Lone Survivor

"Based on true acts of courage"

2013 2h 1m EN

👍

7.4

SOLID

★7.4TMDB · 4,902

WarActionDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Four Navy SEALs on a covert mission to neutralize a high-level Taliban operative must make an impossible moral decision in the mountains of Afghanistan that leads them into an enemy ambush. As they confront unthinkable odds, the SEALs must find reserves of strength and resilience to fight to the finish.

“Based on true acts of courage”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

Amazon Prime VideoSubscription

Amazon Prime Video with AdsSubscription

Starz Apple TV channelSubscription

Amazon VideoRent

Apple TV StoreRent

Google Play MoviesRent

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Mark Wahlberg
Petty Officer First Class Marcus Luttrell
Taylor Kitsch
Lieutenant Michael "Mike" Murphy
Emile Hirsch
Petty Officer Second Class Danny Dietz
Ben Foster
Petty Officer Second Class Matthew "Axe" Axelson
Eric Bana
Lieutenant Commander Erik Kristensen
Ali Suliman
Mohammad Gulab
Alexander Ludwig
Petty Officer Second Class Shane Patton
Jerry Ferrara
Hasslert

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Peter Berg
Writers: Peter Berg, Trevor Goring
Languages: English, Pushto
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 3.7× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 13 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Pushto.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CAST

Did you know

203+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Peter Berg, shot by Tobias A. Schliessler. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Steve Jablonsky. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Colby Parker, Jr. shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Mark Wahlberg and Taylor Kitsch and Emile Hirsch carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Peter Berg directs. Tobias A. Schliessler behind the camera. Steve Jablonsky scores. Colby Parker, Jr. cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Pushto.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 3.7× over at the box office.
2Released 13 years ago.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Pushto.
4203+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
5Directed by Peter Berg, shot by Tobias A. Schliessler. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Steve Jablonsky. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Colby Parker, Jr. shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Mark Wahlberg and Taylor Kitsch and Emile Hirsch carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Based on true acts of courage".
10IMDB entry: tt1091191 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 12 themes, including "based on novel or book", "fight", "afghanistan", "biography".
12Released under 10 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Tobias A. Schliessler
Original score: Steve Jablonsky
Editing: Colby Parker, Jr.
Production design: Tom Duffield
Costume design: Amy Stofsky
Makeup / hair: Howard Berger
VFX supervisor: Grady Cofer
Sound: Beau Borders
Stunt coordinator: Kevin Scott
Runtime: 121 min · 2h 1m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $40,000,000
Box office: $149,295,601
Return: 373% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Lone Survivor (2013)

Awards

National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Peter Berg

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2026-07-20
★ 7/10
With the wounds to the USA still smarting after the 9/11 atrocity, their intelligence services learn of the whereabouts of a senior Taliban leader. He is ensconced deep in the Hindu Kush in a remote village where any attempt at extraction is going to prove exceptionally difficult. Undeterred, though, a team of navy SEALS is assembled under the command of "Lt Murphy" (Taylor Kitsch) and supported by "Danny" (Emile Hirsch); "Matt" (Ben Foster) and his number two "Luttrell" (Mark Wahlberg). Getting near to their target doesn't prove so very difficult, but when they encounter a trio of goatherders they face quite a dilemma. Some suggest that they detain them until the job is done, but "Murphy" concludes that the law abiding thing to do is to let them go about their business, abort the mission and return home declaring it compromised. En route to their extraction point, though, they find themselves surrounded by a substantial and well armed group of soldiers and are soon fighting for their lives. What now ensues sees a kind of guerilla warfare as they must strive for a vantage point that will enable their sat phone to get a clear signal and summon help. Meantime, their base is concerned that they haven't heard from them and are desperate to set off in search - but a lack of escorting Apache helicopters means that their options are limited. With the odds looking increasingly against the trapped soldiers and with their numbers beginning to dwindle, salvation looks less and less likely until assistance comes from a most unlikely and courageous source. This has something of the grittiness and plausibility of a "Paths of Glory" (1957) to it as it mixes effectively the tensions of close combat warfare with more of the psychological impact on those fighting. The intimate action photography moves along almost as quickly as the gunfire and this also depicts a series of scenarios that illustrate the general availability to the Taliban of weaponry that very much kept them in the fight against those theoretically superior forces. It's really the last fifteen minutes, though, that differentiates this from so many similarly structured films and these remind us that the Afghan people are not all zealots and that their ancient laws of hospitality and humanity are every bit as much worth fighting for for them as basic principles of decency and courage. To be honest, I wasn't bowled over by any of the acting here, but maybe that's the testament to the tightly-knit ensemble effort that really did prove the inter-dependence of these men, and by the conclusion there is jeopardy abounding as to whether or not any sort of rescue - for anyone - might occur. This is a tense and authentic-looking film that's well worth a watch.

Production companies