"Anything to Survive" is a 1990 TV movie based on a true story starring Robert Conrad (from Wild Wild West), Matt LeBlanc (from Friends), Ocean Hellman (from Danger Bay) and Emily Perkins (from "Ginger Snaps) as a father & his kids traveling in a small boat in coastal Alaska. They get shipwrecked on an island in February where it becomes clear one or more of them will have to try to sail to the coast for help. Who will survive, if any?
The real family was stranded for almost a month during a very cold Winter in 1979. The fact that any survived is amazing. The cast is great and so are the authentic locations, but the first half is weak due to some lousily written melodramatics and contrived sequences. For instance, the writers obviously needed an excuse to get one of the characters to traverse a tree trunk over a deep chasm. Why sure! These are the only reason I rate the movie so low because the second half generates some suspense and makes you realize what a miserable situation it was. Imagine a low-budget version of 1997's excellent "The Edge," but with a situation that's twice as bad (and no bear). If they would've worked out the glaring flaws this could've been a quality movie, but it's still worthwhile if you like survival stories and the cast; just be patient and wait around for the second half.
The movie runs 91 minutes and was shot in the Vancouver area.
GRADE: C.
The real family was stranded for almost a month during a very cold Winter in 1979. The fact that any survived is amazing. The cast is great and so are the authentic locations, but the first half is weak due to some lousily written melodramatics and contrived sequences. For instance, the writers obviously needed an excuse to get one of the characters to traverse a tree trunk over a deep chasm. Why sure! These are the only reason I rate the movie so low because the second half generates some suspense and makes you realize what a miserable situation it was. Imagine a low-budget version of 1997's excellent "The Edge," but with a situation that's twice as bad (and no bear). If they would've worked out the glaring flaws this could've been a quality movie, but it's still worthwhile if you like survival stories and the cast; just be patient and wait around for the second half.
The movie runs 91 minutes and was shot in the Vancouver area.
GRADE: C.