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Runaway Train

  • 19851985
  • RR
  • 1h 51m
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
29K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Rebecca De Mornay, Eric Roberts, and Jon Voight in Runaway Train (1985)
Theatrical Trailer from MGM/UA
Play trailer2:37
1 Video
99+ Photos
  • Action
  • Adventure
  • Drama

Two escaped convicts and a female railway worker find themselves trapped on a speeding train with no brakes and nobody driving.Two escaped convicts and a female railway worker find themselves trapped on a speeding train with no brakes and nobody driving.Two escaped convicts and a female railway worker find themselves trapped on a speeding train with no brakes and nobody driving.

IMDb RATING
7.2/10
29K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Andrey Konchalovskiy
  • Writers
    • Djordje Milicevic(screenplay)
    • Paul Zindel(screenplay)
    • Edward Bunker(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Jon Voight
    • Eric Roberts
    • Rebecca De Mornay
Top credits
  • Director
    • Andrey Konchalovskiy
  • Writers
    • Djordje Milicevic(screenplay)
    • Paul Zindel(screenplay)
    • Edward Bunker(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Jon Voight
    • Eric Roberts
    • Rebecca De Mornay
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 208User reviews
    • 82Critic reviews
    • 67Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 3 Oscars
      • 2 wins & 8 nominations total

    Videos1

    Runaway Train
    Trailer 2:37
    Runaway Train

    Photos155

    Jon Voight in Runaway Train (1985)
    Rebecca De Mornay in Runaway Train (1985)
    Jon Voight in Runaway Train (1985)
    Jon Voight, Tony Epper, and Hank Worden in Runaway Train (1985)
    Andrey Konchalovskiy in Runaway Train (1985)
    Jon Voight in Runaway Train (1985)
    Rebecca De Mornay, Eric Roberts, and Jon Voight in Runaway Train (1985)
    Rebecca De Mornay, Eric Roberts, and Jon Voight in Runaway Train (1985)
    Eric Roberts in Runaway Train (1985)
    Kim Basinger at an event for Fool for Love (1985)
    Harry Dean Stanton at an event for Runaway Train (1985)
    Rebecca De Mornay and Randy Quaid at an event for Fool for Love (1985)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Jon Voight
    Jon Voight
    • Mannyas Manny
    Eric Roberts
    Eric Roberts
    • Buckas Buck
    Rebecca De Mornay
    Rebecca De Mornay
    • Saraas Sara
    Kyle T. Heffner
    Kyle T. Heffner
    • Frank Barstowas Frank Barstow
    John P. Ryan
    John P. Ryan
    • Rankenas Ranken
    T.K. Carter
    T.K. Carter
    • Dave Princeas Dave Prince
    Kenneth McMillan
    Kenneth McMillan
    • Eddie MacDonaldas Eddie MacDonald
    Stacey Pickren
    • Rubyas Ruby
    Walter Wyatt
    • Conlanas Conlan
    Edward Bunker
    Edward Bunker
    • Jonahas Jonah
    Reid Cruickshanks
    • Al Turneras Al Turner
    • (as Reid Cruikshanks)
    Dan Wray
    • Fat Conas Fat Con
    Michael Lee Gogin
    • Short Conas Short Con
    John Bloom
    John Bloom
    • Tall Conas Tall Con
    Hank Worden
    Hank Worden
    • Old Conas Old Con
    • (as Norton E. 'Hank' Warden)
    John Otrin
    John Otrin
    • Cat Conas Cat Con
    Norman Alexander Gibbs
    • Queen Conas Queen Con
    Dennis Ott
    • Guardas Guard
    • Director
      • Andrey Konchalovskiy
    • Writers
      • Djordje Milicevic(screenplay)
      • Paul Zindel(screenplay)
      • Edward Bunker(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit
    Two convicts escape from a prison situated in the snowy desolated Alaska. After a taxing cross-country walk n a swim across a freezing river, the two fellas board an empty train but their joy is interrupted when the old driver falls off due to heart attack and the train accelerates. —Fella_shibby@yahoo.com
    • alaska
    • train
    • prisoner
    • freight train
    • fugitive
    • 91 more
    • Plot summary
    • Plot synopsis
    • Taglines
      • Once it starts, nothing can stop it!
    • Genres
      • Action
      • Adventure
      • Drama
      • Thriller
    • Certificate
      • R
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Danny Trejo was visiting a friend who was working as a production assistant on the set when he was offered a job as an extra. Edward Bunker recognized Trejo because they served time in San Quentin State Prison together. Bunker helped Trejo get hired as Eric Roberts' boxing coach. Director Andrey Konchalovskiy was so impressed with Trejo that he gave him a small role. Trejo later stated that he was staggered to find out that the coaching job earned him $320 per day, which was more than he had ever gotten from a robbery.
    • Goofs
      During the rail yard shots it is clearly visible that the last two locomotives (EMD GP7s) have Blomberg B type trucks. Later in the movie the trucks of the two locomotives change to AAR type B, which reveals that the locomotives are different. Yard shots were made at the BA&P Railway yard in Anaconda, Montana using local locomotives, which had Blomberg B trucks. Later filming was done on the Alaska Railroad, whose GP7s had AAR type B trucks. Furthermore, as the train starts accelerating in the yard, a close up of an AAR type B truck is shown, which reveals that the shot was made later in Alaska and not in Montana as the other yard shots.
    • Quotes

