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Reviews
Anything to Survive (1990)
Non-Alaskans Should Not Judge This Film
I lived in Juneau, Alaska in 1978-79, the winter that this originally happened to the family in the film. A friend read a newspaper article about it to me and I cringed. The accident happened during the worst February we had had since I could remember, and I was born and raised there. They were actually stranded for the entire month, not a few days or a couple weeks, and the fact that they survived amazed me. I don't know of anyone in these dire circumstances that would NOT "whine" a bit.
Granted, this film took some poetic license as all films based on true stories do. I felt that Matt LeBlanc was a poor choice for the son. He looked nothing like the rest of the family. But in spite of that, I was impressed with the performances and the way the family clung together. This is not a film for the weak hearted. The reality of it was all too real for me, as I knew first hand the sub-zero temperatures and high gale winds that were present at the time of this accident. Only true Alaskans would ever have survived this experience and my heart goes out to the family to this day.
All in all, the film was excellent at portraying the harsh circumstances the family faced. That was not made up. The relationships that they shared were also well portrayed. I have often wondered how they all were today, what, if any, lasting affects the experience had on them. As far as films based in Alaska, this was perhaps the most true to life of any I have seen. Excellent film.
Trenchcoat (1983)
so where do i write?
I saw this film many years ago and loved it immensely...much better than the current "Stranger than Fiction" which follows a similar theme. My question now is, "When is it coming out on DVD???" This is one film I would purchase in a flash and I'm a bit disappointed that it has not yet been released on DVD and even the VHS release has been out of print, so to speak, for many years. Time to write Disney again! The coupling of Margot Kidder and Robert Hays is brilliant and the intrigue is captivating. The tension builds when Kidder's "novel" ends up in police evidence files and is taken literally but all along the banter between hers and Hays' roles is delightful. A definite keeper!