| | | | The Running Man
(1987) |
017...
America has lost it's freedom. All art is censored. The government controls us all. To keep us from mass uprising, they give us sensationalized brutality in the form of shows like "Climbing For Dollars", "The Hate Boat", "Confess", "Captain Freedom's Workout" and the most popular show on the air... "THE RUNNING MAN"!
A combination of the Roman circus and "Solid Gold" hosted by the sinister Damon Killian (Dawson), every episode features the country's criminals and dissenters running from madmen known as the stalkers. The audience members win prizes, the contestants win freedom...
...If they survive.
Let's meet the contestants for tonight's movie:
Ben Richards (Schwarzenegger) is a Class A law enforcement official who refuses to go through with a bombing raid on innocents who want food. He is beaten and then framed for doing it anyway. He's been working in a prison camp for the past year and a half, but with assistance from the rebels Laughlin and Weiss (Kotto and McIntyre), he escapes. The 3 of them go to a shanty village to meet with the resistance leader Mic (Fleetwood). While Laughlin and Weiss stay to plan a sattelite scrambling, Richards hops a truck into the city to go back to his old apartment.
Amber Mendez (Alonso), a young musician and employee of "Running Man"'s home network ICS, now lives in Richards' abode. When she's about to rat out Richards, he takes her and her travel pass to the airport for an escape to the Pacific. Ratted out by Mendez, Richards is kidnapped and sent to ICS headquarters. With Laughlin and Weiss kidnapped as well, he is offered 2 choices: He could go back to prison or he could become a contestant on "The Running Man". With that choice before him, he chooses the show.
That night, he's on TV and ready to face the stalkers and maybe win freedom and a clearance of his name. He is sent down into the gaming grid, along with his friends, whom he was promised wouldn't go. One of the things about the future is that you'll be lied to and have lies told about you. Richards, before being sent down, has a video profile of him aired that makes him seem like the man behind the food riot bombings. An unexpected ally wants to prove the lies wrong.
In the gaming grid, the trio face off first against Subzero (Professor Toru Tanaka), a large man with a deadly sword. Chasing the trio on an ice rink, Subzero meets his death when Richards garottes him with some barbed wire.
That ally who wants to help Richards? None other than Mendez, who steals the raw footage of the bombings. She is then caught and sent into the game, becoming a "Running Woman" of sorts. She and Richards are reunited and now are being pursued by two more villains. Buzzsaw (Gus Rethwisch) is a man with a namesake weapon that can cut through bone and steel, while Dynamo (Erland Van Lidth) is an opera-singing fat man with an electric gun. Buzzsaw meets his death through a brutal chainsaw mutilation that has to be seen to be believed, while Dynamo has his electric car tipped over. Dynamo isn't dead yet, though... He'll make a grand and shocking (pun intended) return in the movie's climax.
2 stalkers are down and Killian is furious. On the upside, ratings are skyrocketing. On the downside, people are now cheering for Richards, making bets that he'll commit the next kill. There's still one more stalker to go, though... Fireball (Brown), a man with a flamethrower, a rocket pack and a multi-colored hairdo. He pursues Richards and Mendez to another section of the gaming grid, where Mendez discovers that last year's winners, said to be in the Pacific, are actually skeletons in a locker room. Confronted by Fireball, Mendez is about to die. Richards comes in for the save, disconnecting Fireball's gas supply and tossing a flare at him. Up in smoke is the sentence for Fireball, and Richards and Mendez head for the revolutionaries' headquarters.
Killian fakes Richards' death with digital trickery, but the truth about him, his show and Richards is about to be revealed. The skeletons come out of the closet and the real footage of what happenned in the food riot bombings hits the airwaves. Confronted by Dynamo in the hallway, Mendez beats him up and then turns the water on him, electrocuting him (I told you his return would be shocking). Now Richards is back (Schwarzenegger inevitably delivers his "Terminator" tag line in all his movies...he was answered in this one by Dawson's line "Only in a rerun"), and ready for Killian. Killian talks about the audience's wanting of sensationalism, and Richards has one answer for that. "Damon Killian, you're the final contestant on 'The Running Man!". Killian is strapped in and shot down the tube, flying through a billboard and dying in flames. The game is over for "The Running Man", and Richards is cleared. The 80s happy ending? Richards and Mendez make their way through the doors, conquering heroes of the revolution.
Please stand by.
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What can I say? I think this is Schwarzenegger's best movie of the 80s (yes, better than "The Terminator"). Delivering his beatings and wisecracks, Schwarzenegger does well. Maria Conchita Alonso is beautiful and violent. Richard Dawson delivers the best performance of his career. To me, this movie is the action-adventure equivalent of "Network", but with a happier ending.
If you like action movies and satires of television (truthfully, considering a lot of what's on TV now, I won't be surprised if this makes it to the air in some other form before 2017), then this is your movie. Bonus: Several cool dance numbers choreographed by Paula Abdul.
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This film was based on a book written by Stephen King under the name of Richard Bachman. The book was sadder... Richards was an innocent but frail man with a sick child and a wife who sells herself (literally) to survive. At the end of the book, Richards and many others die. Other differences: Mendez doesn't come until the 3rd act, Killian doesn't exist, citizens can report on runner spottings, and the stalkers are different than in the movie. 
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Running Man was directed by Paul Michael Glaser who is, of course, Starsky from TV's "Starsky and Hutch"!
