in armored vehicles and trains, treasury agents are getting ready for the flight. As he returns to town eight months after the incident, his truck is followed by admirers, who want him to climb The Tower (where the incident took place) with him - he politely refuses and sends them with a warning. It turns out that the distress call for rescue was a hoax and there is a band of robbers waiting to accost the treasury agents on their flight with the money. Ex military men are involved in daring air-to-air transfer mission to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars - unfortunately, their plan goes kaput as the suitcases with the currency fall into the mountain pass - they instead, rope in Hal and Gabe to help trace the treasure by faking an emergency.
Siding up with the thieves is Hal, who is hot on Gabe’s trail after the tragic death of his girlfriend Sarah, for which he holds Gabe responsible. A thriller all the way.
Directed by Renny Harlin, based on a premise by John Long (!) and with a screen play co written by Stallone, the film was praised by critics and audiences, although many were critical of the technical aspect of climbing shown in the film. The movie set a record for the highest aerial stunt which was performed at 15000 feet! A remake of the film was to be made in 2010, but yet remains under wraps. An average success, it was a change from most of Stallone’s army guy/tough cop roles.

Demolition Man (Released in 1993) - A corny futuristic movie starring Sylvester Stallone, Wesley Snipes, Sandra Bullock, Nigel Hawthorne

Experimenting with different genres to exercise his talent (maybe) - Stallone’s Demolition Man is a sci-fi thriller, released in 1993 starring him as John Spartan, an LA cop nicknamed ‘Demolition Man’, for his reckless and destructive law enforcement work style. He is pitted against Simon Phoenix (Wesley Snipes) who is evil to the core. In 1996, Spartan is set up by Phoenix in a case implicating him for the deaths of hostages in a bus, which was taken hostage by Phoenix. Spartan leads a Special Operations Unit which is unable to rescue the people, as result they all perish and he is sentenced to sixty years approximately, in prison.
This is where the movie takes off - in 2032. In that distant future, prisons are scientifically more advanced and sound ‘cryo prisons’; prison inmates are cryogenically frozen. A terrible natural catastrophe has struck LA, as a result of which much of the city is destroyed. A new one is formed in its stead - wherein erstwhile LA and San Diego are merged to form San Angeles, the city is in the capable hands of Dr. Raymond Cocteau (Nigel Hawthorne). What merges, other than the geographic territory, is also the criminal demographic, despite the fact that weapons are banned and every human desire is sanctioned by the SAPD.
Phoenix seizes the opportunity to escape during a prison hearing for parole - he is able to overpower the guards and prison warden without problems. He is the quintessential villain - physically strong with fighting prowess, multi lingual, with a superior understanding of futuristic sciences and heightened sensory skills. Given the largely pacific environment in San Angeles, the law enforcement agencies are incapable of dealing with the heightened menace of Phoenix. A veteran on the Force suggests that the ‘Demolition Man’ Spartan be resurrected to help capture Phoenix.




Unlike Phoenix, Spartan has adaptability issues and is unable to make a smooth transition from the cryo stage to part human-part machine creature. The actual face behind menacing Phoenix is actually Cocteau who aims to overpower the underground resistance called ‘Scraps’ and reign supreme over San Angeles. Spartan sees security footage of a conversation between Phoenix and Cocteau; the former is in a museum at the weapons exhibit, in a bid to arm himself. Sandra Bullock is Lenina Huxley, who is Stallone’s love interest in the film - awkward kisses are exchanged between the two as they remain in their robotic, machine state.
The culture represented in the film is truly surreal - no one dies of unnatural causes, there are no human activities that includes sex (great future there!), best aspect is that there is no poverty. There are no fast food joints, they were all ‘killed’ in the franchise wars - only Taco Bell survives (for overseas audiences, the equivalent was Pizza Hut, since it had more brand presence abroad). Every person is fitted with a microchip, which can be tracked by a central federal computer. What happens in the battle between Spartan and Phoenix, given that they cause mayhem all around during their fights ?
The film was well received by audiences, 64% audiences ruled in favor of the film, and Stallone was lauded for his performance, even Snipes gave a stellar performance as Phoenix. Rolling Stone magazine called it the ‘Frankenstein of action thrillers’ -directed by Marco Brambilla, it is his directorial debut.

