Survival film

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The survival film is a film genre in which one or more characters make an effort at physical survival. It often overlaps with other film genres. It is a subgenre of the adventure film, along with swashbuckler films, war films, and safari films.[1] Survival films are darker than most other adventure films, which usually focus their storyline on a single character, usually the protagonist. The films tend to be "locate primarily in a contemporary context" and so film audiences are familiar with the setting, and the characters' activities are less romanticized.[2]

In a 1988 book, Thomas Sobchack compared the survival film to romance: "They both emphasize the heroic triumph over obstacles which threaten social order and the reaffirmation of predominant social values such as fair play and respect for merit and cooperation."[2] The author said survival films "identify and isolate a microcosm of society," such as the surviving group from the plane crash in The Flight of the Phoenix (1965) or those on the overturned ocean liner in The Poseidon Adventure (1972). Sobchack explained, "Most of the time in a survival film is spent depicting the process whereby the group, cut off from the securities and certainties of the ordinary support networks of civilized life, forms itself into a functioning, effective unit." The group often varies in types of characters, sometimes to the point of caricature. While women have historically been stereotyped in such films, they "often play a decisive role in the success or failure of the group."[3]

List of films[]

Film Year Ref.
The 33 2015 [4]
127 Hours 2010 [5]
Abandoned 2015 [6]
Adrift 2018 [7]
Against the Sun 2014 [8]
Alive 1993 [9]
All Is Lost 2013 [7]
Apollo 13 1995 [10]
Arctic 2018 [11]
Back from Eternity 1956 [12]
Battle Royale 2000 [13]
The Blue Lagoon 1980 [7]
Buried 2010 [5]
Captain Phillips 2013 [14]
Cast Away 2000 [5]
Cliffhanger 1993 [15]
Crawl 2019 [7]
A Cry in the Wild 1990 [15]
Dances with Wolves 1990 [15]
Dante's Peak 1997 [15]
The Day After Tomorrow 2004 [15]
The Deep 2012 [16]
Deliverance 1972 [9]
The Descent 2006 [17]
The Edge 1997 [9]
The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition 2000 [15]
Escape from Alcatraz 1979 [18]
Everest 2015 [19]
First Blood 1982 [7]
Five Came Back 1939 [12]
The Flight of the Phoenix 1965 [3]
Friend of the World 2020 [20]
Frozen 2010 [21]
Gravity 2013 [14]
The Grey 2011 [22]
A Hijacking 2012 [10]
I Am Legend 2007 [7]
The Impossible 2012 [23]
In the Heart of the Sea 2015 [24]
Inferno 1953 [12]
Into the Wild 2007 [5]
Iron Will 1994 [15]
Jaws 1975 [15]
Jeremiah Johnson 1971 [25]
Jungle 2017 [26]
Jurassic Park 1993 [15]
Kon-Tiki 2012 [7]
The Last Descent 2016 [27]
Life of Pi 2012 [28]
Lifeboat 1944 [29]
Lone Survivor 2013 [14]
Lord of the Flies 1963 [12]
Marooned 1969 [29]
The Martian 2015 [7]
Man in the Wilderness 1971 [29]
Meek's Cutoff 2010 [25]
Moon 2009 [30]
My Side of the Mountain 1969 [12]
The Naked Prey 1965 [29]
No Blade of Grass 1970 [12]
Nobody Wants the Night 2015 [31]
The Omega Man 1971 [29]
On the Beach 1959 [29]
Open Water 2003 [5]
Oxygen 2021 [32]
Panic in Year Zero! 1962 [29]
The Perfect Storm 2000 [15]
Planet of the Apes 1968 [29]
The Poseidon Adventure 1972 [3]
Predator 1987 [15]
Quest for Fire 1981 [5]
Rabbit-Proof Fence 2002 [5]
Red Dawn 1984 [15]
Rescue Dawn 2006 [5]
Resident Evil 2002 [5]
The Revenant 2015 [7]
The Road 2009 [10]
Robinson Crusoe 1954 [12]
Robinson Crusoe 1997 [33]
Robinson Crusoe on Mars 1965 [34]
2021 [35]
Sanctum 2011 [36]
Sands of the Kalahari 1965 [29]
The Savage Is Loose 1974 [29]
The Secret Land 1948 [12]
Seven Waves Away 1957 [10]
The Shallows 2016 [7]
The Snow Walker 2003 [15]
Southern Comfort 1981 [25]
Soylent Green 1973 [29]
Squid Game 2021 [37]
Stranded: I've Come from a Plane that Crashed in the Mountains 2007 [10]
Survival Family 2016 [38]
Survival Quest 1989 [9]
Swiss Family Robinson 1960 [22]
Teenage Caveman 1958 [29]
Touching the Void 2003 [5]
Tremors 1990 [15]
The Ultimate Warrior 1975 [39]
Underwater 2020 [40]
Vertical Limit 2000 [15]
The War Game 1965 [29]
Walkabout 1971 [10]
The Way Back 2010 [5]
White Water Summer 1987 [15]
The World, the Flesh and the Devil 1959 [29]
Z.P.G. 1972 [29]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Sobchack 1988, p. 12
  2. ^ a b Sobchack 1988, p. 14
  3. ^ a b c Sobchack 1988, p. 15
  4. ^ Long, Tom (November 13, 2015). "Review: 'The 33,' true story of struggle for survival". The Detroit News. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Staff (January 23, 2012). "The 10 Best Survival Movies". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on February 8, 2015.
  6. ^ "Rose Noelle story to be retold in two-part film". Stuff. 2015-08-22. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lascala, Marisa (April 20, 2020). "The 20 Best Survival Movies to Show You What Grit Truly Is". Good Housekeeping. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  8. ^ Laskin, Nicholas (November 18, 2014). "Watch: Trailer For WWII Survival Film 'Against The Sun' Starring Garret Dillahunt, Tom Felton, Jake Abel". The Playlist. Indiewire. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  9. ^ a b c d Ferguson, Lee (November 12, 2010). "127 Hours and five other great survival movies". cbc.ca. CBC News. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
