127 Hours is a 2010 biographical psychological survival drama film co-written, produced, and directed by Danny Boyle.

The film mainly stars James Franco, with Kate Mara, Amber Tamblyn, and Clémence Poésy appearing in brief supporting roles.

The film, based on Ralston's memoir Between a Rock and a Hard Place (2004), was written by Boyle and Simon Beaufoy, co-produced by Christian Colson and John Smithson, and scored by A. R. Rahman.

The film's title refers to the period of non-stop activity from when Ralston was stranded in Bluejohn Canyon once his arm was trapped underneath a boulder, to when he was rescued.

[4] In April 2003, avid mountaineer Aron Ralston goes hiking at Utah's Canyonlands National Park without telling anyone.

He shortly begins recording a video diary using his camcorder to maintain morale as he chips away parts of the boulder with a pocket knife.

Throughout the days, Aron becomes desperate and depressed and begins hallucinating about escape, relationships, and past experiences, including his family and his former girlfriend, Rana.

Aron then wraps the stump to prevent exsanguination and takes a picture of the boulder before rappelling down a 65 ft (20 m) rockface.

Despite these changes, with which he was initially uncomfortable, Ralston says the rest of the film is "so factually accurate it is as close to a documentary as you can get and still be a drama.

"[6] Other changes from the book include omissions of descriptions of Ralston's efforts after freeing himself: his bike was chained to itself, not to the tree as depicted at the beginning of the movie; he had to decide where to seek the fastest medical attention; he took a photo of himself at the small brown pool from which he really did drink; he had his first bowel movement of the week; he abandoned many of the items he had kept throughout his confinement; he got lost in a side canyon; and he met a family from the Netherlands (not an American family), Eric, Monique, and Andy Meijer, who already knew that he was probably lost in the area, thanks to the searches of his parents and the authorities.

[16] Boyle made the very unusual move of hiring two cinematographers to work first unit, Anthony Dod Mantle and Enrique Chediak, each of whom shot 50 percent of the film by trading off with each other.

The Huffington Post, in November 2010, wrote that it "has gotten audiences fainting, vomiting and worse in numbers unseen since The Exorcist – and the movie has not even hit theaters yet.

[26] Similar reactions were reported at the Toronto International Film Festival[27] and a special screening hosted by Pixar and Lee Unkrich, director of Toy Story 3 (2010) and Coco (2017).

The site's critical consensus reads, "As gut-wrenching as it is inspirational, 127 Hours unites one of Danny Boyle's most beautifully exuberant directorial efforts with a terrific performance from James Franco.

"[33] Roger Ebert also awarded the film four stars out of four and wrote that "127 Hours is like an exercise in conquering the unfilmable".

[34][35] Gazelle Emami wrote for The Huffington Post, describing Franco's performance as "mesmerizing" and "incredible.

[37] 127 Hours was nominated for three Golden Globe Awards, including Best Actor, Best Screenplay and Best Original Score.