Survive! (1976) - June 26, 2018

[bruce holecheck]

Rene Cardona's cannibalism non-classic SURVIVE! (1976) gets a U.S. Blu 6/26:

https://www.shoutfactory.com/product...roduct_id=6752

BASED ON A TERRIFYING TRUE STORY

Based on a true story, Survive! is a harrowing story of what people pushed to the limit will do to survive. When a charter plane crashes in a remote area of the Andes Mountains, the surviving passengers, including a team of rugby players, undergo a terrifying ordeal as days go by with no rescue in sight. They will have to fight the extremely cold temperatures and rough climate. What they do to survive is the most shocking story in the history of human endurance.

Survive 1976 trailer - YouTube

[Member-222782]

I own this DVD. It's one of the worst-looking discs ever released so definitely waiting for reviews before buying. The unbearably bad effects kept my interest at bay so I've never watched the film all the way through.

[Boggle]

More Hugo Stiglitz looking like a life-sized marionette! Yeah!

[bruce holecheck]

Writer Paul Talbot did an article a few years back for my Cinema Arcana blog, detailing the changes made to the film for U.S. consumption. Includes a few photo illustrations from my archives, too!

http://bruceholecheck.blogspot.com/2...zation-of.html

[Ruemorgue10]

Forget this film...give me a blu-ray of ALIVE.

[Sharkguy33]

Yes, awesome! Please-More 70s Mex-sploitation on Blu: Bermuda Triangle, Tintorera, Manaus

[tomricci]

Hopefully it’s uncut and option for both England Spanish audio

[Sharkguy33]

Originally Posted by tomricci

Hopefully it’s uncut and option for both England Spanish audio

I'd be happy with the Alan Carr U.S. Theatrical alone, but will buy either way.

[tomricci]

The dvd I have runs 111 minutes they list the shorter 85 minutes version hopefully it’s an error on there site

[SuperFlyHighGuy]

"Pass me a hunk of co-pilot"

[Horse_Hockey]

VCI released a dual-version DVD set featuring both the Alan Carr theatrical cut with a new score by Gerald Fries and the longer original version. Sadly, the English subtitles they promised for Supervivientes de los Andes were not to be found. It'd be fantastic if Shout's release had both versions but given their English-only release of Message From Space it's probably not going to happen.

Another Mexican-made two-version sickie I'd like to see on Blu: Guyana, Cult of the Damned, featuring Stuart Whitman as Jim Jones. Directed by Rene Cardona Jr., son of the director of Survive!

[Thomas Irwin]

One of those rare films where nearly everyone contributes a scenery chewing performance.

[Beauvoir]

Really looking forward to this!

Like others, I am hooping this includes both versions of the film with appropriate subtitles.

Here is my 2014 article about the different releases: http://www.thissideofthetracks.ca/survive

I'm be updating it once this new edition comes out!

[The Great Owl]

This looks solid, and I'm all in!

[montyb]

Unfortunately looks like Shout is releasing only the truncated 85 minute cut which is ludicrous with the bad editing (cutting) and dubbing. The 110 minute Spanish version is the only way to see this film. For low budget 1976 Mexican film its quiet gripping when you realize this actually happened. This is far more grittier than the polished Hollywood version Alive. That was too unbelievable on all counts!

[Goremeister100]

Movie was terrible but I remember the book being pretty shocking. A lot of the gorier stuff was left out of the movie like the top of skulls being used as bowls and how they ate every part of the body even testicles because they craved different tastes. I'm not kidding.

[bruce holecheck]

Extras announced:

* NEW 4K Transfer Of The Film Taken From The Best Surviving Film Elements
* Superviventes De Los Andes – The Original 112-minute Version Of The Film (Full Frame In Standard Definition With English Subtitles)
* Theatrical Trailer

[Member-222782]

Doesn't look like there's much to look forward to. My DVD copy should suffice

[babybreese]

I saw this theatrically in 1976...the disappointment is still something I carry around with me to this day.

[The Great Owl]

In October of 1972, a chartered Uruguayan Air Force plane carrying 19 members of a rugby team, along with family members, supporters, and various others, crashed on a glacier in a remote region of the Andes mountain range. Of the 45 people on board the plane, 17 were killed instantly. During the weeks that followed, the remaining survivors took shelter in the broken fuselage, braving extreme weather conditions, injuries, and even a catastrophic avalanche. In order to stay alive, they eventually resorted to feeding on the flesh of the frozen corpses of the deceased. Two of the passengers scaled the glacier and found help after traveling 38 miles on foot though the mountains. 72 days after the crash, the 16 people left alive were rescued.

The 1976 Mexican film, Supervivientes de los Andes, which was based on a 1973 book by Clay Blair and released in a shortened English language version as Survive!, was directed in a documentary style fashion by René Cardona, who presents this true story by way of dry voiceover narration and straightforward matter-of-factness that defies theatrics or sensationalism. I started with the 112-minute Mexican original before following it up with the inferior 85-minute American dubbed version, which primarily omits a failed initial attempt by the survivors to find the tail of the plane and various snippets of conversation, both from those at the crash site and the relatives searching for them. While my preferences are strong for the longer Mexican film, mainly because the dubbing in the English interpretation is underwhelming, I applaud both versions for presenting the material in a gritty, but non-exploitative way. To its credit, the American film features an immersive music score by Gerald Fried (The Grissom Gang, The Baby).

This nonfiction screen story is appropriately chilling with regard to the crash itself, which is handled competently with a model plane, but it really finds its feet during the final half, when the decision to resort to cannibalism comes to light. The heroism of all involved, especially the two who hiked to safety, comes across strongly, despite the relatively emotionless style of the proceedings.

The 1993 film, Alive, which was based on the 1974 Piers Paul Read book and completed with the blessings of the actual people involved, is a more dramatically compelling treatment of the events at hand, but this original cinematic account is serviceably rewarding in its own right.

The 112-minute standard definition presentation of Supervivientes de los Andes was my choice for the first viewing experience, and it is presented as well as can be expected, considering the source. The American version looks better in high definition and sports a sturdy look and sound, but I would advise prospective viewers to go with the longer Mexican movie first. The commentary track of the American film by Dave Wilt contains a ton of great information regarding the differences between the versions.