The true story of mountain climber Aron Ralston’s remarkable adventure to save himself after a fallen boulder crashes on his arm and traps him in an isolated canyon in Utah.
Credits: TheMovieDb.
Film Cast:
- Aron Ralston: James Franco
- Kristi Moore: Kate Mara
- Megan McBride: Amber Tamblyn
- Rana: Clémence Poésy
- Sonja Ralston: Lizzy Caplan
- Donna Ralston: Kate Burton
- Sonja Age 10: Bailee Michelle Johnson
- Larry Ralston: Treat Williams
- Aaron’s Friend: Sean Bott
- Aaron Age 5: Koleman Stinger
- Aaron age 15: Parker Hadley
- Monique Meijer: Rebecca C. Olson
- Blue John: Fenton Quinn
- Brian: John Lawrence
- Eric Meijer: Pieter Jan Brugge
- Dan: Norman Lehnert
- Boy on Sofa: Peter Joshua Hull
- Zach: Darin Southam
- Helicopter Pilot: Terry S. Mercer
- Patron (uncredited): Elizabeth Hales
- Friend of Aaron (uncredited): Brad Johnson
- Media person / Basketball Game Fan (uncredited): Samantha Marsden
- Best Man (uncredited): Kyle Paul
- Basketball Fan (uncredited): Kelsie Mathews
- Himself (uncredited): Aron Ralston
- Basketball Fan (uncredited): Johnny Ahn
- Aron’s Friend (uncredited): Robert Bear
- Reporter (uncredited): Lonzo Liggins
- Bridesmaid (uncredited): Priscilla Poland
Film Crew:
- Executive Producer: Tessa Ross
- Editor: Jon Harris
- Director of Photography: Anthony Dod Mantle
- Producer: Danny Boyle
- Casting: Donna Isaacson
- Original Music Composer: A. R. Rahman
- Executive Producer: François Ivernel
- Supervising Sound Editor: Glenn Freemantle
- Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Richard Pryke
- Special Effects Coordinator: William Aldridge
- Executive Producer: Cameron McCracken
- Foley: Nicolas Becker
- Director of Photography: Enrique Chediak
- Executive Producer: Bernard Bellew
- Executive Producer: John J. Kelly
- Digital Imaging Technician: Stefan Ciupek
- Producer: Christian Colson
- Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy
- Producer: John Smithson
- Prosthetics: Gary Archer
- Underwater Camera: Peter Zuccarini
- Pilot: Cliff Fleming
- Assistant Costume Designer: Emma Potter
- Costume Design: Suttirat Anne Larlarb
- Second Assistant Camera: David Erickson
- Thanks: Miles Levy
- Producer: Tom Heller
- Novel: Aron Ralston
- Executive Producer: Lisa Maria Falcone
- Executive Producer: Diarmuid McKeown
- Producer: Gareth Smith
- Gaffer: Thomas Neivelt
- First Assistant Camera: Zep Christensen
- Second Assistant Director: Heather Toone
- Gaffer: Justin Andrews
- Assistant Costume Designer: Elisabeth Vastola
- Art Direction: Christopher R. DeMuri
- Set Decoration: Les Boothe
- Set Decoration: Cynthia A. Neibaur
- Makeup Department Head: Gina Homan
- Makeup Department Head: Stephanie Scott
- Costume Supervisor: Jacqueline Newell
- Music Editor: John Warhurst
- Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Niv Adiri
- Post Production Supervisor: Jeanette Haley
- Stunt Coordinator: Patrick J. Statham
- Construction Coordinator: Brent Astrope
- Production Coordinator: Craig Ayers
- Dolby Consultant: James Shannon
- Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Ian Tapp
- Visual Effects Producer: David Sanger
- Property Master: Scott Arneman
- Sculptor: Sam Demke
- Leadman: Michael T. Higgins
- Art Department Coordinator: Hollie Howton
- Greensman: Scott Ruley
- Dialogue Editor: Emilie O’Connor
- Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Alfonso Calvo
- Visual Effects Producer: Tim Caplan
- Visual Effects Editor: James Winnifrith
- Visual Effects Supervisor: Adam Gascoyne
- Camera Operator: Babak Mansouri
- Still Photographer: Chuck Zlotnick
- Set Costumer: Michelle l Boucher
- Transportation Coordinator: Britani Alexander
- Studio Teachers: Linda DeVilliers
- Script Supervisor: Kristin Ludwin
- Script Supervisor: Tracey Merkle
- Location Manager: Dennis Light
- Digital Imaging Technician: Chris Cavanaugh
