Holding Out for a Hero: 10 Great Rescue Movies

When it’s clear that help may not be on the way, you’re put in the position of going it alone.

NOTABLE CONTENDERS: 127 Hours, Alive, Daylight, Buried, The Poseidon Adventure

WINNER: Cast Away

After filming Tom Hanks as a slightly pudgy FedEx supervisor, production was halted for about a year to let him lose 50 pounds (and grow out his hair). Of course, the film gets much of its unexpected poignancy from Wilson—an inanimate “friend” that gave Hanks’ character something to talk to.