Rhinestone - Starring Sylvester Stallone and Dolly Parton - Released in 1984

Sylvester Stallone known more for his muscle flexing, makes his singing debut alongside Dolly Parton in the ‘Rhinestone’. Not only has he starred in the role of a cabbie who can’t sing to save his life, he has also collaborated on the screenplay.

Freddie Ugo (Ron Liebman) is the owner of Rhinestone, a dance-song-pub, where Jake Farris (Dolly Parton), his star performer and love interest  is stuck with him, after she signs a life long contract with the Sultan of Sleaze. He refuses to let her go, and insists that with his Midas touch, he can turn any one into a superstar - a country western singing sensation.

Ugo tells Jake that the only way she can buy herself out of the contract is if she finds a clown to turn into a ‘Rhinestone Cowboy’ - he would give her two weeks, one number on stage, and voila - she gets to tear up her three year contract…if she loses, another five years and a sleazy proposition for something on the side with him.

She agrees, even though the stakes are high -‘no weirdoes, no lepers, no dead people, just some average normal person’ - and so the two go hunting and come across Nick Martinelli (Sylvester Stallone) a cabbie, who ‘passes in front of her face’ - she’d rather have had a leper!

When Ugo discusses the wager with Nick, he laughs, pointing at the singer on stage ‘I can’t stand that hill Billy’. Well, he walks out on the duo, leaving a beaming Ugo, though Jake reminds him she has two weeks. She goes and traces Nick down to the company that rents its cab to him. He is, as expected, fired by the owner. Now jobless, he takes up Jake’s offer, provided she gets Freddie to get the banged up taxi repaired, AND get his OWN taxi.

Ugo says they have a deal (cocksure that Jake will lose), because Nick thinks country music is ‘worse than liver’. Jake takes her job seriously; Nick is full of crock trying to flirt with her instead of concentrating on the singing. She takes him home to Leiper’s Fork, to her home in the country so that he can feel the life and the music.

Their relationship is frustrating as Nick insists he wants to do it his way, but eventually, he sings with the Wild Possum Band, singing ‘Drinkenstein’, in a yellow and orange suit with fur trimmed hat! At one point in time, he actually starts to believe he can sing - Jake tells him otherwise, and he shrugs her off, saying its ‘professional jealousy’. The two part ways.

Nick meets Noah Farris (Richard Farnsworth) who takes to Nick immediately, inviting him to sing with the Wild Possum Band - true bluegrass, he refuses, though. Jake is miserable, and says that she doesn’t want Nick to wind up with nothing, by instilling false hopes in him.

Nick is hell bent to make it in the music world, wanting to approach Freddie. Before he does so, Jake wants to call off the bet. Ugo is thrilled with the latest developments and welcomes the decision; elsewhere, Nick is riding a studded horse in Elvis style rhinestone jeweled suit, he rides into the hotel and knocks down the door to save Jake from Ugo’s clutches. They ride together to the Rhinestone, Nick believes he has to sing a duet with Jake, and is shocked to learn he is going solo - at the club, he is booed on stage. Suddenly he breaks into the best ditty ever, the crowd goes crazy cheering, and the bet is won!

The movie was wonderful for portraying the comic side of Stallone via this comic role; for once he flexed his vocals instead of his arms! Though the film won many nominations for the worst movie of the year - Stinkers Bad Movie Awards for Worst Picture - it does have a certain amount of following.

A foreign Field (released in 1993) - Starring Alec Guinness, Leo McKern, Lauren Bacall - 50 years after D-Day

A Foreign Field is a movie made by the BBC for commemorating the 50th anniversary of the D-day landings and portrays the story of the veterans who come to Normandy in search of the memories of their loved ones. It stars Lauren Bacall, Alec Guinness, John Randolph, Leo mcKern, Edward Herrman, Geraldine Chaplin and host of American, Australian, and French Actors. Directed by Charles Sturridge it was produced by BBC and is a staple on the channel during World War II anniversaries.
The movie has two World War veterans, Cyril and Waldo coming to Normandy to find their stories again. Cyril is accompanied by his old friend Amos whereas Waldo has his uptight daughter and her henpecked husband coming with him him. Amos played by the legendary Sir Alec Guinness is a treat to watch as the mentally affected veteran. Both of them remember the blood bath in the beaches of Normandy and among those terrifying tales a memory of a beautiful French nurse is tucked away.



