Survival film

The survival film is a film genre in which one or more characters make an effort at physical survival.[1] The genre focuses on characters' life-or-death struggles, often set against perilous circumstances. Survival films explore the human will to live, individual motivations, and personal desires, prompting audiences to reflect on broader aspects of humanity and personal values. They balance realism and believability with slow-burning suspense to maintain a sense of urgency. While some survival films may have epic scopes and lengthy running times, their effectiveness lies in creating an atmosphere where every moment poses a passive threat to the protagonist's existence.[2]

The genre often overlaps with other film genres. It is a subgenre of the adventure film, along with swashbuckler films, war films, and safari films.[1] Survival films are darker than most other adventure films and usually focus their storyline on a single character, usually the protagonist. The films tend to be "located primarily in a contemporary context", so film audiences are familiar with the setting, and the characters' activities are less romanticized.[3]

In a 1988 book, Thomas Sobchack compared the survival film to romance film: "They both emphasize the heroic triumph over obstacles which threaten social order and the reaffirmation of predominant social values such as fair play and respect for merit and cooperation."[3] The author said survival films "identify and isolate a microcosm of society", such as the surviving group from the plane crash in The Flight of the Phoenix (1965) or those on the overturned ocean liner in The Poseidon Adventure (1972). Sobchack explained, "Most of the time in a survival film is spent depicting the process whereby the group, cut off from the securities and certainties of the ordinary support networks of civilized life, forms itself into a functioning, effective unit." The group often varies in types of characters, sometimes to the point of caricature. While women have historically been stereotyped in such films, they "often play a decisive role in the success or failure of the group."[4]

List of films
Film Year Ref.
12 Years a Slave2013[2]
The 332015[5]
127 Hours2010[6]
Abandoned 2015 [7]
Adrift2018[8]
Against the Sun2014[9]
Aguirre, the Wrath of God1972[10]
Alive1993[11]
All Is Lost2013[8]
Apollo 131995[12]
Arctic2018[13]
Back from Eternity1956[14]
Battle Royale2000[15]
The Blue Lagoon1980[8]
Buried2010[6]
Captain Phillips2013[16]
Cast Away2000[6]
Cliffhanger1993[17]
Crawl2019[8]
A Cry in the Wild1990[17]
Dances with Wolves1990[17]
Dante's Peak1997[17]
The Day After Tomorrow2004[17]
The Deep2012[18]
Deep Rising1998[19]
Deliverance1972[11]
The Edge1997[11]
The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition2000[17]
Enemy Mine1985[20]
Escape from Alcatraz1979[21]
Everest2015[22]
First Blood1982[8]
Five Came Back1939[14]
The Flight of the Phoenix1965[4]
Friend of the World 2020 [23]
Frozen2010[24]
Gerald's Game2017[2]
Gravity2013[16]
Green Room2015[2]
The Grey2011[25]
A Hijacking2012[12]
I Am Legend2007[8]
The Impossible2012[2]
In the Heart of the Sea2015[26]
Inferno1953[14]
Into the Wild2007[6]
Iron Will1994[17]
Jaws1975[17]
Jeremiah Johnson1971[27]
Jungle2017[28]
Jurassic Park1993[17]
Kon-Tiki2012[8]
Life of Pi2012[29]
Lifeboat1944[30]
Lone Survivor2013[16]
Lord of the Flies1963[14]
Marooned1969[30]
The Martian2015[8]
Man in the Wilderness1971[30]
Meek's Cutoff2010[27]
My Side of the Mountain1969[14]
The Naked Prey1965[30]
No Blade of Grass1970[14]
Nobody Wants the Night2015[31]
North Face2008[32]
The Omega Man1971[30]
On the Beach1959[30]
Open Water2003[6]
Oxygen2021[33]
Panic in Year Zero!1962[30]
Panic Room2002[2]
The Perfect Storm2000[17]
Planet of the Apes1968[30]
The Poseidon Adventure1972[4]
Predator1987[17]
Quest for Fire1981[6]
A Quiet Place2018[2]
Rabbit-Proof Fence2002[6]
Red Dawn1984[17]
Rescue Dawn2006[6]
Resident Evil2002[6]
The Revenant2015[8]
The Road2009[12]
Robinson Crusoe1954[14]
Robinson Crusoe1997[34]
Robinson Crusoe on Mars1965[35]
Room2015[2]
Sanctum2011[36]
Sands of the Kalahari1965[30]
The Savage Is Loose1974[30]
The Secret Land1948[14]
Seven Waves Away1957[12]
The Shallows2016[8]
Sisu2022[37]
The Snow Walker2003[17]
Southern Comfort1981[27]
Soylent Green1973[30]
Stranded: I've Come from a Plane that Crashed in the Mountains2007[12]
Survival Quest1989[11]
Swiss Family Robinson1960[25]
Teenage Caveman1958[30]
Titanic1997[2]
Touching the Void2003[6]
Tremors1990[17]
The Ultimate Warrior1975[38]
Vertical Limit2000[17]
The War Game1965[30]
Walkabout1971[12]
The Way Back2010[6]
White Water Summer1987[17]
Wild2014[2]
The World, the Flesh and the Devil1959[30]
Z.P.G.1972[30]

