Top Survival Films (All Is Lost Feature)

Academy Award Winner Robert Redford stars in All Is Lost, an open-water thriller about one man’s battle for survival against the elements after his sailboat is destroyed at sea. In anticipation of the highly anticipated film, we are taking a look back at the top survival film in cinematic history.

10. Buried (2010)

A movie with, as it seems, a non-existent plot, only actor, and only filmed in one small enclosed location, Buried, had all the elements of a disastrous film. However, the film blew the critics away. Buried, follows the story about an Iraq-based American civilian truck driven Paul Conroy (played by Ryan Reynolds) who is attacked and buried alive in a wooden coffin with only lighter, flask, flashlight knife, glow sticks, pen and a mobile phone. Even though the film was made on an extremely low-budget, it achieved surprising success. Buried has an 87% rating on the Tomoatometer on Rotten Tomatoes and although overlooked by critics, it was nominated for awards, including the MTV ‘Best Scared-As-Shit Performance’.

9. 127 Hours (2010)

Based on the real life story of Aron Ralston’s trip to the chasm that would claim his right arm, James Franco stars in Danny Boyle’s biographic survival drama, 127 Hours. The film follows the mountain climber as he becomes trapped by a boulder in an isolated slot canyon in Blue John Canyon, and his survival against all offs. The film was received well by critics and audiences and it was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Franco.

8. Life of Pi (2012)

The award winning American-Indian-British film, Life of Pi, depicts a young man who survives a disaster at sea and is hurled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. Based on the popular novel of the same name, the film was showered in critical recognition. Life of Pi earned over $609 million worldwide and received eleven Academy Award nominations, winning four including, Best Director.

7. The Descent (2005)

Written and directed by Neil Marshal, The Descent follows six women who enter an unmapped cave system soon to become trapped and hunted by predators. The film received critical acclaim, based on 184 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes; The Descent received an 84% “Certified Fresh” overall approval rating. It won the British Independent Film Awards for Best Director and Best Technical Achievement and placed at number one on the 2006 Bravo’s ‘13 Even Scarier Movie Moments’. In 2009, a follow-up film, The Descent Part 2, was release and depicts events that take place two days after the end of the original film.

6. The Grey (2011)

Based on the short story “Ghost Walker” by Ian Mackenzie Jeffers comes the American adventure drama film, The Grey. Starring Liam Neeson, the film depicts six oil-men stranded in Alaska after a plane crash and their survival against the merciless cold weather and a pack of grey wolves. The film received positive reviews and did well at the box office, grossing more than $77 million.

5. Alive (1993)

Alive, the 1993 American biographical survival drama film is based upon Piers Paul Read’s 1974 book, Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors. The film follows a Uruguayan ruby team involved in the crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, which crashed into the Andes Mountains on October 18, 1972. The rescuers had to survive in harsh conditions for more than two months after the crash.

4. I Am Legend (2007)

Directed by Francis Lawrence and starring Will Smith comes the 2007 American post-apocalyptic science fiction horror film, I Am Legend. The story depicts a virus created for the sole purpose of battling cancer, offering hope to terminal patients. However, years later, the virus made with the intention to save lives, mutates into a plague that kills most humans on earth or turns them into monsters. Robert Neville (Smith) a scientist immune to the virus and his German Sheppard dog are the sole survivors in New York City and they struggle to survive and find a cure the widespread epidemic. The film was well received, as it became the seventh-highest grossing film of 2007, earning $584 million worldwide.

3. Cast Away (2000)

From director Robert Zemeckis comes the archetypal survival film, Cast Away. Embodying all the essential ingredients for an award winning survival film Cast Away, follows the story of a FedEx executive stranded on an island forced to transform himself physically and emotionally to survive a crash landing. Cast Away was written by William Broyles and Robert Zemeckis, both craft a truly entertaining picture about alienation and companionship. Tom Hanks is a genuine revelation in the main role and does an amazing job of leading a movie where his main co-star is a volleyball. The film was well received with audience as well as critics as it won two Oscar nominations and one Golden Globe win for Hanks winning Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama.

2. Apollo 13 (1995)

With no elements to combat, no gravity, or human life form, three astronauts must work together to devise a strategy to return to Earth after their spacecraft undergoes massive internal damage. Directed by Ron Howard starring Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon and Bill Paxton, the film Apollo 13 was a massive box office hit. The movie was nominated for nine Academy Awards, winning Best Film Editing and Best Sound. In total, the film grossed over $355 million worldwide during its theatrical release and remains a classic survival film.

1. All Is Lost (2013)

This December, the highly anticipated Robert Redford film All Is Lost will be released. The open-water thriller depicts one man’s battle for survival against the elements after his sailboat is destroyed at sea. Using only a sextant and nautical maps to chart his progress, he is forced to rely on ocean currents to carry him into a shipping lane in hopes of hailing a passing vessel. But with the sun unrelenting, sharks circling and his meager supplies dwindling, the ever-resourceful sailor soon finds himself staring his mortality in the face. Written and directed by Academy Award nominee J.C. Chandor (Margin Call) with a musical score by Alex Ebert (Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros), the film is a gripping, visceral and powerfully moving;bound to stay on the ‘Top Survival Films’ lists for decades.

All is Lost will sail into the safer shores of UK cinemas on 26th December.