The Running Man (1987)

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

Director:

Paul Michael Glaser

Writers:

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

Stars:

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Conchita Alonso, Yaphet Kotto

1 win & 3 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
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

In the year 2017, the world economy has collapsed. The great freedoms of the United States are no longer, as the once great nation has sealed off its borders and become a militarized police state, censoring all film, art, literature, and communications. Even so, a small resistance force led by two revolutionaries manages to fight the oppression. With full control over the media, the government attempts to quell the nation's yearning for freedom by broadcasting a number of game shows on which convicted criminals fight for their lives. The most popular and sadistic of these programs is "The Running Man," hosted by Damon Killian. When a peaceful protest of starving citizens gathers in Bakersfield, California, a police officer named Ben Richards is ordered to fire on the crowd, which he refuses to do. Subdued by the other officers, the attack is carried out, and Richards is framed for the murder of almost a hundred unarmed civilians. Following a daring jail break months later, Richards is...

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Plot Keywords:

game of death | oppression | latina | government conspiracy | police | 

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Taglines:

2019. A game nobody survives. This year might be the exception.

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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:

Sony Pictures Plaza, Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$27,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,117,465, 15 November 1987, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$38,122,105

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 Stereo (35 mm prints) (4 channels)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The ICS television network headquarters' lower eight floors, seen at 13:40, is the pyramid-like Filmland Corporate Center in Los Angeles, the home of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1987. A matte painting added an imposing 21-story tower above the real structure. In 1992 Sony Pictures purchased MGM's old studio lot and moved into the Filmland Building. The building was renamed Sony Pictures Plaza. In 1987 Sony also purchased Tri-Star Pictures, the distributor of this film.

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Goofs

Early in the movie a commercial for "The Running Man" is shown. All of the scenes in the ads are clips from the "live" show featuring Ben Richards which obviously could not have been shot yet as the ad predates the show.

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Quotes

Damon Killian: And that's why I'd like you to volunteer to appear on tomorrow night's episode of The Running Man.
Ben Richards: [beat] Fuck you!
Damon Killian: [chuckles] You're a brilliant conversationalist, Ben. A trifle limited, but brilliant.

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Crazy Credits

Continue watching the credits and towards the end you will hear a running man commercial similar to what would play at the end of a game show.

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Connections

Referenced in Suicide Squad (2016)

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Soundtracks

(Restless Heart) Running Away With You
Music and Lyrics by Harold Faltermeyer and John Parr
Performed by John Parr

User Reviews

Came up with a rather bizarre movie that differs greatly from the story it was taken from.

Arnold stars as a wrongly convicted federal criminal who escapes a futuristic prison. Once out he promptly is recaptured and put on a television show called the Running Man. A show where one must make his way through a labyrinth being pursued by trackers that include a chainsaw wielding maniac to a hockey playing sumo. It makes for an entertaining ride though it differs greatly from the Richard Bachman novel from which it came from (aka Stephen King). In that story there was no game show arena, rather you just went to the outside world trying to elude the trackers as best you could and the longer you kept hidden from them the more money your family got. Here it is different and look who is in it. With Arnold you need larger than life villains to go against him and also of note is Richard Dawson who is actually rather good as the host of the demented show. Let's face it though, he isn't exactly differing drastically from what he used to do all the time. So what do you get here? Lot's of action and wham bam finish and a little social commentary thrown in for good measure. You also get an entertaining movie that won't keep you on the edge of your seat, but will pass some time in a fun way.