127 Hours (2010), directed by the legendary Danny Boyle, is an extreme survival film. It’s one of those, “Oh crap bags, what would I do in that situation?!” type deals.

It tells the true story of Aron Ralston. Whilst out mountaineering on April 26th 2003, he became pinned against a canyon wall. For five long days he mulled over his dilemma, before making a pretty remarkable decision.

127 Hours of Trauma (with a happy ending)

Aron Ralston oversaw this production and had a say in its structure. Other than a few issues at the start of the film, he said of it:

“[It’s] so factually accurate it is as close to a documentary as you can get and still be a drama.”

And that makes watching 127 Hours all the more difficult, knowing it’s pretty much spot on to real life events.

This is not for the squeamish, it’s a realistic gut-wrencher of a movie.

Plot wise, we kick off in April 2003. 27 year old Ralston (James Franco) is a keen canyoneer and an active, sporty guy. He heads out to Utah’s Canyonlands National park expecting to be done in a few hours of revelling, so decides not to tell anyone he’s heading out there.

Once he arrives he has a total blast. Whilst hiking, he meets a couple of young ladies and the trio hangs out.

They later invite him to a party, which he accepts. He then heads off further into the canyons, when all of a sudden this happens.

Ralston’s arm is jammed against a canyon wall by an 800lb (360kg) chockstone boulder.

After the impact, he spends much time trying to shift the boulder by himself. Then he attempts calling for help, before realising the absurdity of his efforts (as he’s in the middle of nowhere).

During his first night he tries to cut the boulder and free himself, before attempting a makeshift winching system.

Eventually, several days later he resorts to drinking his own urine and battling hallucinations brought on by dehydration, fatigue, and stress.

Then he realises there’s only one way out.

That’s right, he has to cut his arm off! All by himself. With no anaesthetic.

Now, we thought about whether to include the full amputation clip in this review. No, is the answer, but you can see his early prep for this in the below scene (there’s no gore in it).

The amputation scene is very realistic and the stuff of nightmares.

It was exactly how it played out with Ralston. He realised his equipment wasn’t enough to just hack through flesh. His bones would be too tough. So he had to actually break the bones in his arm using torque to ensure he could cut through his arm.

You can see in the online comments for these clips so many people are just staggered by how he managed to do this.

Most of us won’t face such extreme survival situations in our lives.

But once instinct kicks in, you’ll likely do whatever it takes. You can see unlikely heroes emerging from stories such as the 1972 Andes Plane Crash (see Stranded) and Touching the Void (1988).

What 127 Hours presents is one of the most gruelling, gut-wrenching scenes in cinematic history. Jaw-dropping, really.

After he’s cut free, Ralston had an eight-mile trek to freedom ahead of him. Then a Dutch family of tourists spotted him and he was whisked off, via helicopter, to safety.

The film works so well as it puts you into that position. You’re up close and personal with Ralston throughout the movie, so you’re vicariously living through his awful experience.

That leads to much wincing as you watch what unfolds.

It was based on Ralston’s 2004 autobiography (Between a Rock and a Hard Place) and, as we mentioned, the man himself was on set to help with direction.

At 94 minutes, it’s a brief time of it. But by bloody heck, you’ll remember this one. A fine film and a fitting tribute to one hell of a determined man.

Aron Ralston’s Notes on Survival

Ralston is now 47 and works as a mechanical engineer and motivational speaker.

Here’s Ralston fighting PTSD in the very canyon where he went through his nightmare. All to relay the feelings he experienced as he cut his arm off his body.

We put a warner here, as his description is graphic and intense. If you’re squeamish, you won’t want to hear what he has to say.

Yeah, that’s a remarkable interview right there.

After he freed himself and returned home, later a team returned to reclaim the rest of his arm. It took 14 men and a full winch system to shift the boulder, after which the arm was cremated and the ashes sent to Ralston.

There’s an extract from Genzaburo Yoshino’s How Do You Live? (1937) that makes us think of Ralston’s astonishing resolve:

“People can forget their fear if a heroic spirit burns within them. Courage grows in a person, higher than any barrier, and then even your precious life becomes less precious. I think that’s the most fantastic thing. People becoming more than people.”

Hopefully, none of you reading this will ever have to cut your arm off.

Yet Ralston’s story inspires all the same. It’s a battle against any obstacle you face in your life. Whether it’s an illness, mental health crisis, recession (another one), divorce, or death of a loved one.

You can turn to these stories and find the inner strength you need to prevail.

The Production of 127 Hours

Despite a lot of press and critical acclaim, the film wasn’t a huge hit. Perhaps due to the grizzly nature of the narrative.

Off its $18 million budget it earned some $60.7 million.

English director Danny Boyle is most famous for 1996’s Trainspotting. He ended up writing the screenplay with Simon Beaufoy.

Filming took place in Utah from March 2010, with post-production commencing three months later in June.

The shoot was arduous, with Boyle and Franco working very long days. The director even hired two cinematographers to work on set to avoid burnout for either.

If you’re wondering how the crew managed the arm amputation scene—three prosthetics were used. They were created using fibreglass and steel bone, with silicone and fibrous muscle and tendons added for effect. Then a translucent silicone layer of skin was added over the top.

It looks very real and James Franco’s performance was superb.

Now, we must also mention Franco was accused of various abuse claims in the #MeToo movement. He’s since admitted to receiving treatment for sex addiction and has gone about “changing who I was (as he explained in a December 2021 interview).

There’s no denying the allegations from 2018 have put a serious dent in his career aspirations. For which he only has himself to blame if all of the allegations are true.

Anyway, we want to end on a positive note about what men can do.

Aaron Ralston being a fine example. The man himself has continued mountaineering and canyoneering, despite his experience. In fact, he set a world record by becoming the first person to ascend Colorado’s fourteeners peaks by himself during winter.

As he put it in his book:

“May your boulders be your blessings. May you be able to embrace them. And may you find what’s extraordinary in yourself.”