Alive (1993)

This is a solid movie based on a true story. On Friday, October 13, 1972 the Uruguayan rugby team Old Christians was flying to Chile for a game and crashed into the snowy Andes mountain range at an altitude of nearly 12,000 feet. Roberto Canessa and Gustavo Zerbino, both medical students, are the first to address the injured. A few of the players plug the gaping hole at the end of the fuselage with luggage to keep the wind out. About two weeks after the crash, an avalanche hits the plane and kills several more passengers. After running out of food, they decide that the only way to survive is to consume the frozen flesh of their dead companions.

The film is based on the 1974 book Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors written by British author Piers Read. The narrator in the film is John Malkovich. One of the survivors served as the technical advisor for the film. 34 years after the rescue, Vince Rause and crash survivor Nando Parrado co-wrote the book Miracle in the Andes: 72 Days on the Mountain and My Long Trek Home. Although the crash happened on Friday the 13th, in Spanish-speaking countries Tuesday the 13th is considered the day of bad luck. The location of the crash site is in the Argentine municipality of Malargüe.