In addition to Arnold Schwarzenegger's fellow bodybuilder and best man at his wedding to Maria Shriver, Franco Columbo, another European-born muscleman and member of the wedding party also appeared, Swede Sven Ole Thorsen appeared in the film. Sven's character was named Sven. -Thanks to Robert Baum
There is so much musical talent involved with this movie: Harold Faltermeyer did the score, John Parr contributed a song, Paula Abdul was the choreographer and Maria Conchita Alonso, Mick Fleetwood and Dweezil Zappa all have roles in the movie.
Richard Dawson might be the only person in film history ever to have a retort for Schwarzenegger's signature line written for him. When Richards warns "I'll be back", Killian scoffs "Only in a re-run." -Thanks to C.T. Warren
Richard Dawson had plenty of game show experience: He was the first host of "Family Feud" and a panelist on "Match Game" and "I've Got A Secret".
Two of the stalkers really are dead now: Professor Toru Tanaka (Subzero) died of heart failure in 2000, while Erland Van Lidth (Dynamo) died of a heart ailment shortly after the movie's release.
Prior to being elected, Jesse Ventura, former Governor of the state of Minnesota and Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of California, appeared together in three films: Predator (1987), The Running Man (1987), and Batman & Robin (1997). -Thanks to Kara Victoria
The movie made 70 million dollars at the U.S box office.
Stay through the closing credits. You'll be rewarded with this 'sponsorship message':
"The Running Man" has been brought to you by Breakaway Paramilitary Uniforms, propriation pills and Cadbury's Cola, it really hits the spot.
Promotional considerations paid for by Kelton Flame throwers, Wayne Right Electrical Launchers and Hammer and Kane Chainsaws.
Damon Killion wardrobe by Shane Antwon, 19th Century craftsmanship for the 21st Century man.
Cadbury trooper and Studio sidearms provided by Colechester, the pistol of Patriots..
Remember tickets for the ICS studio tour are always available for class A citizens in good standing.
If you would like to be a contestant on the Running Man, send a self addressed stamped envelope to ICS talent hunt, care of your local affiliet and then go out and do something really dispicable....
I'm Bill Hilton, good night and take care..... -Thanks to inspectorrex
Professor Toru Tanaka was actually a professional wrestler, who wrestled for Vince McMahon's WWF (WWE) and won the company's tag team championship with partner Master Fuji in the 70's. -Thanks to Sergio Mendoza
Actor Richard Dawson also starred in the classic comedy sitcom 'Hogan's Heroes.' -Thanks to Phantom Planet
When Richards is getting on to the truck to find his brother, the truck is heading into a gated tunnel. That tunnel/set was the same place used for the resistance hideout in the miniseries "V" - and also was the gang hideout in the movie "The Replacement Killers". -Thanks to Drew
Erland van Lidth's singing in the film is genuine, he really was trained to sing opera. He only appeared in three other films: "The Wanderers" (1979),as "Terror", "Stir Crazy" (1980), as "Grossberger", along with Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor, and "Alone In The Dark" (1982), as Ronald 'Fatty' Elster, with Donald Pleasence. -Thanks to Andrew Backhouse
There is a cool cameo from Dweezil Zappa, son of legendary singer Frank Zappa and sister of Ione Skye (The life and times of Jimmy Reardon). -Thanks to Nick Springsteen
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Rediscover your favorites! If you like
The Running Man or 80's Sci-Fi / Fantasy classics, then be sure to
check out this list: ..... Empire Strikes Back ..... Night of the Comet ..... Aliens ..... Back To The Future ..... Last Starfighter ..... Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home ..... Circuitry Man ..... Brazil ..... Blade Runner ..... Thing ..... Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan ..... Return to Oz ..... Starman ..... Somewhere In Time ..... Strange Invaders ..... Short Circuit .....[More]
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The character "Buzzsaw" wore a leather weightlifter belt, backwards, with his name and scrollwork hand tooled on it. I created it, actually three of them, for the costume designer. Originally, it was black with silver trim and lettering. The silver was applied with aluminum leafing. The original director was replaced by Paul Michael Glaser, who decided that the belt should be silver with black trim. The costume designer called me in a panic and asked me to reverse the colors. I had already been paid and really didn't want to deal with it, so I told him to just paint it. -Thanks to Todd Cooper
The movie was originally to have Christopher Reeve in Schwarzenegger's role, but he had to drop out for "Superman 4: The Quest For Peace". Schwarzenegger was a fan of the book and he slipped into the role of Richards.
The dancing done by the girls on the stage was choreographed by none other than 80's dance maestro Paula Abdul! -Thanks to Ron Romero
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|  |  |  | | The Running Man
Locations |
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The grand glass facade for the TV studio exists on the Sony Pictures Lot in Culver City. [Thanks to John MacDonald]
In the beginning of the movie after Arnold gets arrested and is working at a steel mill, during the opening credits those scenes were filmed at California Steel Industries in Fontana, California on Cherry Avenue. [Thanks to Debra Roma]
Can you help? Do you know any of the filming locations used for The Running Man? [Please send them in]
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Harold Faltermeyer composed the score for this movie, while John Parr contributed the closing credits song "Running Away With You".
The score is on CD, but "Running Away With You" isn't included. This song was on his album "Man with a vision" (1992) but it was called "Restless heart. [Thanks to Russ Rhodes]
John Parr's music video for "Restless heart" (Running away with you) was shot in a studio in London. The company making the video was sent a copy of the film by the studio to choose which bits they wanted to include in the video, including the opening Helicopter shots (where John was made to look like he was in the helicopter). When the video was finished it was transferred back to film and was shown at the cinema before the film started. John said "I was a bit annoyed because the sound wasn't in sync when they did the back to film transfer". But never mind eh? At least they showed it before the film screening!!! -Thanks to Russ Rhodes
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