- Aerial Director of Photography: David B. Nowell
- Digital Intermediate Producer: Todd Kleparski
- Digital Intermediate Producer: Matthew Bristowe
- Special Effects Supervisor: Blair Foord
- Storyboard Artist: Brendan Houghton
- Online Editor: Dominic Thomson
- Set Dresser: Scott Hinckley
- Draughtsman: Linden Snyder
- Hairstylist: Lora Laing
- Special Effects: Peter A. Chevako
- First Assistant Camera: Dominic Napolitano
- Camera Operator: Michael B. Call
- Electrician: Judd Hillman
- Title Designer: Matt Curtis
- Digital Intermediate: Matt Adams
- Second Assistant Camera: Joel Remke
- Hair Department Head: Jenna Kilgrow
- Sound Mixer: Douglas Cameron
- First Assistant Director: David Ticotin
- Second Assistant Camera: Kurtis Burr
- First Assistant “A” Camera: Nino Neuboeck
- Animation: Ivor Middleton
- Sound Mixer: Steven C. Laneri
- Special Effects Technician: Michael Roundy
- Special Effects Technician: Ryan Roundy
- Production Secretary: Jennifer Chapman
- Grip: Craig Sullivan
- First Assistant Camera: Gary Johnson
- Contact Lens Technician: Sean Kenney
- Storyboard Artist: Janet Kusnick
- Key Grip: Alan E. Stoddard
- Lighting Technician: Peter Weiland
- Digital Intermediate Editor: Richard Etchells
- Makeup Artist: Octaviano de Jesus Cesar Junior
- Production Supervisor: Duff Rich
- Second Assistant Camera: Nathan Armstrong
- Makeup Artist: Christianna Mower
- Construction Foreman: Layne Robinson
- Set Dresser: Gabriel Jessop
- Set Dresser: Matthew Webb
- Best Boy Electric: Adam Smith
- Best Boy Electric: David Stoddard
- Best Boy Grip: Glade Quinn
- Best Boy Grip: Jason Walser
- Digital Imaging Technician: Michael Mansouri
- Electrician: Josh Lee
- Electrician: John Raymer
- Electrician: Charles Unice
- Grip: Andrew Hicks
- Grip: Tracy Keele
- Key Grip: Daniel Courtright
- Lighting Technician: Scott Goslin
- Second Assistant Camera: Simon Miya
- Casting Associate: Jason Montgomery
- Extras Casting: Katie Jensen
- Extras Casting Assistant: Jong Yun
- Local Casting: Rie Attridge
- Location Casting: Tori Silvera Bush
- Online Editor: James Cundill
- First Assistant Director: J. Scott Smiley
- Animal Wrangler: Jeremy Westerman
- Production Secretary: Meg Halsey
Movie Reviews:
- Andres Gomez: Franco provides a nice performance but the movie is not that hooking and Boyle repeats his visual techniques once and again.
- DoryDarko: 127 Hours depicts the true story of a guy named Aron Ralston, who went canyoneering in Utah in April 2003. Through a pretty serious event of misfortune, he gets trapped in a canyon by a boulder that pulverises his arm against the canyon wall; literally between a rock and a hard place. And, the desperate measures he resorts to in order to free himself. From a Hollywood perspective, this sounds like it could be turned into a wildly spectacular action film with a bold, heroic protagonist, hysterical relatives and “Where is my son? PLEASE FIND MY SON!!” (*intense sobbing*) – type of dialogue. Yes? No. Boy, am I glad this was directed by Danny Boyle… The man we all know for his raw, authentic film style. Instead of aforementioned blockbuster drama, he opted for an incredibly realistic, documentary-like film. 127 Hours starts off with no form of introduction whatsoever. We do not get to ‘meet’ Aron or any of his relatives. However, any such introduction quickly proves to be redundant as, over the fast-paced opening credits, we see Aron enthusiastically preparing for and taking off on a hiking trip (ignoring his mother’s phone call in the process…), and there you have it: this is a ‘too cool for school’, overconfident adrenaline junkie, and that’s all we need to know. This overconfidence gradually proves to be the source of pretty much all his problems, as it is later on revealed that Aron neglected to tell anyone where he was going… Oops.