  10. ^ a b c d e f Staff (October 17, 2013). "20 Survival Films That Will Take You Into The Abyss". The Playlist. Indiewire. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  11. ^ Barraclough, Leo (May 22, 2017). "Mads Mikkelsen on Surviving the Polar Wilderness in 'Arctic'". Variety. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h Fristoe, Roger (December 22, 2017). "Survival Movies: Fridays in January". tcm.com. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  13. ^ Crandol, Michael (17 June 2021). Ghost in the Well: The Hidden History of Horror Films in Japan. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 3. ISBN 978-1-350-17874-8.
  14. ^ a b c McGrath, Charles (November 1, 2013). "Tales of Danger for You to Survive". The New York Times. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Robinson, Alex; Farabee, Kelsey (November 22, 2010). "The Best Survival Movies Ever". Outdoor Life. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  16. ^ Kaufman, Amy (September 3, 2015). "Fall Movie Guide: Making 'Everest' was a tall order for filmmakers". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  17. ^ Kennedy, Michael. "The Descent's Multiple Endings Explained". ScreenRant.
  18. ^ Vanhala, Helena (2011). "International Terrorism and the Commercial Hollywood Film Industry". The Depiction of Terrorists in Blockbuster Hollywood Films, 1980–2001: An Analytical Study. McFarland. p. 105. ISBN 978-0-7864-3662-0.
  19. ^ Adams, Sam (September 2, 2015). "First Reviews of 'Everest': Stunning Spectacle, So-So Drama". Criticwire. Indiewire. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  20. ^ Cherry, Rebecca. "Review: Friend of the World". Film Carnage.
  21. ^ Wood, Jennifer M. (February 9, 2010). "Adam Green Reaches New Heights With Frozen". MovieMaker. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  22. ^ a b Guzman, Rafer (January 27, 2012). "Survivor films: Which live, which die – and why?". The Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on February 16, 2013. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
  23. ^ Topel, Fred (November 6, 2012). "AFI 2012 Review: The Impossible". CraveOnline.com. CraveOnline Media, LLC. Retrieved July 2, 2013.
  24. ^ Chang, Justin (December 2, 2015). "Film Review: 'In the Heart of the Sea'". Variety. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  25. ^ a b c Mertes, Micah (November 1, 2013). "The 10 best survival movies". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  26. ^ Stewart, Harry. "The True Story Behind the Jungle Thriller (2017)". Culture Trip. Retrieved 2021-09-17.
  27. ^ Jones, Morgan. "Utah Nutty Putty Cave accident to be depicted in new film, 'The Last Descent'". Desert News. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  28. ^ Holden, Ed (December 19, 2012). "Life of Pi review". MSN Movies. MSN. Archived from the original on May 20, 2013. Retrieved July 2, 2013.
  29. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Yacowar, Maurice (2003). "The Bug in the Rug". In Grant, Barry Keith (ed.). Film Genre Reader III. University of Texas Press. pp. 281–282. ISBN 978-0-292-70185-4.
  30. ^ Siegel, Tatiana (5 May 2008). "Sony lands 'Moon' rights". Variety. Archived from the original on 6 May 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  31. ^ Roddy, Michael (February 5, 2015). "Arctic survival film, from female perspective, kicks off Berlin fest". reuters.com. Reuters. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  32. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (May 12, 2021). "'Oxygen': Alexandre Aja & Mélanie Laurent On Why Making Netflix's Confined Thriller Was A Breath Of Fresh Air". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  33. ^ Brosnan, Pierce. "Robinson Crusoe". Internet Archive. Archived from the original on 3 May 2019. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  34. ^ Leskosky, Richard J. (February 2, 2014). "A new film genre: Solitary survival". The News-Gazette. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  35. ^ Cite error: The named reference lebowski was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  36. ^ Burr, Ty (February 4, 2011). "Sanctum". The Boston Globe.
  37. ^ Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "What distinguishes 'Squid Game' from other survival thrillers | DW | 06.10.2021". DW.COM. Retrieved 2021-11-02.
  38. ^ Tsui, Clarence (Dec 19, 2016). "'Survival Family': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter.
  39. ^ Shapiro, Jerome F. (2001). Atomic Bomb Cinema: The Apocalyptic Imagination on Film. Routledge. p. 160. ISBN 978-0-415-93660-6.
  40. ^ DeFore, John (Jan 7, 2020). "'Underwater': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter.

Bibliography[]

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