Hollywood Survival School

Examining Which Films Focus on Practical Skills and Which Put Dramatic Effect Ahead of Reality

- Kevin Estela

When Hollywood isn't recycling and "reimagining" movies from yesteryear with unlikely cast lead actors/actresses like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as everyone, they occasionally get something right in the survival genre. Hollywood films have incredible reach and one blockbuster has the potential to create a whole generation of new outdoorsmen from its viewers.

For all the good influence movies can have on inspiring the audience, there's also plenty of bad as the collective efforts of writers, directors, and technical advisors frequently fail to hit their mark with respect to accuracy, safety, or plausibility. We've taken six Hollywood survival films and broken them down for their solid survival practices as well as the scenes that make us cringe.

The Right

The Edge (1997)

"What one man can do, another man can do!" That line has resonated with us ever since we watched Anthony Hopkins (millionaire Charles Morse) and Alec Baldwin (photographer Robert Green) trek through the Alaskan Wilderness after their bush plane crashed in this badass movie. We have to watch it all the way through even if it comes on at 1 a.m. when we're flipping through the channels. The Edge does it right, well mostly right, and we were terrified when the dark ominous music played as Bart the Bear showed up to eat the photography assistant character and let the audience know the two stars would be fighting off a "man killer" as Charles put it.