The survival film is a movie genre in which one or more characters make an effort at physical survival. It often overlaps with other movie genres. It is a subgenre of the movie adventure , along with swashbuckler movies , war movies , and safari movies. [1] Survival is one of the most popular movies in their history, usually the protagonist. The films tend to be “located primarily in a contemporary context” so film audiences are familiar with the setting, meaning the characters’ activities are less romanticized. [2]
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 survival of 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 the production of the process, the cut off from the securities and certainties of the ordinary 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 movies
Movie | year | Ref. |
---|---|---|
The 33 | 2015 | [4] |
127 Hours | 2010 | [5] |
Against the Sun | 2014 | [6] |
Alive | 1993 | [7] |
All Is Lost | 2013 | [8] |
Apollo 13 | 1995 | [9] |
Buried | 2010 | [5] |
Captain Phillips | 2013 | [10] |
Cast Away | 2000 | [5] |
The Deep | 2012 | [11] |
Deliverance | 1972 | [7] |
Dunkirk | 2017 | [5] |
The Edge | 1997 | [7] |
Escape from Alcatraz | 1979 | [12] |
Everest | 2015 | [13] |
The Flight of the Phoenix | 1965 | [3] |
Gravity | 2013 | [10] |
The Gray | 2011 | [14] |
Hell In The Pacific | 1968 | [5] |
A Hijacking | 2012 | [9] |
The Impossible | 2012 | [15] |
I Am Legend | 2007 | [16] |
In the Heart of the Sea | 2015 | [17] |
Inferno | 1953 | [18] |
Into the Wild | 2007 | [5] |
Jeremiah Johnson | 1971 | [19] |
Life of Pi | 2012 | [20] |
Lifeboat | 1944 | [21] |
Lone Survivor | 2013 | [10] |
Marooned | 1969 | [21] |
The Martian | 2015 | [22] |
Man in the Wilderness | 1971 | [21] |
Meek’s Cutoff | 2010 | [19] |
The Naked Prey | 1965 | [21] |
Nobody Wants the Night | 2015 | [23] |
The Omega Man | 1971 | [21] |
On the Beach | 1959 | [21] |
Open Water | 2003 | [5] |
Ordeal in the Arctic | 1993 | [24] |
Panic in Year Zero! | 1962 | [21] |
Planet of the Apes | 1968 | [21] |
The Poseidon Adventure | 1972 | [3] |
Quest for Fire | nineteen eighty one | [5] |
Rabbit-Proof Fence | 2002 | [5] |
Rescue Dawn | 2006 | [5] |
the Revenant | 2015 | [25] |
The Road | 2009 | [9] |
Robinson Crusoe | 1997 | [26] |
Robinson Crusoe on Mars | 1965 | [27] |
Sanctum | 2011 | [28] |
Sands of the Kalahari | 1965 | [21] |
The Savage Is Loose | 1974 | [21] |
Seven Waves Away | 1957 | [9] |
The Shallows | 2016 | [29] |
The Snow Walker | 2003 | [30] |
Southern Comfort | nineteen eighty one | [19] |
Soylent Green | 1973 | [21] |
Stranded: I’ve Come From a Plane That Crashed in the Mountains | 2007 | [9] |
Sunshine | 2007 | [31] |
Survival Quest | 1989 | [7] |
Swiss Family Robinson | 1960 | [14] |
Teenage Caveman | 1958 | [21] |
Touching the Void | 2003 | [5] |
Trapped | 2017 | [32] |
The Ultimate Warrior | 1975 | [33] |
The War Game | 1965 | [21] |
Walkabout | 1971 | [9] |
The Way Back | 2010 | [5] |
The World, the Flesh and the Devil | 1959 | [21] |
Zero Population Growth | 1972 | [21] |
See also
- List of apocalyptic films
- List of disaster films
References
- Jump up^ Sobchack 1988, p. 12
- ^ Jump up to:a b Sobchack 1988 , p. 14
- ^ Jump up to:a b c Sobchack 1988 , p. 15
- Jump up^ Long, Tom (November 13, 2015). “Review: ‘The 33,’ true story of struggle for survival ‘ . The Detroit News . Retrieved January 14, 2016 .
- ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g h i j k l Staff (January 23, 2012). “The 10 Best Survival Movies” . Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved February 1, 2013 .
- Jump up^ Laskin, Nicholas (November 18, 2014). “Watch: Trailer For WWII Survival Movie ‘Against The Sun’ Starring Garret Dillahunt, Tom Felton, Jake Abel” . The Playlist . Indiewire . Retrieved September 9, 2015 .
