The Running Man (1987)

Director:

Paul Michael Glaser

Writers:

Stephen King (novel)
Steven E. de Souza (screenplay)

Release Date:

13 November 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

The year is 2019. The finest men in America don't run for President. They run for their lives.

Plot:

A wrongly-convicted man must try to survive a public execution gauntlet staged as a TV game show.

Plot Keywords:

Police | Prison | Police State | Framed | Massacre

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Arnold Schwarzenegger	...	Ben Richards
Maria Conchita Alonso	...	Amber Mendez
Yaphet Kotto	...	William Laughlin
Jim Brown	...	Fireball
Jesse Ventura	...	Captain Freedom
Erland van Lidth	...	Dynamo (as Erland Van Lidth)
Marvin J. McIntyre	...	Harold Weiss
Gus Rethwisch	...	Buzzsaw (as Bernard Gus Rethwisch)
Professor Toru Tanaka	...	Subzero
Mick Fleetwood	...	Mic
Dweezil Zappa	...	Stevie
Richard Dawson	...	Damon Killian
Karen Leigh Hopkins	...	Brenda
Sven-Ole Thorsen	...	Sven (as Sven Thorsen)
Edward Bunker	...	Lenny (as Eddie Bunker)

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) (re-rating) (2003) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia) (original rating) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Ontario) | Iceland:16 | South Korea:15 | Netherlands:16 | Australia:R | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Ireland:18 | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R (f) | West Germany:18

Filming Locations:

Paramount, California, USA

Company:

Braveworld Productions

Trivia:

Features two actors who went on to be US State Governors. In November 1998, Jesse Ventura was elected Governor of Minnesota; in October 2003, Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected Governor of California.

Goofs:

Continuity: The stain of Subzero's blood on Ben's gamesuit.

Quotes:

Mic: Mr. Spock, you have the com.
Underground Tech: Who is Mr. Spock?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (2004) (VG)

Soundtrack:

Theme from Gilligan's Island

My favorite Arnie movie

THE RUNNING MAN, along with TOTAL RECALL, is my favorite Schwarzenegger movie. No, this isn't 2001, but it's not meant to be. And the acting and script here isn't even up to par with other Arnie movies like PREDATOR or THE TERMINATOR. But I submit that the IDEA behind this movie is one of the coolest ever to hit the big screen. A state-sponsored game show in which criminals convicted of serious crimes compete against "heroic" stalkers armed with all kinds of weapons (the runners are equipped with none) in order to satisfy the public's lust for sport and blood. The ultimate prize for a winning runner: freedom. Or so the rules claim.

For a movie with such over-the-top gory death scenes and cheesy one-liners, it really does have a lot to say. Someone else has pointed out all the commentary on culture/government presented in this movie, so I won't go into it here. Suffice it to say that if you can look beyond the seemingly silly feel of the movie, you will enjoy it very much (especially if you're a big SF fan with a lot of imagination). Like I said, it's not trying to be a serious art film, but it IS surprisingly layered for a 80s shoot-em-up flick. The premise is borrowed from a Richard Bachman (aka Stephen King) short novel, but diverges fairly strongly from its source material, especially towards the end. (The book ends rather nihilistically; needless to say this movie doesn't.) I enjoyed both, but I like the movie better.

My favorite line: "Guess it's caused from steroids."