The Running Man (1987 film)
| The Running Man | |
|---|---|
| File:Running man poster.jpg The Running Man movie poster | |
| Directed by | Paul Michael Glaser |
| Written by | Stephen King (novel) Steven E. de Souza |
| Produced by | George Linder Tim Zinnemann |
| Starring | Arnold Schwarzenegger Richard Dawson Maria Conchita Alonso Yaphet Kotto Jim Brown Jesse Ventura Sven-Ole Thorsen Erland Van Lidth Marvin J. McIntyre Mick Fleetwood Gus Rethwisch |
| Cinematography | Thomas Del Ruth |
| Edited by | John Wright Mark Roy Warner Edward A. Warschilka |
| Music by | Harold Faltermeyer Vassal Benford |
| Distributed by | TriStar Pictures |
Release dates | November 13, 1987 (premiere) |
Running time | 101 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $27,000,000 US |
The Running Man is a 1987 film adaptation loosely based on the Stephen King novel of the same name. Directed by Paul Michael Glaser, the film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Conchita Alonso, Jesse Ventura, Jim Brown and Richard Dawson.
The film, set in a dystopic year 2017, is about a TV show called The Running Man, where "runners" must escape death at the hands of professional killers.
The film differed significantly from the novel; it recalls some scenes from a French movie with a similar theme, called Le Prix du Danger, about a TV show where participants must escape killers live on TV.
Taglines
- In the 21st Century, the finest men in America don't run for President. They run for their lives. (from the novel)
- It is a deadly game which no one has ever survived. But HE has yet to play.
Plot Summary
 | This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. (December 2007) |
In 2017, the economy has collapsed and society has become a police state, while censoring all cultural activity. The government pacifies the populace by broadcasting a number of game shows in which convicted criminals fight for their lives. The most popular and sadistic of these shows is The Running Man, hosted by Damon Killian (Richard Dawson).
Ben Richards (Schwarzenegger) is a pilot of a police helicopter gunship. He is ordered to fire upon unarmed civilians during a food riot in Bakersfield, California, but refuses to do so. His fellow police officers overpower him and kill the civilians. Richards is turned into a scapegoat by state propaganda for the massacre and is imprisoned, earning the nickname "The Butcher of Bakersfield." Edited and altered footage of the event appears on television across the country.
Eighteen months later, Richards is still imprisoned in a labor camp, where he plots his escape with two other prisoners he has befriended, William Laughlin (Kotto) and Harold Weiss (McIntyre). Prisoners are detained through the use of C-4 explosive collars placed on their necks. After Weiss finally learns the collars' deactivation code, Richards and Laughlin stage a fight to cover their escape.
The rebels escape to a secret hideout in a shanty town on the outskirts of Los Angeles. After having his collar removed, Richards decides to go to his brother's apartment. Disguised as a construction worker, he visits the apartment only to find out it is now occupied by news reporter Amber Mendez (Alonso), who works for ICS, the network that broadcasts The Running Man. She explains, ominously, that Richards' brother was taken away for 're-education'. Richards kidnaps Amber and plans to fly to Hawaii. While at the airport, she manages to alert security, which leads to a pursuit where Richards is caught on the tarmac.
Richards is taken to the Running Man studios in downtown Los Angeles, where Killian (Dawson) requests that he competes on the show's season opener. Richards decides to compete when he threatens to have Weiss and Laughlin put in his place. Despite Richards' entry, Killian puts the two in the show anyway. Before he is launched, Richards threatens him by telling him "I'll be back." Killian scoffs at his promise by saying, "Only in a rerun."
Amber, who is trying to find evidence of the truth behind Richards' case, is caught searching the Bakersfield tapes at the ICS archives and is sent into the game grid herself after being falsely identified as his lover.
The show is portrayed as a gladiatorial-style competition that takes place in a section of Los Angeles ravaged by an earthquake in 1997, where several "Runners" attempt to survive while being chased by "Stalkers" for cash and prizes. These stalkers resemble professional wrestlers, with ornate weaponry, costumes, nicknames, and-in the case of Subzero (Professor Toru Tanaka)-their own "Game Zones", areas where they would have a tactical advantage.
Richards grows from an ex-con "villain" to a popular player of the game as he confronts and kills each Stalker he faces except Dynamo (Van Lidth) as even though he is "sadistic scum", he will not kill him while he can't fight back, but Weiss and Laughlin do not survive the run. With the Department of Justice becoming increasingly frustrated by a convict doing well on the show, Killian offers Richards a job as a Stalker, which he declines. He stages the death of Richards and Amber in the final match of the episode, through computer-generated imagery, at the hands of a virtual Captain Freedom (Ventura), a highly decorated ex-Stalker and now a TV-show host and commentator. Apparently, Captain Freedom gained much respect for Richards, that he defies the network's order to suit up against him.
Richards and Amber later join an underground group fighting ICS. They intend to expose the "truth" behind the show: that previous Running Man winners (Whitman, Price and Haddad) were actually killed by Stalkers. Thanks to the raw Bakersfield footage, which Amber had smuggled out of the studio and into the arena, they also publicize the truth behind the massacre, demonstrating how the government is feeding the public lies in order to control their way of thought.
Ben leads the rebels along with Amber to the ICS studios and intrudes upon the show. The rebels defeat the guards in a shootout, leaving Killian alone to deal with Ben. Bodyguard Sven turns up right on cue but burns Killian, telling him that he's "got to score some steroids," gives Richards a nod and leaves. Ben straps Killian into the rocket-powered sled and sends him hurtling through twisting tunnels, eventually launching into the air and crashing into a billboard featuring him as a Cadre Cola endorser, exploding on impact.
Cast
- Arnold Schwarzenegger as Ben Richards
- Richard Dawson as Damon Killian
- Maria Conchita Alonso as Amber Mendez
- Yaphet Kotto as William Laughlin
- Gus Rethwisch as Buzzsaw
- Professor Toru Tanaka as Subzero
- Jim Brown as Fireball
- Jesse Ventura as Captain Freedom
- Erland Van Lidth as Dynamo
- Marvin J. McIntyre as Harold Weiss
- Mick Fleetwood as Mic
- Sven-Ole Thorsen as Sven
Differences from the novel
- Richards is a contestant on The Running Man after becoming a scapegoat for a government-initiated massacre whereas in the book, Richards willingly becomes a contestant to afford a doctor for his gravely ill infant daughter.
- The game is played in a ruined, earthquake-torn section of Los Angeles whereas in the book, the contestants are allowed to travel anywhere in the world to escape the Hunters with a twelve-hour head start.
- In the film, the Hunters resemble professional wrestlers with nicknames, special gimmicks, etc. In the book, the Hunters are normal people and do not act as celebrities.
- The only characters common to both the book and the film are Ben Richards, and to a lesser extent Killian (his surname remains but his role and personality are different).
- The book ends on a downbeat note, in comparison to the film. After learning that his wife and daughter have been murdered, Richards hijacks a jet and is mortally wounded in the process. He overrides the craft's autopilot and flies it into the headquarters of the Network, killing Killian.
Video game
A video game based on the movie was released for the ZX Spectrum,[1] Commodore 64,[2] Amstrad CPC,[3] Amiga,[4] and Atari ST.[5] The game was developed by Emerald Software Ltd and published by Grandslam Entertainment.
Although not a direct tie-in, the developers of Midway's Smash TV have said the game was inspired by the events of the film. Killian, along with the game show host from RoboCop, were also used as the basis for the game's MC character. In later years, the video games Manhunt and Ratchet: Deadlocked would also be compared to the movie.