Runaway Train (1985)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Andrei Konchalovsky

Writers:

Djordje Milicevic (screenplay) &
Paul Zindel (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

17 January 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Once it starts, nothing can stop it!

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Prison | Train | Prisoner | Escape | Heart Attack

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Jon Voight	...	Manny
Eric Roberts	...	Buck
Rebecca De Mornay	...	Sara
Kyle T. Heffner	...	Frank Barstow
John P. Ryan	...	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)

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

USA | Israel

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Rankcolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:18A (Ontario) | Iceland:16 | Singapore:NC-16 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-18 | Norway:16 (cut) | Norway:18 | South Korea:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Montana, USA

Company:

Golan-Globus Productions

Trivia:

In preparing for the role of Manny, Jon Voight spent time with prisoners in San Quentin prison. He remained in contact with some of them for years afterwards.

Goofs:

Continuity: Near the end of the movie, the train is routed onto an unused siding (and in fact crashes through a boarded-up tunnel). But once on the other side, the track ahead of the train is clearly seen to be free of snow as another train has recently passed over it. The amount of snow observed in the previous scenes should have completely covered the tracks.

Quotes:

Jonah: [while talking with Manny about Buck] He's a pretty good youngster, besides that he pushes the laundry cart.
[followed by Jonah and Manny laughing out loud]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Death Wish 4: The Crackdown (1987)

Soundtrack:

'Gloria' in D Major by Vivaldi

Strong contender for the best action movie of all time!

'Runaway Train' is a rare thing, an intelligent action movie, full of both exciting sequences and strong character development. This combination makes it all that much more suspenseful and powerful. For me it could well be the best action movie of all time. Interestingly enough it's based on a screenplay by Kurosawa, but criminal turned novelist Edward Bunker (who plays Jonah here but is best known to most people as Mr. Blue in 'Reservoir Dogs') gets the main writing credit. Jon Voight gives one of his very best performances as Manny, but Eric Roberts is also just great. Roberts is overlooked these days, making too many b-grade and straight-to-video movies to be taken seriously, but boy, back in the day this guy was GOOD! Check him out here, and in 'Star 80', and especially 'The Pope Of Greenwich Village' with Mickey Rourke. Roberts actually scored an Oscar nomination for 'Runaway Train'. Just why his career subsequently went in the direction it did is one of the great mysteries of Hollywood. Voight and Roberts are supported by Rebecca De Mornay, super tough guy John P. Ryan ('It's Alive') and well loved character actor Kenneth McMillan. Also keep an eye out for Danny Trejo in the boxing sequence towards the very beginning of the film. 'Runaway Train' is a movie I never tire of watching. The interplay between Voight and Roberts is wonderful to watch, the action sequences are breathtaking, and the ending is one of the all time greats!