A Glean movie guide
Against the Elements
Nature is the ultimate adversary.
Gripping tales of human endurance in the world's most unforgiving wildernesses.
Handpicked for this guide
The movie list
- 01
The Revenant
A visceral, masterfully shot account of a frontiersman’s brutal fight for survival in the 1820s.
In the 1820s, a frontiersman, Hugh Glass, sets out on a path of vengeance against those who left him for dead after a bear mauling.
- 02
Into the Wild
A poignant exploration of one man's quest to abandon modern society for the isolation of the Alaskan wilderness.
After graduating from Emory University in 1992, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandons his possessions, gives his entire $24,000 savings account to charity, and hitchhikes to Alaska to live in the wilderness.
- 03
Cast Away
Tom Hanks delivers a definitive performance as a man forced to adapt to life on a deserted island.
Chuck Noland, a top international manager for FedEx, and Kelly, a Ph.D. student, are in love and heading towards marriage. Then Chuck's plane to Malaysia crashes at sea during a terrible storm. He's the only survivor, and finds himself marooned on a desolate island. With no way to escape, Chuck must find ways to survive in his new home.
- 04
127 Hours
A claustrophobic and intense true story of a climber’s desperate struggle to survive in a remote canyon.
The true story of mountain climber Aron Ralston's remarkable adventure to save himself after a fallen boulder crashes on his arm and traps him in an isolated canyon in Utah.
- 05
The Grey
A group of plane crash survivors must battle both the freezing Alaskan elements and a pack of predators.
After their plane crashes in Alaska, six oil workers are led by a skilled huntsman to survival, but a pack of merciless wolves haunts their every step.
- 06
Arctic
A minimalist, powerful film that focuses on the sheer willpower required to survive in the frozen north.
A man stranded in the Arctic is finally about to receive his long awaited rescue. However, after a tragic accident, his opportunity is lost and he must then decide whether to remain in the relative safety of his camp or embark on a deadly trek through the unknown for potential salvation.
- 07
Alive
The harrowing true story of a rugby team forced to make impossible choices after crashing in the Andes.
The amazing true story of a Uruguayan rugby team's plane that crashed in the middle of the Andes mountains, and their immense will to survive and pull through alive, forced to do anything and everything they could to stay alive on meager rations and through the freezing cold.
- 08
The Edge
An intellectual and a photographer must put aside their differences to survive the Alaskan wilderness.
The plane carrying wealthy Charles Morse crashes down in the Alaskan wilderness. Together with the two other passengers, photographer Robert and assistant Stephen, Charles devises a plan to help them reach civilization. However, his biggest obstacle might not be the elements, or even the Kodiak bear stalking them -- it could be Robert, whom Charles suspects is having an affair with his wife and would not mind seeing him dead.
- 09
Wild
A woman finds healing and endurance while hiking the Pacific Crest Trail alone.
A woman with a tragic past decides to start her new life by hiking for one thousand miles on the Pacific Crest Trail.
- 10
Jeremiah Johnson
A classic tale of a man who leaves civilization behind to master the life of a mountain man.
A mountain man who wishes to live the life of a hermit becomes the unwilling object of a long vendetta by Indians when he proves to be the match of their warriors in one-on-one combat on the early frontier.