The Running Man (1987)

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

Director:

Paul Michael Glaser

Writers:

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

Stars:

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Conchita Alonso, Yaphet Kotto

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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)

Storyline

Set in a totalitarian society. Ben Richards is a cop who was blamed for a massacre which wasn't his fault. He would be sent to prison and breaks out with some other inmates. He tries to escape but the woman whom he dragged into his plan turns him over to the authorities. Damon Killian, who is the host of THE RUNNING MAN a game show wherein convicted felons are given the chance to run to freedom but have to elude the stalkers; men who hunt them down and kill them in gruesome manners. When he learns that Richards has been caught, he wants him to be the show's next contestant. After being brought to Killian, Richards turns him down, Killian then reveals to Richards that his two friends who were in prison with him and who broke out with him have been caught, so unless Richards does the show they will. But on the night of the show, Richards is set to go but Killian also reveals that Richards two friends are going with him. Richards tells Killian that he will be back. But first !

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Plot Keywords:

police | prison | police state | framed | massacre | 

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Taglines:

A game nobody survives. But Schwarzenegger has yet to play.

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Genres:

Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 November 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

El sobreviviente

Filming Locations:

Belmont Tunnel - 1304 West 2nd Street, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$27,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$38,122,105 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Braveworld Productions, Home Box Office (HBO), Keith Barish Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Four actors from the Predator franchise appear in this film. Arnold Schwarzenegger Jesse Ventura and Sven-Ole Thorsen all appear in Predator, while Maria Conchita Alonso appears in Predator 2.

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Goofs

During the prison breakout near the start of the film, when a guard is opening fire, one of the "dead" bodies lying on the truck next to him flinches in response to the shots fired.

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Quotes

Dynamo: Thought it was pretty funny out there in the zone? What's the matter now bitch, why aren't you laughing?
Amber: Because there's nothing funny about a dickless moron with a battery up his ass.

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Crazy Credits

Announcer's voiceover: "The Running Man has been brought to you by: Breakaway Paramilitary Uniforms, Orthopure Pure Procreation Pills, and Cadre Cola - it hits the spot. Promotional considerations paid for by Kelton Flame Throwers, Wainwright Electrical Launchers, and Hammond & Gage Chain Saws. Damon Killian's wardrobe by Chez Antoine, 19th century craftsmanship for the 21st century man. Cadre trooper and studio guard's sidearms provided by Colchester, the pistol of patriots. Remember, tickets for the ICS studio tour are always available for class A citizens in good standing. If you'd like to be a contestant on The Running Man, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to ICS Talent Hunt, care of your local affiliate, and then go out and do something really despicable! I'm Phil Hilton. Good night and take care!"

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Connections

Referenced in Awkward.: A Little Less Conversation (2013)

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Soundtracks

"THE RIDE OF THE VALKYRIES"
(from THE VALKYRIES)
Music by Richard Wagner

User Reviews

He Said He'd Be Back..."The Running Man" is Fun No Matter How You Slice and Dice it...

"The Running Man" is based on a story by Richard Bachman, a.k.a. Stephen King writing under pseudonym.

It takes place in the near future, where everything is run by the media and the government. Kind of like right now. In the future, there isn't much selection on television. All there is is "The Running Man"--hosted by Damon Killian (Richard Dawson, host of "Family Fortune" in real life)--a show that features convicts, or "runners" being chased by madmen, or "stalkers." It's a bit like a futuristic gladiator sport. No one ever, ever wins the show. But Schwarzenegger has yet to play. Arnold Schwarzenegger plays Ben Richards, also known as The Butcher of Bakersfield, for firing upon a crowd of humans in a food strike. Only one problem. He's been framed--he never shot anyone. After Arnie escapes from jail, Damon Killian wants his hands on him for the show--so they hunt him down and bring him in. Damon offers Ben a deal--if he goes on the show, he'll let his friends from jail go free. But if he doesn't...he puts his friends on. So Richards agrees to play the game, only to find that Damon has put his friends-from-jail in the show anyway. Right before being launched in the arena, Ben Richards says to Damon, "Hey, Damon. I'll be back." There is a pause. "Only in a rerun," Damon says. Yeah, right.

This movie is about as action-packed and adrenaline-punched an action movie you're going to see in a while. We see an excuse for Schwarzenegger being thrown into an arena with killers, where he must use his brains, strategy, and most of all muscles, to kill the stalkers. But the thing is, the excuse for throwing Schwarzenegger in the arena is a good one. They didn't completely ignore the plot; they don't even throw him in the arena until at least a half hour into the film. They set up the plot first, which is nice.

Arnold proves his acting talent is not just in his muscles once again. Too many people make fun of Schwarzenegger's acting skills, but to tell you the truth, I prefer him over Bruce Willis and Sylvester Stallone any day. Bruce and Sly are mumblers, in my opinion. Anyway, I like Arnold in this movie, because unlike in "The Terminator" where he is an indestructible cyborg, he is a vincible human with emotions in this film. We see a different side to Schwarzenegger, and it's pretty nice.

Richard Dawson is surprisingly good as Damon. I love his charisma on screen. Of course he's good at playing a gameshow host--he himself was one--but he also has a very good acting talent. Check out the scene where he offers Arnold a deal for going on the show. Look how smug he is in that scene, and how well he delivers his lines. He envelops his character very well. An underrated actor if ever I saw one. He comes off slightly creepy and slightly likable.

This movie is good fun no matter how you slice and dice it. I've often noticed it has a bit of a weird vibe to it, but then I realized that's just the sci-fi/futuristic vibe of the film. I've felt it before when watching sci-fi films. There's something about them. When I watch a film, or a certain genre, I get different vibes. Sci-fi gives me a weird vibe that is undescribable. This film gives that vibe to me. It sounds weird, but I think a lot of people get "vibes" and don't realize it.

I recently viewed this movie twice in less than a day; once at night and once in the morning. It just goes to show how easy it is to watch. It is strictly a fun, action film with lots of imagination and charisma. Easy to watch with a high re-watch factor.

What would you rather do with 90 minutes of your life on a Friday night then watch Arnold Schwarzenegger get to knock some skulls together in a gladiator arena? Exactly.

4/5 stars -