IMDb > The Running Man (1987)
The Running Man
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The Running Man (1987) More at IMDbPro »

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The Running Man (1987) -- HV post
The Running Man (1987) -- MattTrailer.com - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
6.4/10   32,731 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?

Down 10% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.

Writers:

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

Contact:

View company contact information for The Running Man on IMDbPro.

Release Date:

13 November 1987 (USA) more

Genre:

Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller more

Tagline:

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

Plot:

A wrongly-convicted man must try to survive a public execution gauntlet staged as a TV game show. full summary | add synopsis

Plot Keywords:

more

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations more

NewsDesk:
(27 articles)

The Sunday Movie Quotes Quiz – The Answers
 (From HeyUGuys. 9 November 2009, 9:38 AM, PST)

Fight Scene From ‘The Tournament’ Kicks Ass For The Lord
 (From FilmSchoolRejects. 18 October 2009, 5:06 PM, PDT)

User Comments:

My favorite Arnie movie more (164 total)


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)
more
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Additional Details

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1 more

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


Fun Stuff

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. more

Goofs:

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

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

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

Soundtrack:

Theme from Gilligan's Island more


FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful.
My favorite Arnie movie, 28 January 2000
8/10
Author: obiwan-27 (lckrause@gmail.com) from New England

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."

Was the above comment useful to you?
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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Running Man (1987)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Chico's death scene is hillarious Breakwood83
100 things we learned from The Running Man.... mikepcls
Dynamo plot hole greenec3-1
The titles!! What font were they done in?!? JohnnyRizr
Helicopter filiming DVDboyUK
Today i really practiced my english skills Breakwood83
more

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