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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
In this action thriller based on an early story by Stephen King, Los Angeles in the year 2017 has become a police state in the wake of the global economy's total collapse. All forms of entertainment are government controlled, and the most popular show on television is an elaborate game show in which convicted criminals are given a chance to escape by running through a gauntlet of brutal killers known as "Stalkers." Anyone who survives is given their freedom and a condominium in Hawaii, so when a wrongly accused citizen (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is chosen as a contestant, all hell breaks loose. Cheesy sets and a slimy role for game-show host Richard Dawson make this violent mess of mayhem a candidate for guilty pleasure; it is the kind of movie that truly devoted Arnold fans will want to watch more than once. And check those credits--choreography by Paula Abdul! --Jeff Shannon
Product Description
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Conchita Alonso. A soldier wrongly convicted of murder is forced to participate in a deadly game show. 1987/color/101 min/R.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
In this wry and entertaining take on a world gone crazy, where corporate rulers routinely engage popular sport activities to distill public anger and frustration and to try to distract common people from civic unrest, we find perpetual everyman Arnold Schwarzenegger caught in the vise-grip of official lies when he escapes from maximum security prison only to be caught and selected as the latest "contestant" (read `intended victim' here) for the overwhelmingly popular television program called, appropriately enough, "Running Man". The point of the game is for the contestant to survive being hunted down by a sewerful of villains while trying to make his way through a nightmarish maze. The villains are a bit campy, ranging from an outrageously garbed electric man who dispatches virtual lightning bolts to fry his prey out of existence to a chainsaw freak who attempts to hack his victims to death while riding his motorcycle.
Yet the action sequences more than make up for the sometimes-silly dialogue. The supporting cast is composed of veterans like Richard Dawson as the venomous game-show host and producer, who manipulates every aspect of the game to reach the storyline he has laid out. There are also a lot of cameos here, from Mick Fleetwood as a revolutionary to Jessie "The Body" Ventura as a sports commentator to Jim Brown as one of the slayers. The special effects are well done, and the action sequences provide plenty of vicarious violence for the moviegoer. Of course, Arnie has a waft of throwaway one-liners, and we know we are in the hands of experience when he tells Dawson the "he'll be back". Dawson, of course, not knowing whom he is dealing with, blows off the threat.
But the moviegoer knows Arnie will be back, and that he will win the day. This is not an intellectually satisfying film, but it is a good, sold action adventure based on an early story of Steven King's that will keep you amused and entertained. It provided one of a series of sequential hits for Schwarzenegger, and helped to cement his reputation as a bankable superstar. Great stuff for wiling away a snowy winter day. Enjoy!
51 of 63 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
You know the movie, so I'll cut to the details of this particular release...
The newly-remastered picture is so much clearer and more vivid than the original release and the DTS soundtrack is an awesome addition. After having heard it, I would've bought it for the DTS, alone. Who knew that a 17-year-old, stereo movie could be remastered to DTS quality and 6.1 surround so well (including very targeted use of the rear channels).
The extras are another story, as many people have stated. The "Lockdown on Main Street" is a thoroughly one-sided political statement. Regardless of anyone's beliefs, it doesn't belong on an action movie DVD. It feels like execs at Artisan were determined to put this documentary out there and picked "The Running Man" from their upcoming catalog as the best suitor.
The "Game Theory" documentary is just a piece in which creators and participants of early reality TV shows pat themselves on the back for their popularity. Perhaps fans of Survivor and other early reality TV will find it interesting, but I didn't.
In summary, the new remastering of the movie is "special," but nothing else on either of the discs is. As someone else said, buy it for the movie. It really is one of the best remastering jobs that I've ever seen (or heard).
The newly-remastered picture is so much clearer and more vivid than the original release and the DTS soundtrack is an awesome addition. After having heard it, I would've bought it for the DTS, alone. Who knew that a 17-year-old, stereo movie could be remastered to DTS quality and 6.1 surround so well (including very targeted use of the rear channels).
The extras are another story, as many people have stated. The "Lockdown on Main Street" is a thoroughly one-sided political statement. Regardless of anyone's beliefs, it doesn't belong on an action movie DVD. It feels like execs at Artisan were determined to put this documentary out there and picked "The Running Man" from their upcoming catalog as the best suitor.
The "Game Theory" documentary is just a piece in which creators and participants of early reality TV shows pat themselves on the back for their popularity. Perhaps fans of Survivor and other early reality TV will find it interesting, but I didn't.
In summary, the new remastering of the movie is "special," but nothing else on either of the discs is. As someone else said, buy it for the movie. It really is one of the best remastering jobs that I've ever seen (or heard).
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
It was between this or the second (but technically the first) Indiana Jones movie or this. I was surprised at myself, wanting to watch Indiana Jones, but it was too long. So this went on instead. I was forewarned about it being too eighties, but I think after you get warned about these things, they're don't jump out as much at you. Only the terrible hair & outfits, but they're only really the noticable things.
