So often, circumstances of great tragedy or of great human spirit capture our attention.  Usually these events are shoved through the media's strainer and wind up eventually being turned into some sort of movie-of-the-week, purely for exploitation and profit.  Well, Alive is certainly a tale of tragedy and great human spirit and thankfully the tale told is handled with dignity and a large amount of respect.  What we get is a film that is not only exciting and engrossing but also one that we can walk away from a bit...changed.  Just the fact that this edition is being released on the 30th anniversary, not of the film, but of the true life event itself, shows that Buena Vista has not forgotten that behind this movie is a story involving real people and the amazing circumstances of their survival.

In 1972, the Uruguayan rugby team, along with friends and family, was on its way to Chile through the Andes Mountains, when disaster struck.  As one of the pilots so drastically understates, "It's clouding up a bit", the plane hits an air pocket, drops substantially in elevation and strikes one of the myriad mountain peaks.  The plane, torn apart, falls to the mountainside and our true tale begins. 

Faced with the real possibility that they may not be found by rescuers due to weather conditions, lack of communication and the isolated area in which they crashed, the survivors are tested to their very limits as each new day crushes their hopes a little more.  Forced into extreme rationing, desperate to keep each other motivated without causing dissention and also trying to affect rescue possibilities, the team is thrown into their greatest match yet, only this time they are trying to defeat death and it is certainly no game.  And all of this in only the first few days of their 72 day ordeal. 

As their compatriots and family members die around them, the challenges only become greater.  The lack of food threatens to kill them all, unless they eat from the only source remaining...those already dead; an avalanche claims others and quite literally buries their hopes; and the utterly clear eventual realization that help is not going to come drives some of the men to the impossible task of finding a way out of the mountains and bringing back help.

Of the original 45 people on board that fateful flight, 16 would survive in what is called "the miracle of the Andes".  Alive explores the extent of what human spirit can accomplish in the face of total improbability.  Surely an inspiring film, we are lucky that it was made by someone who truly cared for the subject matter and was not going for a flavor of the week (Frank Marshall, director, was talking over the particulars of making this movie when a truck cut him off bearing a "Rugby players eat their dead" bumper sticker...call it a sign).

The cinematography is brilliant. The plane crash is captured in such a way that it is still terrifying and very realistic 9 years later; the landscapes show us how extremely isolated these men were, yet we also grasp the claustrophobia of their shelter and; and the sub-par writing is masked by wonderful expression and exhaustion in the young cast.  We are not given the time to delve deeply into so many characters and the actors all found wonderful quirks and behaviors which tell us much of their characters quickly and quite frankly help us tell 16 bearded and bundled characters apart!

I would have really enjoy an audio commentary for this particular disc, but that was not to be.  We do however get an optional 2 minute intro at the beginning from the director, Frank Marshall.  More moving however is the inclusion of an 12-minute featurette with real-life survivor Nando Parrado (who was also the technical advisor to Alive) returning to the site of the crash to bring flowers and memorials to his lost friends and family.  Through this short work, "Return to the Andes", we see the change in perspective of someone who has gone through such an ordeal and the different values placed on life (Nando mentions his loves of friends and family over a dozen times in the 12 minutes). Also included is the 51-minute documentary, "Alive: 20 Years Later", which was previously available on VHS.  Full of interviews, photographs, focus on the location and back-story, this piece really makes this 30th Anniversary re-issue worth it.

Alive is an inspiring movie that is wonderful on multiple levels.  Whether looking for a terrific tale of adventure or a spiritually uplifting look into the human condition, this DVD will leave you feeling...well, alive.

-aaron-
 

Directed by: Frank Marshall   Written By: John Patrick Shanley   Based on the Book By: Piers Paul Read   Cast: Ethan Hawke Vincent Spano James Newton Howard

DVD Features: Widescreen Presentation Dolby Digital Surround Sound Spanish Audio Track Introduction by Director Frank Marshall "Alive:20 Years Later" Documentary "Return to the Andes" Featurette     All Photos: © Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc. All rights reserved.