Runaway Train (1985)

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

Director:

Andrey Konchalovskiy (as Andrei Konchalovsky)

Writers:

Djordje Milicevic (screenplay), Paul Zindel (screenplay)

Stars:

Jon Voight, Eric Roberts, Rebecca De Mornay

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jon Voight	...	Oscar 'Manny' Manheim
Eric Roberts	...	Buck McGeehy
Rebecca De Mornay	...	Sara
Kyle T. Heffner	...	Frank Barstow
John P. Ryan	...	Warden Ranken
T.K. Carter	...	Dave Prince
Kenneth McMillan	...	Eddie MacDonald
Stacey Pickren	...	Ruby
Walter Wyatt	...	Conlan
Edward Bunker	...	Jonah
Reid Cruickshanks	...	Al Turner (as Reid Cruikshanks)
Dan Wray	...	Fat Con
Michael Lee Gogin	...	Short Con
John Bloom	...	Tall Con
Hank Worden	...	Old Con (as Norton E. 'Hank' Warden)

Storyline

A hardened convict and a younger prisoner escape from a brutal prison in the middle of winter only to find themselves on an out-of-control train with a female railway worker while being pursued by the vengeful head of security.

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Plot Keywords:

alaska | train | out of control | prisoner | freight train | 

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Taglines:

Once it starts, nothing can stop it!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 January 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Escape en tren

Filming Locations:

Anaconda, Montana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$9,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,601,480, 6 December 1985, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$7,936,012

Company Credits

Production Co:

Golan-Globus Productions, Northbrook Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color (Rankcolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Alaska Railroad Corporation (ARRC) placed some tight restrictions on the making of the film. Firstly, the company's name and logo could not be shown on any piece of equipment. The wording "A&E Northern" replaced Alaska Road's signage. Secondly, according to the Alaska Roads website, "The film company took extra precautions to insure the safety of the crew. Not one shot was taken without everybody securely rigged or hooked to the moving train. They even hired trained mountaineers to guarantee that everybody who worked on the train was properly strapped."

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Goofs

Ranken's helicopter alternates between two registration numbers: N20401 (small font on the bottom of the chopper's main body, ahead of the skids) and N710GW (covers the entire bottom).

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Quotes

Sara: [tearfully] You're an animal!
Manny: No, worse! Human. Human!

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Connections

Referenced in Runaway Brain (1995)

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Soundtracks

Gloria in D Major
by Antonio Vivaldi (as Vivaldi)
Performed by The USSR Academic Russian Chorus and the Moscow Conservatoire Students Orchestra

User Reviews

One of my alltime favourites.

This movie is just brilliant. The Oscar Mannheimer character has to be one of the hardest moviecharacters of alltime. I love the way Voight turns mental on numerous occasions, he's doing one hell of a job. Arguably his best ever role. Eric Roberts is almost as brilliant in portraying Buck. I find myself laughing at so many times during the course of this movie. It's not only funny though, it's also a movie of high suspense and some action. 10 out of 10. I say YEAH!