Stephne King movies have a habit of not being very good. Carrie & The Green Mile are exceptions, along with this. This film is loosely based on a novel written by Stephen King that he penned under the pseudonym of Richard Bachman. He wrote the story in 72 hours, and it was published with virtually no changes.
Like 1984, this book/movie was way ahead of its time, and is much more relevant now, than it was then. The ending from the book to movie as changed, and I'm quite curious to find out what happened originally.
There are some great lines in this, mainly spoken by Arnie himself and some of the best are:
Ben Richards: Killian! I'll be back!
Damon Killian: Only in a rerun.
Damon Killian: You b*****d! Drop dead!
Ben Richards: I don't do requests.
Ben Richards: Uplink underground, uplink underground. If you say that one more time, I'll uplink your uplink your ass, and you'll be underground!
Ben Richards: [after strangling Sub-Zero with barbed wire)] What a pain in the neck.
Amber: [after Richards cut Buzzsaw in half with a chain saw] What happened to Buzzsaw?
Ben Richards: He had to split.
For a supposed special editon, there's not much in the way of extras, but they include: commentary by producer Tim Zinnemann, director Paul Michael Glaser and executive producer Rob Cohen; "Lockdown on Main Street": a documentary about the current state of privacy and criminal issues in a post-9/11 society; "Game Theory": an inside look at reality-TV programming and its cultural impact on society; "Meet the Stalkers": obtain inside information about the deadliest foes in The Running Man.
If you like Arnie, you'll probably adore this movie. Unless you're one of those people who complains about everything slightly eighties in it.
Stephne King movies have a habit of not being very good. Carrie & The Green Mile are exceptions, along with this. This film is loosely based on a novel written by Stephen King that he penned under the pseudonym of Richard Bachman. He wrote the story in 72 hours, and it was published with virtually no changes.
Like 1984, this book/movie was way ahead of its time, and is much more relevant now, than it was then. The ending from the book to movie as changed, and I'm quite curious to find out what happened originally.
There are some great lines in this, mainly spoken by Arnie himself and some of the best are:
Ben Richards: Killian! I'll be back!
Damon Killian: Only in a rerun.
Damon Killian: You b*****d! Drop dead!
Ben Richards: I don't do requests.
Ben Richards: Uplink underground, uplink underground. If you say that one more time, I'll uplink your uplink your ass, and you'll be underground!
Ben Richards: [after strangling Sub-Zero with barbed wire)] What a pain in the neck.
Amber: [after Richards cut Buzzsaw in half with a chain saw] What happened to Buzzsaw?
Ben Richards: He had to split.
For a supposed special editon, there's not much in the way of extras, but they include: commentary by producer Tim Zinnemann, director Paul Michael Glaser and executive producer Rob Cohen; "Lockdown on Main Street": a documentary about the current state of privacy and criminal issues in a post-9/11 society; "Game Theory": an inside look at reality-TV programming and its cultural impact on society; "Meet the Stalkers": obtain inside information about the deadliest foes in The Running Man.
If you like Arnie, you'll probably adore this movie. Unless you're one of those people who complains about everything slightly eighties in it.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
The Running Man
Great movie. Loved every second of it years ago and still enjoy it. Bought it from Amazon a few months ago and have watched it at least 3 times since. Read more
Published 2 months ago by granma
great movie
This is a really good action movie. My husband introduced it to me when on tv once and since he collects dvds I bought this for him to add to his collection. Read more
Published 4 months ago by javd23
The Running Man
This is an old movie. I still like it and the plot is good. The picture is not like the new movies of today but still the picture was okay. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Midnight
Old-Time special effects
I enjoyed the spoof, but the special effects need a little help. Near the end of the film when the "commandos" overtake the studio you can actually see the fake bullets coming... Read more
Published 4 months ago by MUCM D. Johnson
Going Politics
A good boy character murdered all bad boys used factulaly by the US authorities to execute convicts by deploying the sadist killers satisfying themselves before millions of... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Michael Kerjman
point by point
So many people who reviewed this over at internet movie data base point out that item by item, everything this movie predicts about the future has come true. Read more
Published 5 months ago by King of Controversy
Great movie, even better transfer!
Like most reviews, I'll not write about the movie itself, preferring instead to focus on the picture and sound transfer. In short, the video is nearly flawless. Read more
Published 5 months ago by MonsterJam
No-Frills HD Transfer of a Popcorn Action Film
The Running Man [Blu-ray] played exactly as advertised. This is a crisp HD transfer of one of Arnold Schwarzenegger's 1980s action films. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Chris Sauce1977
I'll Be Back!!!
The Running Man on Blue Ray was absolutely great! I was like 5-7 years old when this movie 1st came out & I have loved it for years. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Cole Carson
Awesome
I am a huge Arnold Schwarzenegger/action movie fan. I own almost all of his movies. Without being Arnold biased, this is a great movie. A very good story with lots of action. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Caniac Man Cave
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