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Well it's the year 2008, a whopping fifteen years since Cliffhanger was first released at the cinema, and I've only just managed to get hold of the full, unedited version of the film on Region 2 DVD.

It isn't my fault, though: The BBFC, as ever, deemed the action too violent for British audiences, and heavily cut the movie upon its first release on VHS and DVD (a notably scene that was butchered was Hal's kicking at the edge of the mountain). This "real" Cliffhanger may only have been missing two mins extra swearing and violence, but the film feels much more complete this time around. The only thing I don't understand is the rating, which has been lowered from an 18 to a 15, even though there's more action and more violence. I just don't get the logic of some companies, but I'm not complaining, mind.

Anyway, 1993 was a good year for Stallone: Cliffhanger  marked his successful comeback as an action star after his previous two stabs at comedy -- Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot and Oscar -- flopped dismally with audiences. Immediately from the fantastic heart-pounding opening scene, you can see that Sly wasn't playing games, either.

This wasn't what you would call a "superhero" role for Sly: He played a vulnerable character that actually made mistakes -- a far cry from his days as Rambo in the '80s. Finnish-born director Renny Harlin speaks more about this in the commentary of the deleted scenes on the DVD, which show Sly leaping off of a huge cliff and climbing an iced waterfall unassisted -- both these scenes were considered "too absurd" and were cut from the finished version of the film.

If you haven't seen it by now, plot wise Stallone plays Gabe Walker, a mountain climber and rescue worker living in guilt after a failed rescue attempt of his friend's (Michael Rooker) girl. The two are forced to work together on bad terms when a distress call comes through on the radio. The call turns out to be a fake, and the two become embroiled in a failed heist, led by Eric Qualen (John Lithgow, 3rd Rock from the Sun) and FBI agent-gone-bad Richard Travers (Rex Linn), as they search for their lost cases of money on the mountainside.

Cliffhanger becomes a cat-and-mouse thriller all the way. There are some great action set pieces as the trained mountaineers battle with the group of well-armed badasses amidst some beautifully-chilling scenery (one of my favourites is a brutal scrap involving Sly and a bad guy as they descend to the mountain's edge). The cinematography is real nice, giving the impression that the actors are really up in the mountains for the duration of film; Harlin also keeps things moving at a breathless pace, generating a considerable amount of suspense throughout the two hour running time.

In regards to the supporting characters, John Lithgow is surprisingly effective as the main villain -- nasty, showing no remorse to anyone -- and the inner circle conflict that he has with his co-baddy Travers (Rex Linn) is hilarious. Seeing Lithgow match off with Stallone in a fist fight towards the climax, however, is a bit too ridiculous (isn't he like 97 or something?); in an otherwise suspenseful action drama, this is a bit of a letdown.

Cliffhanger, overall, was a return to form for Stallone, though. He may have appeared "less invincible" than he did in his previous roles, but he still found the time to flex his muscles and take out an entire plane of hijackers, which undoubtedly was enough to keep fans of Sly and action movies in general happy at the time of its release. I'd say it's definitely worth forking out a few quid for this full, unedited version of the film, whether or not you have it in your collection already.

(Other notable extras on the 2008 DVD release of Cliffhanger include: Making Of, Cast Interviews, Storyboard Comparisons, Special Effects Featurettes, and Trailers.)

(C) Andy Carrington, 2008.