Like I said, this film looks and feels very much like a documentary, like National Geographic made a big budget reconstruction of the event. The film makers’ choice to cast James Franco was a very good one. He is simply amazing. Mind you – he is alone in this film for about 95% of the time. This requires an actor with the guts and skill to carry an entire film, and I must admit, Franco probably wouldn’t have been my first choice. But – to my pleasant surprise – he pulls it off, and is actually very worthy indeed of his Oscar nomination. He displays an impressively wide range of emotions, all equally convincing. Panic, disbelief, despair, delusion, hurt and hallucinations. But even confidence, coolness, exhilaration and rationality; it’s all there. Aron Ralston, as a character, starts off as a seemingly quite cocky, confident, care-free dude who just wants to enjoy himself and do what he loves most: exploring nature. Without telling his family. But as the film progresses, and Aron realises just what kind of mess he’s in, you can slowly see a change occurring in him. And the fact that, after a while you greatly start to sympathize with him and even admire him, despite his obvious stupidity before, is all due to James Franco. He has really proved himself to be a very fine character actor with the capability of moving his audience. There is one scene in particular which I found really captivating. During the ‘Tuesday’ scene, Aron records himself on his camcorder, acting like he’s on a talk show, answering his own questions. This scene is top-notch, acting wise, and this is where you really start to feel for him.
Throughout Aron’s ordeal, we are shown various flashbacks of his childhood, friends, family and loves. This might seem like a cliché, but honestly, what else are you supposed to think about when you’re stuck in a canyon for five days? Some people have suggested they think Aron to be a superficial person for not having some kind of spiritual enlightenment while he was trapped, but honestly, I don’t think it’s anybody’s business to judge what Aron thought and felt throughout his ordeal. We all deal with hardship in our own personal way, and talking to God is not necessarily an option for everyone. Some of us simply draw support from family and love and good memories. I know that’s what I’d do.
Now, back to technical talk. The sense of realism of 127 Hours comes greatly from the grainy, unsteady camera work and graphic depiction of everything. Which is a note that comes with a warning: this film is not for the faint of heart. What surprised me is that the scene where Aron ‘releases’ himself is visually very graphic. I won’t go into detail, but you really shouldn’t watch this if you don’t have the stomach.
There were only a few minor things which bothered me during this film. It has a few moments which, inevitably are a teeny bit boring. But then again, even that seems to fit into the story, so perhaps it makes sense. And I personally think the music wasn’t always very well chosen, some of it didn’t really fit somehow. But none of this is really any bother.
127 Hours may not be as profound as Into the Wild, but it’s certainly a very well-crafted film which deserves respect on its own merits. Also, the photography of the film is really beautiful and some of the scenery of the canyons is truly breathtaking. I would recommend it for the pretty pictures alone. Anyhow, if you’re interested in a really good episode of “I shouldn’t be alive”, this is the film for you.
_(September 2011)_ - Thomaxz: It was the borring movie I ever watch.
And I will not recomend anyone go see this.
- Gimly: I can certainly appreciate the lengths that those involved in _127 Hours_ went to. Being that the movie is 90% bottle-episode, wherein the lead doesn’t even have the luxury of something as simple as being allowed to pace about, it’s not unfair to say that _127 Hours_ doesn’t have a whole lot going on. To try and inject a bit of life into it, director Danny Boyle throws in a number of unique filming styles, and I’ll absolutely give props to him for that outside-the-box sort of thinking, but it doesn’t actually change the fact that there’s still not a whole lot going on. Franco is not a bad actor, but it’s a big ask of someone to run something like this solo, and it ends up being a bigger one than he can fully manage. _127 Hours_ is not something I ever found fully engaging. Oft-intense, and kind of gross, but not fully engaging.
_Final rating:★★½ – Had a lot that appealed to me, didn’t quite work as a whole._