See also

References
  1. Sobchack 1988, p. 12
  2. Foreman, Alison (August 24, 2023). "The Best Survival Movies, from 'Cast Away' and 'The Revenant' to 'The Martian' and 'Alive'". IndieWire. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
  3. Sobchack 1988, p. 14
  4. Sobchack 1988, p. 15
  5. Long, Tom (November 13, 2015). "Review: 'The 33,' true story of struggle for survival". The Detroit News. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  6. Staff (January 23, 2012). "The 10 Best Survival Movies". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on February 8, 2015.
  7. "Rose Noelle story to be retold in two-part film". Stuff. 2015-08-22. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  8. Lascala, Marisa (April 20, 2020). "The 20 Best Survival Movies to Show You What Grit Truly Is". Good Housekeeping. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  9. Laskin, Nicholas (November 18, 2014). "Watch: Trailer For WWII Survival Film 'Against The Sun' Starring Garret Dillahunt, Tom Felton, Jake Abel". The Playlist. Indiewire. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  10. https://www.allmovie.com/movie/aguirre-the-wrath-of-god-vm1053470
  11. Ferguson, Lee (November 12, 2010). "127 Hours and five other great survival movies". cbc.ca. CBC News. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
  12. Staff (October 17, 2013). "20 Survival Films That Will Take You Into The Abyss". The Playlist. Indiewire. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  13. Barraclough, Leo (May 22, 2017). "Mads Mikkelsen on Surviving the Polar Wilderness in 'Arctic'". Variety. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  14. Fristoe, Roger (December 22, 2017). "Survival Movies: Fridays in January". tcm.com. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  15. Crandol, Michael (2021). Ghost in the Well: The Hidden History of Horror Films in Japan. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 3. ISBN 978-1-350-17874-8.
  16. McGrath, Charles (November 1, 2013). "Tales of Danger for You to Survive". The New York Times. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  17. Robinson, Alex; Farabee, Kelsey (November 22, 2010). "The Best Survival Movies Ever". Outdoor Life. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  18. Kaufman, Amy (September 3, 2015). "Fall Movie Guide: Making 'Everest' was a tall order for filmmakers". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  19. Carl Fisher (20 July 2020). "Horror Movie Review: Deep Rising (1998)".
  20. https://www.allmovie.com/movie/enemy-mine-vm425195?fbclid=IwAR0tCr_j_8jiNUcMVgD6Rq08UqY1DuKmmm17Co8mpEp4gBXYERM1QcELwSM
  21. Vanhala, Helena (2011). "International Terrorism and the Commercial Hollywood Film Industry". The Depiction of Terrorists in Blockbuster Hollywood Films, 1980–2001: An Analytical Study. McFarland. p. 105. ISBN 978-0-7864-3662-0.
  22. Adams, Sam (September 2, 2015). "First Reviews of 'Everest': Stunning Spectacle, So-So Drama". Criticwire. Indiewire. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  23. Eddy, Cheryl (2023-02-17). "Apocalyptic Horror Friend of the World Asks: What's the Price of Survival?". Gizmodo. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
  24. Wood, Jennifer M. (February 9, 2010). "Adam Green Reaches New Heights With Frozen". MovieMaker. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  25. Guzman, Rafer (January 27, 2012). "Survivor films: Which live, which die – and why?". The Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on February 16, 2013. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
  26. Chang, Justin (December 2, 2015). "Film Review: 'In the Heart of the Sea'". Variety. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  27. Mertes, Micah (November 1, 2013). "The 10 best survival movies". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  28. Abele, Robert (October 19, 2017). "Review: Daniel Radcliffe fights terror and reality in problematic survival story 'Jungle'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  29. Holden, Ed (December 19, 2012). "Life of Pi review". MSN Movies. MSN. Archived from the original on May 20, 2013. Retrieved July 2, 2013.
  30. Yacowar, Maurice (2003). "The Bug in the Rug". In Grant, Barry Keith (ed.). Film Genre Reader III. University of Texas Press. pp. 281–282. ISBN 978-0-292-70185-4.
  31. Roddy, Michael (February 5, 2015). "Arctic survival film, from female perspective, kicks off Berlin fest". reuters.com. Reuters. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  32. Holden, Stephen (January 28, 2010). "'Because It's There' Is the Least of Their Reasons". The New York Times. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  33. Tartaglione, Nancy (May 12, 2021). "'Oxygen': Alexandre Aja & Mélanie Laurent On Why Making Netflix's Confined Thriller Was A Breath Of Fresh Air". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  34. Brosnan, Pierce. "Robinson Crusoe". Internet Archive. Archived from the original on 3 May 2019. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  35. Leskosky, Richard J. (February 2, 2014). "A new film genre: Solitary survival". The News-Gazette. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  36. Burr, Ty (February 4, 2011). "Sanctum". The Boston Globe.
  37. Baughan, Nikki (September 10, 2022). "'Sisu': Toronto Review". Screen Daily. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  38. Shapiro, Jerome F. (2001). Atomic Bomb Cinema: The Apocalyptic Imagination on Film. Routledge. p. 160. ISBN 978-0-415-93660-6.

Bibliography
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