The Edge (1997)
74%RT Audience Score: 70%
Awards & Nominations: NA
The Edge is an entertaining hybrid of brainy Mamet dialogue with brawny outdoors action — albeit one that sadly lacks as much bite as its furry antagonist
The Edge” is a movie that will make you believe that Anthony Hopkins can survive anything, even a bear attack. The scenery is breathtaking, and the story is a classic tale of man versus nature. Plus, Bart the bear steals the show with his impressive acting skills. It’s not the most memorable movie out there, but it’s definitely worth a watch if you’re in the mood for some B-type action with a touch of humor.
Production Company(ies)
Selznick International Pictures,, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer,
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for some strong language, thematic elements, smoking and brief violence
Year of Release
1997
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Atmos
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:1h 57m
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Language(s):
-
Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Sep 26, 1997 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 4, 2002
Genre(s)
Adventure/Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Anthony Hopkins, Alec Baldwin, Elle Macpherson, Harold Perrineau, L.Q Jones, Kathleen Wilhoite, directed by Lee Tamahori, written by David Mamet, Adventure, Drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by David Ansen, Lisa Schwarzbaum, Kenneth Turan, Adam Smith, Roger Ebert, MPAA rating R, produced by Art Linson, 20th Century Fox, Kodiak bear, Alaskan wilderness, survival, extramarital affair, friendship, Timothy Treadwell, grizzly bear, Bart the bear
Worldwide gross: $27,873,386
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): NA
US/Canada gross: $27,873,386
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Alec Baldwin – Robert Green
Elle Macpherson – Mickey Morse
Harold Perrineau – Stephen
L.Q. Jones – Styles
Kathleen Wilhoite – Ginny
Director – Lee Tamahori
Producer – Art Linson
Writer – David Mamet
Director(s)
Lee Tamahori
Writer(s)
David Mamet
Producer(s)
Art Linson
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (50) | Top Critics (15) | Fresh (32) | Rotten (18)
The Edge, for all its hokiness, makes it real. When Hopkins comes down from the mountain, I believed he was looking at the world with new eyes.
February 27, 2018
David Ansen
Newsweek
TOP CRITIC
It’s not hard to read Charles’ journey in ‘The Edge’ as analogous to its author’s: the library-dwelling intellectual using his wits to brave rougher elements.
October 7, 2017
Jason Bailey
Vice
TOP CRITIC
September 7, 2011 | Rating: B+
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Entertainment Weekly
TOP CRITIC
…The Edge’s fusion of Mametspeak with a true life adventure remains brawny entertainment, even it it is difficult to take as seriously as the filmmakers intend.
February 14, 2001 | Rating: 4/5
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
There is a lot to enjoy here. Tamahori’s second Hollywood outing is economically directed, the scenery is spectacular and beautifully shot by Donald M. McAlpine and the initial air crash rivals Alive for its sudden, chaotic realism.
January 1, 2000 | Rating: 3/5
Adam Smith
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
It’s subtly funny in the way it toys with the cliches of the genre.
January 1, 2000 | Rating: 3/4
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
TOP CRITIC
I really enjoy this unique character that Hopkins created in The Edge, and I feel he owns the movie.
April 10, 2020
Ed Travis
Hollywood Jesus
Mamet has always been concerned with primal masculinity…The test of these men is twofold: can they survive the wilderness, and can they survive each other? [Blu-ray]
May 31, 2010 | Rating: 3/4
Peter Canavese
Groucho Reviews
A pretty routine B-type action movie with some nice touches.
June 27, 2008
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid
A riveting story of survival, and the most rousing and gripping outdoor adventure since the original Jaws. One of 1997’s very best films.
January 25, 2006 | Rating: 4/4
Chuck O’Leary
Fantastica Daily
…not a terrifically memorable piece of filmmaking.
January 8, 2005 | Rating: C+
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Bart the bear steals the show!
January 1, 2005
Staci Layne Wilson
StaciWilson.com…
Plot
Based on the international bestseller by Robert Harris. It is Autumn 1938 and Europe stands on the brink of war. Adolf Hitler is preparing to invade Czechoslovakia and Neville Chamberlain’s government desperately seeks a peaceful solution. With the pressure building, Hugh Legat, British civil servant, and Paul von Hartmann, German diplomat, travel to Munich for the emergency Conference. As negotiations begin, the two old friends find themselves at the center of a web of political subterfuge and very real danger.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The Edge stars Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin in “decent and really good looking” performances, according to one audience review.
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