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 | prisoner | freight train | fugitive | 

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Taglines:

The Ride Of Your Death...

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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

Despite receiving third billing. Rebecca DeMornay doesn't appear until 60 minutes and 54 seconds into this 111 minute movie.

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Goofs

Eastbound 12, the freight train whose caboose is hit by the runaway, is initially being pulled by a pair of GP40-2 locomotives. But they are then switched before the collision to a pair of ALCO MRS-1 locomotives, led by #1605. The consist also changes, from blue hopper cars to a mix of flat and box cars.

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Quotes

Manny: [Buck bangs on a locked locker, making noise] Freeze, Sucker!
Buck: Hey man, nobody's going to hear us.
Manny: Just don't do it.
Buck: [Buck points his finger at Manny] Hey Manny, You don't treat me like your punk, OK.

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Alternate Versions

While the US and DVD version is missing the shot of the cop being pulled under the wheels of the train, it is included on the uncut Australian region 4 DVD from MGM and the UK DVD from Arrow Films

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Connections

Referenced in Inside No. 9: La Couchette (2015)

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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

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).