The best survival movies

Survival films never lose their relevance, as they tell the stories of people who demonstrate incredible resilience and resourcefulness in desperate situations. Such stories are gripping and often maintain intrigue until the very end. Our selection is dedicated to such films.

Chuck Noland is an analyst at the international logistics company FedEx. Constant business trips around the world keep his busy schedule busy, leaving little time for his personal life. Even during the Christmas holidays, Chuck has to leave his fiancée and urgently travel to Malaysia. En route to their destination, the cargo plane encounters a violent storm and crashes over the Pacific Ocean. Chuck is the only survivor. Now he must survive alone on a desert island, hoping for rescue.

Elderly billionaire intellectual Charles Morse, his young wife, supermodel Mickey, and a team of photographers led by Robert "Bob" Green and his assistant, Steven, arrive in Alaska at a picturesque location where Mickey is scheduled to have a photo shoot. But it suddenly turns out that a replacement for the other participant in the session needs to be found quickly. Robert wants a local Native American hunter to pose with Mickey and persuades Charles to follow him to the lake. The plane carrying Charles, Robert, and Stephen crashes, killing the pilot.

Finding themselves in the wilderness, hunted by a huge Kodiak brown bear, the heroes must join forces to survive. But Charles is convinced his wife is cheating on him with Robert.

A group of experienced cavers is exploring the largest cave network on the planet. Frank Maguire is leading this massive expedition. He and his team of pioneers have set up camp on one of the cave's lower levels and are preparing to dive into uncharted territory. Looking for thrills, the businessman financing the expedition, Carl Harley, arrives at the site with his girlfriend, Victoria Elaine, as well as Frank's seventeen-year-old son, Josh.

While exploring a new area, an incident occurs in which Frank's partner dies. Meanwhile, the ground team reports an approaching storm. Some time later, the elements catch the heroes off guard as they attempt to ascend. The cave is flooded heavily. The boulders are shifting, blocking the path to the surface. Now the team must venture into the unexplored part of the caves to find a way out.

The film is based on true events described in Yossi Ghinsberg's book, "Lost in the Jungle: A Heartbreaking Story of Adventure and Survival."

The plot recounts events that took place in the early 1980s. After serving in the Israeli army, Yossi decided to go on an adventure to Bolivia. He was intrigued by guide Karl Ruchprechter's idea of ​​a journey to a lost Indian village. Two more tourists, teacher Markus Stamm and photographer Kevin Gale, joined the route through the dense Amazon jungle.

The journey through the jungle takes several days, which is very difficult for Markus. He and Karl decide to return to the city, while Yossi and Kevin remain and continue their journey on the raft.

Finding themselves in a section of the river with a strong current, the travelers lose control of the raft and it crashes on the rocks. Kevin manages to swim to shore, but Yossi is carried further downstream. Waking up in the middle of the jungle without equipment, food, or special training, the hero tries to find shelter and survive.

The film's screenplay is based on Michael Punke's novel of the same name, which tells a true story. The film takes place in the Wild West during the American-Arikara conflict of 1823. Hunter Hugh Glass leads traders and fur trappers through uncharted territory. The few survivors, led by Glass, flee down the Missouri River. However, he decides to abandon the boat and continue on foot toward Fort Kiowa.

En route, Glass is seriously wounded by a bear. Deciding that Hugh is beyond help, the crew decides to abandon him and move on immediately, without waiting for another attack from the Arikara. Glass's half-Indian son, Hawk, and another volunteer remain behind to bury Hugh after he dies. Hunter John Fitzgerald joins them for a reward.

As soon as the main group leaves, Fitzgerald betrays everyone, kills Hawk, and buries Glass alive. However, Glass manages to escape. The hero survives the winter in these harsh lands and follows the trail of the killer to take revenge.

In 2035, the Ares 3 crew of six astronauts was sent to Mars. The expedition's goal was to explore a region called Acidalia Planitia. However, due to an impending sandstorm that could damage the ascent vehicle, the mission was forced to be abandoned early. An emergency evacuation begins, during which botanist and engineer Mark Watney damages his spacesuit and biomonitor. A storm carries it away, and the team abandons the planet, believing him dead.

Upon regaining consciousness, Watney discovers that communication with the ship and Earth is impossible, as the storm has damaged the antenna. Fortunately, the habitat module is still operational. Since the mission ended earlier than expected, the base still has some resources left. However, Mark must hold out for four Earth years before Ares 4 arrives.

The plot is based on the true story of Aron Lee Ralston, described in his book "127 Hours: Between a Rock and a Hard Place."

An experienced and self-confident climber, Aron, without telling anyone, set out alone to conquer a canyon in Utah. In Canyonlands National Park, he meets two lost hikers, Christy and Megan. Aron accompanies the girls for a while, then continues the hike through Bluejohn Canyon alone. While climbing in a crevasse, Aron is knocked down by a huge boulder, which traps his right arm. He will remain trapped in this death trap for 127 hours.

This film is also based on a book source: "Alive: The Story of the Andean Survivors" by Nando Parrado and Piers Paul Read.

On October 13, 1972, a plane carrying the Old Christians youth rugby team departed Montevideo, Uruguay, for Santiago, Chile. Unfortunately, the plane never reached its destination. Caught in a powerful cyclone, it crashed on a plateau near an extinct volcano in the Andes. More than half the passengers survived the disaster. But the crash site was cut off from the outside world. Supplies quickly ran out, forcing the crew to resort to desperate measures to survive.

Hunter John Ottway works for an oil company. His job is to protect workers on an Alaskan drilling rig from attacks by wild animals. When his shift ends, it's time to return to Anchorage. But the plane carrying the protagonist crashes in a dense, snowy forest.

Several people, including John, survived the crash, but some were seriously injured. The situation is exacerbated by the presence of a wolf den nearby. To escape, the survivors will have to fight their way through a pack of these hungry predators.

An incident in low-Earth orbit results in satellite debris destroying the shuttle carrying astronauts servicing the Hubble Space Telescope. All crew members are killed, with the exception of mission director Matt Kowalski and medical engineering specialist Dr. Ryan Stone. Moving in a group, the astronauts must reach the ISS, but this is not so easy in conditions of a lack of oxygen and fuel.

Despite their cult status, some of the films on this list received rather mixed reviews at launch. What do you think? Which films on this list are underrated or perhaps overrated? Share your thoughts in the comments.