James Franco reveals preparation for 127 Hours

127 Hours star James Franco had the perfect preparation for his part as real life mountain climber Aron Ralston. The actor watched recordings of the man who was forced to cut off his own arm to survive after a canyon accident in 2003.

"Aron gave me a very big gift. He showed me the real videos that he made. I got to see Aron in the real spot and that's actor gold," said the star, 32.

"To just be able to see that....I'm getting to see the real behaviour right there and so that, that was a real kind of guide for the behaviour and state-of-mind that he was in," he added.

127 Hours is directed by Danny Boyle, the Oscar winning maker of Slumdog Millionaire. Boyle tried to recreate some of the claustrophic environment Ralston experienced on the shoot.

"The canyon walls didn't float out, they were rigid, absolutely rigid. He couldn't see anything other than what was above him and we just put a cameraman in there with him and they went for it," said Boyle.

127 Hours is generating a strong buzz and received a standing ovation when it was screened at the Toronto Film Festival this year. It is released in the UK in January.