- ^ Jump up to: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.
- Jump up^ Savage, Sophia (August 7, 2012). “First Look at JC Chandor’s ‘All is Lost’ with Robert Redford” . Thompson on Hollywood . indieWire . Retrieved September 24, 2012 .
- ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f Staff (October 17, 2013). “20 Survival Movies That Will Take You Into The Abyss” . The Playlist . Indiewire . Retrieved September 9, 2015.
- ^ Jump up to:a b c McGrath, Charles (November 1, 2013). “Tales of Danger for You to Survive” . The New York Times . Retrieved September 9, 2015 .
- Jump up^ Kaufman, Amy (September 3, 2015). “Fall Movie Guide: Making ‘Everest’ was a big order for filmmakers” . Los Angeles Times . Retrieved September 9, 2015 .
- Jump up^ Vanhala, Helena (2011). “International Terrorism and the Commercial Hollywood Film Industry”. The Depiction of Terrorists in Hollywood Blockbuster Films, 1980-2001: An Analytical Study . McFarland. p. 105.ISBN 978-0-7864-3662-0 .
- Jump up^ Adams, Sam (September 2, 2015). “First Reviews of ‘Everest’: Stunning Show, So-So Drama” . Criticwire . Indiewire . Retrieved September 9,2015 .
- ^ Jump up to:Guzman a b , Rafer (January 27, 2012). “Survivor movies: Which live, which die – and why?” . The Sacramento Bee .
- Jump up^ Topel, Fred (November 6, 2012). “AFI 2012 Review: The Impossible” . CraveOnline.com . CraveOnline Media, LLC . Retrieved July 2, 2013 .
- Jump up^ Bunge, Mike. “The Last Man on Earth” . KIMT.com . KIMT . Retrieved 2016-02-28 .
- Jump up^ Cite error: The name reference
variety.com/2015/film/reviews/in-the-heart-of-the-sea-review-1201651468/
was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page). - Jump up^ “Inferno” . MUBI . Retrieved 4 December 2017 .
- ^ Jump up to:a b c Mertes, Micah (November 1, 2013). “The 10 best survival movies”. Omaha World-Herald . Retrieved September 9, 2015 .
- Jump up^ Holden, Ed (December 19, 2012). “Life of Pi review” . MSN Movies . MSN . Retrieved July 2, 2013 .
- ^ Jump up to: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. Genre Reader III movie . University of Texas Press. pp. 281-282. ISBN 978-0-292-70185-4 .
- Jump up^ Gettell, Oliver (June 8, 2015). ” ‘ The Martian’ trailer: Matt Damon is lost in space (again)” . Los Angeles Times . Retrieved September 9, 2015 .
- Jump up^ Roddy, Michael (February 5, 2015). “Arctic survival movie, from female perspective, kicks off Berlin fest” . reuters.com . Reuters . Retrieved September 9, 2015 .
- Jump up^ Willman, Chris. “TV Reviews: ‘Ordeal in the Arctic’ offers true-life story of survival.” LA Times, February 15, 1993. Retrieved: September 19, 2016.
- Jump up^ Bahr, Lindsey (January 11, 2016). ” ‘ Martian,’ ‘Returning’ get awards boost with top Globes wins’ . ap.org . Associated Press . Archived fromthe original on January 11, 2016 . Retrieved January 11, 2016 .
- Jump up^ Douglas, Clark. “Robinson Crusoe” . 365 Movie Guy . Retrieved 3 March 2016 .
- Jump up^ Leskosky, Richard J. (February 2, 2014). “A new film genre: Solitary survival” . The News-Gazette . Retrieved October 6, 2015 .
- Jump up^ Burr, Ty (February 4, 2011). “Sanctum” . The Boston Globe .
- Jump up^ Stolworthy, Jacob (June 9, 2016). “The Shallows could be the movie shark all horror fans have been waiting for since Jaws” . The Independent . Retrieved April 6, 2017 .
- Jump up^ “The Snow Walker” . Filmaffinity.com .
- Jump up^ “Sunshine” . Filmaffinity.com .
- Jump up^ “Trapped movie review: Rajkummar Rao is the star of this Motwane movie” . Hindustan Times . 2017-03-16 . Retrieved 2017-03-22 .
- Jump up^ Shapiro, Jerome F. (2001). Atomic Bomb Cinema: The Apocalyptic Imagination on Film . Routledge. p. 160. ISBN 978-0-415-93660-6 .