Acknowledgments include: “This motion picture was made with the help of: The Mayor and Citizens of Cortina D’Ampezzo; S.M.A. #572, by kind permission of the Italian Air Force General Staff; Si Ringrazia Alitalia per la disponsibilita del Nuovo Centro Direzionale”; “Special thanks to Alitalia for the use of their new business center; Cinecitta® Studio Facilities Production Equipment”; “The producers gratefully acknowledge: Complete Film Corporation and Martin Fink; Black Diamond Equipment Ltd.; Mountain Set Construction, Cortina D’Ampezzo, Trento Disaggi, S.A.S.; Pacific Bell; The Rocky Mountain National Parks and Chief Park Ranger Joe Evans; Snowcats supplied by Kassbohrer; Ute Mountain Ute Tribe for allowing filming at the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation; Fiscal representative in Italy—N. Filmaudit Srl”; “The Black Diamond harness used in this motion picture was altered in order to create the accident depicted.”; “Basketball footage courtesy of the NCAA”; and, “Filmed on location in Cortina D’Ampezzo and Rome, Italy and Durango, Colorado.” End credits also state: “Read the Jove book,” referring to the 1993 novelization by Jeff Rovin; “Now available: Cliffhanger video games from Sony Imagesoft for all Nintendo and Sega Systems”; and, “Now listen to the Cinema Sound Audio Cassette.”
       On 10 Sep 1991, DV announced that Carolco Pictures acquired the Cliffhanger screenplay from TriStar Pictures script reader Michael France, who was writing under the pseudonym “Jay Garrick.” According to the 24 Feb 1992 Var, Carolco purchased the property for roughly $900,000. The project re-teamed director Renny Harlin with actor Sylvester Stallone shortly after the two had begun preparations on the hurricane thriller Gale Force, which ultimately was not produced.
       Although a 22 Nov 1991 Screen International brief reported that Sam Neill had been cast as a park ranger opposite Stallone, the role of “Hal Tucker” was played by Michael Rooker. A 26 May 1992 DV news item referred to Donald Sutherland as Stallone’s “co-star,” but his involvement was not mentioned in other contemporary sources and he does not appear in the final film.
       With production already underway, the 3 Jun 1992 HR reported that Carolco secured financing from Credit Lyonnais Bank Nederland N.V., marking the company’s first bank backing deal since it underwent a heavy debt restructuring program in Nov 1991. An additional $16.7 million in equity investments were covered by the Japanese electronics corporation, Pioneer; the French pay-television network, Le Studio Canal+; and the Italian media conglomerate, Rizzoli Coniere della Sera Group. Roughly $28 million was provided by TriStar Pictures in exchange for all theatrical, home video, and television rights in North America, as well as theatrical distribution rights in several key foreign markets, including France, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, and Mexico. As a result, Carolco did not expect to see returns on the picture’s earnings until distributors in those territories recouped all expenses and fees. In the event that the picture earned a profit, Carolco laid claim to 42% of all net revenues, with Pioneer, Canal+, and Rizzoli collecting 24%, 29% and 5%, respectively.
       According to production notes in AMPAS library files, filmmakers scouted mountain ranges in Spain, Austria, New Zealand, France, Germany, Canada, and the U.S. before deciding to shoot in Italy. Photography took place in Cortina, Italy, from 11 Apr—2 Jun 1992. The crew then moved to Cinecitta Studios in Rome until filming was completed on 19 Aug 1992.
       Problems arose throughout production that delayed shooting and caused several million dollars in budget overruns. A 21 Jul 1992 LAT news item stated that Stallone lacerated his hand performing a helicopter-climbing stunt, but quickly returned to work after receiving stitches. The following day, however, HR reported that the wound had become infected, prompting filmmakers to rearrange the schedule so they could continue shooting scenes that did not include Stallone. A few weeks later, the 3 Aug 1992 HR reported that five gunmen stole $180,000 from the film’s Cinecitta production office. A DV article that same day estimated the figure at $250,000. According to the 26 May 1992 DV, equipment was lost after it slid down the Cortina mountainside. On 2 Oct 1992, DV reported that a fire broke out at Boss Films facilities in Venice, CA, during production of the picture’s final visual effects sequence, which featured a model helicopter exploding into a mock foam cliff. The blaze damaged a camera and property totaling $700,000.
