The Edge

The Edge (1997)

7 corrected entries

(17 votes)

Corrected entry: After Bob and Charlie kill the bear, they are shown wearing clothing made from the bearskin. How did they cure the skin so fast? A raw hide would not work for garments. Tanning a bear hide of that size would take about a fortnight even if they did have the necessary chemicals and equipment, which they show no sign of having.

Correction: I do extensive wilderness survival. Everything they needed to tan the bear hide is present. A process known as brain tanning could be used and completed within a few days. Sharp stone cold be used to skin the animal and flesh the hide. The brain of the animal boiled and broken down then soaked into the hide would provide the chemicals needed.

Corrected entry: The whole film is stupid. If they had stayed where they were, in an open area, to be seen easily, and with, say, 3/4 fires burning, to keep the bears (and other creatures) away and as signal fires, and near the water, so they can drink it and, with all of the above, they would have been found in 1/2 days. But then they wouldn't have a film, would they?

kh1616

Correction: The whole point of moving was to find a more likely search area. As it was, they were 20 miles away from where anyone thought they'd be. After that, they were being chased by the bear and did what they had to do to survive long enough to be found, regardless of where it took them.

Corrected entry: In the first scene they get off the jet and into that old red plane. Anthony Hopkins character is talking to someone, and we hear the engine of the red plane starting to turn over, but if you look closely for a split second over Anthony Hopkins left shoulder the prop of the plane is not even moving. Now I know nothing about planes but I do know that the prop is attached to the crankshaft which should turn when the engine is turned over to start. (00:03:15)

FordGuy

Correction: That's a De Havilland Otter floatplane, and what you hear is the magneto-fired starter motor turning over. The engine hasn't fired and the propellor is still, as it should be.

Corrected entry: Near the end of the movie, when Bob falls down the dead fall, he is lying at the bottom in agony. Yet in the next scene, Charles/Hopkins plonks Bob down on the table in the lodge. Now that deadfall was some 8ft deep. How did old timer Hopkins lift a full grown man out of the pit? Bob's leg was clearly useless having had a giant spike through it. Did Hopkins have a ladder in his back pocket?

Correction: There was a rope ladder behind Hopkins. Anyone trying to trap an animal would also have to go down to get it out.

Corrected entry: In the scene where they try to hit the bear with a swinging rock, where does the rope come from?

Correction: The rope was made from strips of bark.

Corrected entry: Before the plane crashes into the lake, a bird hits the windshield and shatters the glass. When the plane does crash and sink into the lake, the windshield is seen underwater in perfect condition.

Correction: Only the pilot's windsheild is blown out from the bird strike, not the passenger's side, which is the only side shown once the plane is underwater.

Correction: I have watched this scene frame-by-frame, and there is nothing in Baldwin's ear. The light reflecting on the surface gives it an rather uneven look, but there is nothing there except his skin.

raywest

Correction: It looks like wax in his ear.

Factual error: Charles and Robert manage to outrun a charging Alaskan brown bear over a course of several hundred meters, leading it into a trap. This is absurd. The absolute maximum running speed of a human being is about 27 kilometers an hour, and that is for an appropriately dressed, fit athlete over a very short course on flat ground. They are in a rock strewn stream and are wearing heavy winter clothes. A fit, healthy, active male Alaskan brown bear like the one chasing them could hit 45 kmh in that environment without popping a sweat and could keep that up for a kilometer or more. When enraged or charging prey - as this one was - they have been clocked at 56kmh. This is nothing to do with an adrenaline rush - that will not enable Charles or Robert to exceed their body's maximum running speed by 200%.

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Chosen answer: Although Bob intended to kill Charles (to obtain his wife and wealth), they unexpectedly were struggling for survival in the wilderness. Working together increases their chances of rescue, and Bob cannot survive without Charles' help. He therefore saves him from the rapids. Plot-wise, this makes Charles think that his suspicions about Bob may be wrong. Also, Bob is not a born killer, and may be hesitant about actually committing murder, particularly someone he had admired and respected. Bob likely planned to kill Charles when rescue was imminent and then claim Charles died accidentally. Regarding the title, because the movie is not based on a book of that name, the filmmakers probably chose it for its marketing value because it sounded dramatic. This is a suspense/adventure movie, and "edge" can have multiple meanings, such as being "on the edge," as to whether or not Bob will carry out his plan. It can also refer to the razor-sharp edge of a weapon, an "edgy" emotional situation, and so on.

raywest

Answer: It is called the edge because Charles had a mental edge on Bob.

Answer: Two reasons for the title: They had an edge on the bear with their human intelligence, and they utilized the edge on that knife with it. Two edges.

roy sandefur

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