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I was kind of reminiscing just now about a visit to the northern Italian set of Renny Harlin and Sylvester Stallone's Cliffhanger, for a N.Y. Times profile called "Can Stallone Get A Grip?". I'd just come from the 1992 Cannes Film Festival. The crew was shooting at a very high elevation location in the scenic Dolomite mountains, which surround Cortina d'Ampezzo, a serene little skiing village that hosted the 1956 Winter Olympics and was also visited by For Your Eyes Only, the Roger Moore 007 film that came out in '81.
On or about 5.20.92 in the Italian Dolomites, about 90 minutes north of Venice -- a little below 30 degrees, elevation of 11,000 feet, maybe a bit less.
I've scanned the 8.23.92 Times article that resulted from the Cliffhanger visit --page #1, page #2.
I visited Cortina again about eight years ago, and was very dismayed to learn the town had gone to to hell due to its popularity with the wrong kind of American tourists -- i.e., bearish middle-aged couples from Texas and Kansas and Oklahoma who spoke too loudly in mixed company, wore repulsively-designed ski sweaters and seemed to enjoy dancing to awful-sounding Euro disco in the hotel lounges. I was sitting in a bar listening to this 60-ish bearded guy with a Houston accent talking about how "we really loved goin' to the Loove...the wife went back on her own the second day, all by her lonesome." That's it, I said to myself -- I'm never coming back here.
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on August 24, 2008 at 2:23 PM
comment #1
Mr. Blood Vessel says ...
"...bearish middle-aged couples from Texas and Kansas and you-name-it who spoke too loudly in mixed company and seemed to enjoy dancing to awful-sounding Euro disco in the hotel lounges."
I am so sorry Jeff.
Those people annoy the shit out of me, and I am from Texas.
Posted by Mr. Blood Vessel at August 24, 2008 3:31 PM
comment #2
btwnproductions says ...
Thanks to bwtn productons for reminding me that For Your Eyes Only came out in 1981. -- Jeffrey Wells
Posted by btwnproductions at August 24, 2008 4:34 PM
comment #3
Bilge says ...
I dunno, Jeff. Even for one of your somewhat irrational pet peeves, those people don't sound so bad. Yeah, so they speak loudly and have bad taste in sweaters. But are you seriously going to give them crap for saying they enjoyed the Louvre and that the wife went back a second time? WTF is so wrong with that?
As for the bad 80s/90s Euro-disco: all of Europe was dancing to that shit, not just the American tourists. Believe me. I was there.
Posted by Bilge at August 24, 2008 5:21 PM
comment #4
D.Z. says ...
There was a rumour a while back that Sly was doin' a Cliffhanger 2.
Posted by D.Z. at August 24, 2008 5:28 PM
comment #5
rockne says ...
Man, I love look-back articles like this, when the internet wasn't there and you could look forward to read in print what didn't exist a thousand other places and bits and pieces of a whole story. Please post more of these...cool to hit back on the memories.
I didn't remember how much I liked "Oscar" or "Tango and Cash" or "Cobra" or "Over the Top". I have a special place in my heart for Over the Top...Golan and Globus are sorely missed.
Sweet...look forward to the next one...
Posted by rockne at August 24, 2008 5:36 PM
comment #6
mutinyco says ...
I think there already was a sequel: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0135201/
Posted by mutinyco at August 24, 2008 5:46 PM
comment #7
dangovich says ...
How did Sly shoot that guy when he was trapped under that frozen river? Can you really fire a bullet under water and up through a sheet of ice?
Posted by dangovich at August 24, 2008 6:11 PM
comment #8
MickTravis says ...
Dangovich: As long as the powder stays dry, the gun will fire and a 9 mm should punch through ice that's thin enough to see through. Now actually aiming and hitting a target, I dunno ....
Jesus, Peter Gallagher looks like he's aged 20, 25 years since "The O.C." And that coat ... honey .... Oh, wait, it's a young picture of Wells.
Posted by MickTravis at August 24, 2008 6:40 PM
comment #9
LDKA0186 says ...
Is that really Wells in that pic? 'Cause if so, methinks he's has a bit of work done between then and now--Wells on "O'Reilly" looks nothing like the Wells in this pic, regardless of the sixteen year separation between images.
Posted by LDKA0186 at August 24, 2008 8:09 PM
comment #10
berg says ...
if I hear someone talking in a HOUSTON accent, that's when I get all Cliffhanger on their ass ... first I impale them on a stalactite, then I impale them on a stalagmite ...
Posted by berg at August 24, 2008 8:11 PM
comment #11
AuggieBenDoggie says ...
I don't have a problem with goofy sweaters, but the current uniform for the American abroad of polo shirt, khaki shorts, sneakers, and some form of baseball cap drives me insane.
And just for the record, for sheer obnoxiousness while abroad, both the Austrailans and the Germans have us beat by a country mile.
Posted by AuggieBenDoggie at August 25, 2008 6:52 AM
comment #12
Yves says ...
I miss Carolco Pictures. I enjoyed the films they produced in my early adulthood. They were always unique. First Blood, Angel Heart, DeepStar Six, King of New York, Terminator 2, Total Recall, The Doors, Basic Instinct, Showgirls, LA Story, Jacob's Ladder; all pictures that made an impact, for better or worse. Unfortunately, some were risky enough that American audiences didn't respond very well. I think part of their bankruptcy is due to a move towards making bigger budget Hollywood-style movies.
Posted by Yves at August 25, 2008 10:28 AM
comment #13
frankbooth says ...
D.Z., why don't you take a wire hanger and bend it into --
-- wait, you're on topic. SHIT! HE'S ON TOPIC!!!
Great. The ground is rumbling, frogs are falling from the sky and four scary guys on horseback just galloped by my window. It was nice knowing all of you.
Posted by frankbooth at August 25, 2008 5:08 PM
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