       Consequently, the 23 Nov 1992 Var claimed that production costs had well exceeded the original $47 million budget, ultimately totaling $73 million with interest. Although Carolco and The Completion Bond Company, Inc., invested an additional $12 million for unexpected costs, weather problems in Cortina cost the production fourteen days of filming and another $8 million. Credit Lyonnais, which held 91% of all foreign presales, agreed to provide an additional $6 million if their share of incoming returns was raised to 100%. The 16 Dec 1991 Var estimated that below-the-line expenses alone totaled $25 million, while Stallone forfeited $2 million of his $15 million salary in order to complete the film’s key stunt sequence. Although Carolco expected to recoup $5—$7 million from weather insurance, the 17 May 1993 Var claimed that the company had yet to provide proof by submitting weather reports to the insurer, Albert G. Ruben & Company. In a 24 Feb 1993 LADN news item, Harlin denied these reports’ figures, citing a total cost of “much closer to $50 million.”
       Before production began, the 28 Apr 1992 DV reported that co-producer David Rotman filed suit against Carolco when the company, financially strained after settling a copyright dispute over the screenplay, asked Rotman to accept a salary substantially lower than the $400,000 sum that was originally promised. At the end of the year, the 17 Dec 1992 HR stated that the case was settled for an undisclosed amount.
       On 11 Apr 1993, LAT announced that Stallone had won an arbitration hearing to share screenwriting credit with Michael France, since he, as reported by LADN, had rewritten the screenplay eight times. In response, Stallone published a statement in the 25 Apr 1993 LAT, denying personal responsibility for the petition and claiming that the action was brought forth on his behalf by Renny Harlin, producer Alan Marshall, and executive producer Mario Kassar. However, the issue of France’s authorship was contested when independent producers Gene Patrick Hines and James R. Zatalokin approached Carolco with evidence that the film’s story idea had actually come from mountain-climbing expert and author John Long. Hines reportedly hired Long to develop a treatment for a “mountain-climbing thriller,” which was eventually sent to TriStar where France worked as a script reader. Long left the project, at which point France completed several more treatments with Hines before writing the screenplay on his own. Carolco filed a lawsuit seeking the $262,000 that had been paid to France, plus $750,000 in breach of contract and fraud-related damages. Hines and Zatalokin were awarded a $400,000 producer’s fee and co-producing credits. During the arbitration process, the 19 Feb 1993 DV stated that the Writers Guild of America (WGA) sought a federal court order prohibiting distribution of the film until a final story screen credit had been determined. The WGA decided to issue the “rarely used” credit line reading, “Based upon a premise by John Long."
       According to the 17 May 1993 Var, the film premiered 13 May 1993 at the Cannes Film Festival. A 23 May 1993 Var news item reported that a “world premiere” benefit in Mougins, France, raised more than $800,000 for the American Foundation for AIDS Research, and the 14 Jun 1993 issue of People stated that another premiere was held at Mann’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood, CA.
       Cliffhanger was a box-office success, earning $20.4 million during the 1993 Memorial Day weekend, according to the 7 Jun 1993 LAT. More than a year later, the 4 Oct 1994 DV reported a total worldwide gross of over $200 million. In the wake of the film’s success, TriStar considered producing a sequel, while Hines and Zatolokin filed separate lawsuits against Michael France and Carolco Pictures seeking additional compensation and a portion of the film’s profits. The outcome of the lawsuits could not be determined.
       On 14 May 2009, DV announced that Neal Moritz’s Original Films and StudioCanal planned a Cliffhanger “reboot” featuring a team of young mountain climbers. Although filming was scheduled to begin in 2010, production did not move ahead at that time.
      End credits state: “This motion picture is dedicated to the memory of Fadl Kassar and Wolfgang Gullich." Gullich died of injuries from an automobile accident shortly after filming was completed. Fadl Kassar was the father of executive producer Mario Kassar, who died during production.