      Manny: [after listening to Buck's dream] That's bullshit. You're not gonna do nothin' like that. I'll tell you what you gonna do. You gonna get a job. That's what you gonna do. You're gonna get a little job. Some job a convict can get, like scraping off trays in a cafeteria. Or cleaning out toilets. And you're gonna hold onto that job like gold. Because it is gold. Let me tell you, Jack, that is gold. You listenin' to me? And when that man walks in at the end of the day. And he comes to see how you done, you ain't gonna look in his eyes. You gonna look at the floor. Because you don't want to see that fear in his eyes when you jump up & grab his face, and slam him to the floor, and make him scream & cry for his life. So you look right at the floor, Jack. Pay attention to what I'm sayin', motherfucker! And then he's gonna look around the room - see how you done. And he's gonna say "Oh, you missed a little spot over there. Jeez, you didn't get this one here. What about this little bitty spot?" And you're gonna suck all that pain inside you, and you're gonna clean that spot. And you're gonna clean that spot. Until you get that shiny clean. And on Friday, you pick up your paycheck. And if you could do that, if you could do that, you could be president of Chase Manhattan... corporations! If you could do that.

      Buck: Not me, man! I wouldn't do that kind of shit. I'd rather be in fuckin' jail.

      Manny: More's the pity, youngster. More's the pity.

      Buck: Could you do that kind of shit?

      Manny: I wish I could.

    • Crazy credits
      "No beast so fierce but knows some touch of pity." "But I know none, and therefore am no beast." Richard III - William Shakespeare
    • Alternate versions
      The DVD mysteriously edits out the shot of the first helicopter policeman being run over by the wheels of the train. You see him crash into the train windshield and see him fall off, but then you see just a plain shot of the wheels. In all other versions of the film on video and laserdisc have a shot of this man's face coming right at the camera as his body is run over by the wheels of the train. Even the US TV version has a brief shot of this. This shot is present in the UK Arrow Films DVD release.
    • Connections
      Edited into Con Express (2002)
    • Soundtracks
      Gloria in D Major
      by Antonio Vivaldi (as Vivaldi)

      Performed by The USSR Academic Russian Chorus and the Moscow Conservatoire Students Orchestra

    User reviews208

    Review
    Top review
    9/10
    A modest masterpiece
    The stock title promises action and suspense, and we get that, but with a story by Akira Kurosawa, expert direction by Russian émigré Andrei Konchalovsky and superior lensing by Alan Hume, we get a study of what defines a man.

    John Voight and the vastly underrated Eric Roberts play two cons who escape from a hellish gulag and board a train with no driver. Their struggle to stop the train and battle their own inner demons is the movie.

    Konchalovsky creates a cold, alien, ethereal world inside the train that, in the oddest way, provides a haven for self-examination for the two leads. Rebecca de Mournay is layered into the mix, as is the indefatigable John P. Ryan as a prison warden who risks death to return his charges to custody, but the movie belongs to Voight and Roberts who both bring tremendous humanity to their finely sketched characters.

    The final image is as powerful as cinema gets and marks RUNAWAY TRAIN as a modest masterpiece.

    Though often criticized for producing cheap rubbish, the Cannon Group, in fact, also produced many fine films including this, 52 PICK-UP and MARIA'S LOVERS (also Konchalovsky).
    helpful•138
    27
    • fertilecelluloid
    • Sep 15, 2005

    FAQ4

    • What is 'Runaway Train' about?
    • Is 'Runaway Train' based on a book?
    • Why did Manny and Buck cover their skin with grease and plastic wrap during their escape?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 17, 1986 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Express in die Hölle
    • Filming locations
      • Anaconda, Montana, USA
    • Production companies
      • Golan-Globus Productions
      • Northbrook Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $9,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $7,683,620
    • Gross worldwide
      • $7,683,620
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 51 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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