James Franco wears a Suunto Vector

Danny Boyle made 127 Hours (2010) out of almost nothing: a man, a slot canyon, and a boulder. James Franco plays Aron Ralston, who went canyoneering alone in Utah in 2003, told no one where he was going, and ended up with his arm pinned by a fallen rock for five days. He freed himself by amputating his own forearm with a dull multi-tool, then rappelled down and walked out. Franco, on screen almost entirely alone, was nominated for an Oscar. Simon Beaufoy co-wrote the script.

The watch is a yellow Suunto Vector, and for once the brand said so itself. When the film came out, Suunto's own blog noted that the Vector "plays a very important role in the dramatic movie, documenting every minute, second and hour of the whole ordeal." The Vector is a wristop computer more than a watch: a round case carrying an altimeter, a barometer, and a compass, the sort of instrument Suunto has built since it started out in Finland in 1936 making liquid-filled compasses. In the still here it reads exactly as a Vector should, a chunky yellow bezel around a round digital face, worn loose over the wrist as Ralston heads into the canyon.

It is worth keeping one thing straight. It is not actually settled whether the real Ralston wore this exact watch through those five days. Suunto confirmed the Vector was in the movie, not that it was on his arm under the rock. The watch on screen is certain. The biography behind it is a separate question.