Survive! | Überleben

The famous and shocking original classic about the struggle for survival of a young rugby team after the crash of the Fuerza Aérea-Uruguaya flight 571 in 1972 is available for the first time in Germany on DVD and Blu-Ray. The film “Survival!”  (German title: “Überleben“) is based on the factual novel by Piers Paul Read, who wrote the book in collaboration with the survivors.

UCM.ONE releases the film on the label M-Square Classics in the completely re-scanned HD-version and the 22-minute longer original version in SD as a limited edition Mediabook with DVD and Blu-ray plus a 16-page booklet. At the same time, the cinema version will also be available on VoD portals and via streaming services.

Summary

In October 1972, a plane crashes over the Andes with a young rugby team from Uruguay. In the crash, some of the passengers already lose their lives, as do the pilots of the aircraft. Although the search for the wreckage of the plane, lying at 3,800 meters, is underway, the hope of the survivors vanishes day by day. When food gets scarce and an avalanche buries the wreck, they face a difficult decision: should they eat the frozen bodies of the dead in order to survive?

About Hugo Stiglitz

Hugo Stiglitz López was born in Mexico City on 28 August 2040 and became known in Mexico for his roles in horror and catastrophic films in the 1970s and 1980s. He has worked extensively with Mexican directors Renè Cardona Sr. and René Cardona Jr., and his filmography now includes over 250 films, most of which were direct-to-video releases from the late 1990s. In addition to acting, Stiglitz has directed eight films, has written six scripts and produced ten films. His most recent role was in Adrian Zurita’s “Un Retrato de Familia“, which is currently in post-production. In his film “Inglourious Basterds” (2009), director Quentin Tarantino honored the veteran by naming a deserted German sergeant, played by Til Schweiger, after him.

The human being, a survivor

What incredible achievements man is capable of in the struggle for survival, what sacrifices he is willing to make, what limits he crosses – countless examples of this can be found in literature and film, which again and again transport us into speechless reverence and astonishment. One of the most famous survival stories, at least in its literary version, is the fate of the Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk who survived four years and four months on a lonely island. His story served Daniel Defoe as a model for his world-famous “Robinson Crusoe”. Selkirk survived an extremely long time on the island, but he had sufficient water, plenty of food and various items of equipment at his disposal.

It was often worse for those who found themselves at the mercy of the relentless desert of the ocean and had to live through and do the indescribable to save themselves. One example is the demise of the whaler Essex, which was rammed and sunk by a sperm whale in 1820. The crew members, who survived the attack of the animal, split into three whaling boats and rescued from the sinking ship everything that was useful, including about 780 liters of drinking water and about 280 kilograms of biscuits. For almost three months the crew drifted on the Pacific, and after food and drinking water had run out and the first crew members had fallen victim to diseases and the sun, the sailors had no choice but to resort to the most drastic means: cannibalism. Altogether the later eight survivors ate seven of their comerades to stay alive.