After fifty years of being unaware of each others association, they have come in search of that old flame who kept them sane during those terrifying times. Cyril being British hates crazy Americans and the American Wald hates the uppity British. While sharing their memories, each find out about Angelique, the French Nurse and almost comes to blows because of her. Rounding up the people stalking the memories is Lisa, a boozy widow who has a secret of her own. These unlikely group move through the fields of Normandy, the memories of comrades long gone and understand the finality of life again.
Amos played by Alec Guinness should be one of the most favorite character of a war movie. With his gestures and facial expression he goes down in to our hearts as the wounded man both in body and mind. The others play the war scarred, but stable characters. The bickering husband and wife duo cauldron have been avoided as they had nothing, not even as the thankless generation which followed. But the cake goes to Angelique, the fresh faced nurse who had seduced both the veterans, now old and confined to a home. Lauren Bacall returns to a better suited role and is great as the loud mouthed widow who is in search of her brother's grave. Even at this dismal place she sings her blues away ad is one of the most enduring images in “The Foreign Field”.
Some times I wonder how come this sweet movie is tucked away as a television movie outed during the anniversaries. It raises a few laughs about men who fought for freedom which would help them in the quest for happiness. It chronicles the young who died and the later old ones who survived but are haunted by those memories. This movie does not deserve to be confined to those television outings but has to reach one and all. It will be a welcome break from all those sugary romances one is forced to watch nowadays. Great movie need to be watched by all.

The Age of Innocence (1993) - Directed by Martin Scorsese, and starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer and Winona Ryder

The Age of Innocence (released in 1993) was a movie directed by Martin Scorsese, that won one Academy Award (Oscar) and was nominated for a total of 5 awards, but not the top awards (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor or Actress). Winnona Ryder was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress role, but did not win. The movie eventually won the Oscar for Best Costume Design (Gabriella Pescucci). However, the movie won awards in other places such as the Golden Globe, BAFTA, National Board of Review Award. The movie was based on a novel with the same name, written by Edith Wharton (winner of the 1921 Pulitzer Prize). The novel is set in the 1870's in New York City, set in the upper class (the distinction of the prize was that this was the first Pulitzer Prize awarded to a woman, based on her accurate depiction of the life of the upper class in the 19th century New York).
The name of the novel / movie is ironic, given that while the upper class was all genteel and published on the outside, inside it was all conspiracies and controversy. The movie was filmed in New York, with some portions being shot in Paris and the opera scenes being shot in the Philadelphia Academy of Music in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The movie earned positive reviews from critics.
Like some of his other movies, Marin Scorsese did a cameo role in this movie, as a photographer in a wedding scene.



The movie was dedicated to Martin Scorsese's father (Charles Scorsese, who died before the movie got released); both his mother and father made cameo appearances in the movie. Another surprise about the movie is that the lead actors in the movie were all the first choices of Martin Scorsese.
The movie is a tale of passionate love, never being consummated because of society and its bonds. The story is that of a young rich lawyer, Newland Archer (Daniel Day-Lewis), who is eager and happy about his forthcoming marriage with another member of society's elite, May Welland (Winona Ryder). However, his feelings start changing with the emergence on the scene of her cousin, 30 year old sophisticated Countess Ellen Olenska (Michelle Pfeiffer). She is separated from her husband, who has cut her off, and to the horror of society and her relations, she wants a divorce (you can separate, but a divorce would be a huge scandal). Newland starts feeling a passionate attraction for her, and she for him, but because of the impact this would have on May, she backs off, deciding to keep a distance.
And then Newland finally marries May (he had asked May to get married sooner since he is not sure about his feelings for Ellen and whether they could make him change his mind); but his marriage is soon passionless, and he still longs for Ellen. Ellen finally agrees to have an affair with Newland, and Newland even decides to follow her for Europe, and then May tells him that they are having a baby; and now, because of the child, they again agree to not have an affair. But is this the end of their interactions ?