Product Details

• Actors: Bruce Campbell, Anita Barone
• Format: Black & White, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay
• VHS Release Date: November 16, 1999
• Run Time: 70 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00002RARU
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #442,422 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The selling point of Josh Becker's high-concept heist picture is a gimmick: the film is shot in one long, (seemingly) unbroken take à la Hitchcock's Rope. The necessary cuts are actually hidden in whip pans and covered in darkness, but for all intents and purposes it looks like a real-time You Are There thriller, and Becker has obviously put a lot of thought into making it look smooth and effortless. Would that he put that much energy into the collection of neo-noir clichés that make up the script. Bruce Campbell (from Sam Raimi's Evil Dead films) stars as the square-jawed street-smart crook sprung from jail only to heist the warden's illegal skim from the prison laundry. His plan is plotted down to the minute but, naturally, begins to unravel almost immediately. If a junkie getaway driver, a stolen van, and a crime scene cased by proxy isn't bad enough, the bickering criminals blow their cover in front of hostages with a juvenile case of name calling, hardly the work of a criminal mastermind. Played for comedy it might have worked, but Becker presents the improbable escapes and a hokey romantic subplot in all seriousness. With only Campbell's disarming tough-guy performance and Becker's technical bravura to carry the film, Running Time comes off as an adolescent's idea of a Tarantino movie: naive, implausible, and contrived, a neat idea undone by a bad script. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just a great film..., March 9, 2001

By 

MattFini "MattFini" (Leominster, MA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Running Time (DVD)

Josh Becker's Running Time is certainly one of the best film's I've seen in a long time. It's a crime caper with a gimmick-this film is seemingly shot in one continuous shot. While this makes for an interesting watch, Running Time has a lot more going for it than just that gimick.

Bruce Campbell turns in one of his strongest performances to date here as Carl, a convict just released from prison with one last heist to pull off. He and his partner in crime (Jeremy Roberts) assemble a crew to assist in the heist and before you know it the robbery it botched and Carl is running for his life.

Running Time's story written by Josh Becker (who also produced and directed) boasts nothing terribly original in terms of the actual plot, but his dialogue is sharp and brings all of his characters to life. Campbell really displays range in this film creating a wholly believable character who is struggling to make things right in his own life. It would be great to see this fine actor cast in more dynamic roles such as this one.

Although Running Time clocks in with a running time of 70 minutes, there's enough talent, humor and suspense in here for ten Hollywood productions. Josh Becker has always made great and interesting films, I anxiously look forward to his next project, Running Time was one of the best films I saw that year and it never gets old. Give this film a shot, it's as good a crime film as any made in the 90's and one that demands a larger audience.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very interesting film., June 21, 2000

By 

J. Blake Fichera (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Running Time [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Josh Becker's crime drama 'Running Time' is a very interesting and fun film. It is not the greatest film ever made but it is very entertaining. Bruce Campbell(Evil Dead Trilogy) gives a pretty good preformance in which his loyal following will not be disappointed. Becker uses the idea of real time, very well here, by making the film's story very time dependant. It is made to appear that the entire film is in just one shot, which is something that Hitchcock attempted with 'Rope' starring James Stewart. Not to say that Becker is a better filmmaker than Hitchcock but I think his use of this idea is much stronger here. The film is really worth seeing and I believe that the DVD has commentary which I'm sure is very interesting as well.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well Done!, June 28, 2001

By 

Scott Leopold "Scott Leopold" (Dayton, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Running Time (DVD)

You could definitely do worse with 70 minutes than watch this fun Bruce Campbell film. While all the cuts are not nearly as seamless as you may have been led to believe, you don't notice the majority of them. The pace is consistent and well-suited to the plot, and the acting is generally pretty good. If you're a fan of Bruce Campbell, this is definitely a must-see. If you're not, it's still worth a look.