kalkan4
Having this on real, old fashioned, vintage VHS, I plugged it in tonight for a blast from the past. Through all the cheese, and swan music, I still found a good story with lots of beautiful chillingly cold scenery. And even the music sounded surprisingly good played through my old Dolby receiver. One thing I didn't like about this film is how they portrayed them getting stuck in the first place. Here's a military soldier suddenly plowing into a thick snow covered road, as if he had no warning, while playing some kind of word game with his wife next to him in the car. And then trying to go further up the snow covered road instead of backing out. There must have been more to the real story.I felt the final recovery efforts, and the people involved, were glanced over at the end. I would have liked to see much more of these people and their efforts. For example, the ham radio operator who made the initial call for help after Jim found him.Overall, not a horrible movie. And fun to see Neil Patrick Harris just after his Doogie Howser days.
vitachiel
OK, the scenery is good and the freezing process is pretty realistic (even though no steam is coming from their mouths). But how do you treat your 5 months old baby in the deadly cold? Not by constantly keeping all the windows of the car open with the baby in it. Not by bumping him against any thing on the ground while carrying him in a sack and not by leaving this sack open all the time. Well, maybe a few minor details...It's weird to see all the characters keep being friendly to each other under the worst circumstances. Man, this is a big crisis, and nobody loses his or her nerves just for once?? I know, this is just an other one of those God-inspired loving family TV films, but more down to earth dialogues would've made it a bit better.
PeachHamBeach
I love survival stories!!! I forgot about this above average TV movie for a long time and then it was on Lifetime the other day and I still really enjoy this one!!! A young California couple, Jim and Jennifer Stolpa, played by Neil Patrick Harris and Kelli Williams attempt to pay their respects to a grandmother who passed away in Idaho. They try to go up I 80 (the same route the famous Donner Party traveled!!!) but the highway is closed because of heavy snow. Their reluctance to wait (they want so badly to get to the funeral and lend moral support to Jim's mother)is a potentially fatal decision. They drive up to Redding and take highway 299 east to Cedarville and into desolate Northern Nevada. They find out too late that the snow is worse up there and they end up getting trapped in the snow miles from any civilization. Scary!!! To make matters worse they have a 5 month old infant and they both feel terrible for getting him into a deadly situation. They try to wait it out in their pickup, but when not one other car drives down the road they're on, they make another desperate decision: to walk 20 miles east to a highway they saw on their map. If they can just reach that highway, they can get help.They take a wrong turn on a forked road and end up worse off than ever, and the cold is killing them and the baby. Kelli Williams was awesome when she was crying over Jim having to leave her and the baby behind in the cave!!! It just broke my heart!!! Neil Patrick Harris was great too. His character Jim had to walk some 20 miles back to the truck and then another 50 to Cedarville!!! When it's do or die, human beings are capable of incredible things!!! Like I said, I love survival movies and books, especially when the characters face harsh weather and LONG WALKS!!! FOLLOW THE RIVER and LEAVE NO TRACE are among some of my favorite stories, so SNOWBOUND is right up my alley!!! For a TV movie, it's very well done and I could watch it for many years to come!!!
Kesa-dk
I have just seen this movie on Danish national television (prime time) for the second time. The story of the Stolpas is really worth watching. I still can´t understand that they really went through all that... but I will not tell any details if some of you haven´t seen the film yet. The actors were just great, especially Kelli Williams. Check out the movie next time it´s showing on your television or rent or bye it to day.
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