The Running Man (1987)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Paul Michael Glaser

Writers:

Stephen King (novel)
Steven E. de Souza (screenplay)

Release Date:

13 November 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

The year is 2019. The finest men in America don't run for President. They run for their lives.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Police | Prison | Police State | Massacre | Framed

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

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 (as Bernard Gus Rethwisch)
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)

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) (re-rating) (2003) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia) (original rating) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Ontario) | Iceland:16 | South Korea:15 | Australia:R | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Ireland:18 | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R (f) | West Germany:18

Company:

Braveworld Productions

Trivia:

The headquarters of the ICS television network is actually the Filmland Corporate Center, which was the home of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer at the time of the film's making, 1987. A matte painting was used to represent the tower. Sony purchased MGM's old studio lot in 1992 and moved into the Filmand Building that same year. Ironically, they also purchased Tri-Star Pictures as well--the distributor of The Running Man (1987) in 1987. The building was renamed Sony Pictures Plaza.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the uncensored version of the Bakersfield massacre, it shows the man knocking out Ben with his gun from Ben's point-of-view, which is not a view the camera could see from.

Quotes:

Ben Richards: [trying to get Dynamo's attention] Hey, Lighthead! Hey, Christmas Tree!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (2004) (VG)

Soundtrack:

THE RIDE OF THE VALKYRIES

"Hey, Christmas tree !"

In the future, television is controlled by the Government. The most popular show is "The Running Man", in which criminals have to fight for their freedom against weirdos like Dynamo & Fireball. When Ben Richards refuses to shoot innocent people, he is thrown in prison. He escapes but is captured at an airport and Damon Killian (a great Richard Dawson) thinks he can get great ratings by throwing Richards into the game. A guilty pleasure if there ever was, "The Running Man" is a pretty good watch for Ah-nuld fans (myself included). There is plenty of camp value for good laughs, i.e. Jesse Ventura and the production values. This was released ahead of its time, before reality TV became all the rage. As with just about every Ah-nuld movie, there are some great one-liners: before he kills Fireball, he asks "need a light?" and after slicing Buzzsaw, he says "he had to split".

Rating:*** (out of ****)