The Running Man (film)

Infobox Film
name = The Running Man


caption = "The Running Man" movie poster
director = Paul Michael Glaser
producer = George Linder
Tim Zinnemann
writer = Stephen King (novel)
Steven E. de Souza
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
music = Harold Faltermeyer
Vassal Benford
cinematography = Thomas Del Ruth
editing = John Wright
Mark Roy Warner
Edward A. Warschilka
distributor = TriStar Pictures
released = November 13, 1987 (premiere)
runtime = 101 min.
language = English
country = United States
budget = $27,000,000 US
amg_id = 1:42362
imdb_id = 0093894

"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.

Plot summary

In 2017, the economy has collapsed and society has become a police state, 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. Altered footage of the event appears on national television.

Eighteen months later, Richards is shown imprisoned in a labor camp, where he plots his escape with two other prisoners, William Laughlin (Kotto) and Harold Weiss (McIntyre). Prisoners are detained through the use of C-4 explosive collars placed on their necks. Harold Weiss learns the collars' deactivation code, and Richards and Laughlin stage a fight to cover their escape.

The three escape to a shanty town hideout on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Richards decides to visit his brother's apartment in the city. He enters 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 that Richards' brother was taken away for 're-education'. Enraged, Richards kidnaps Amber and plans to fly to Hawaii. While at the airport, she manages to alert security; Richards is caught. Again altered footage of the event appears on national television.

Richards is taken to the Running Man studios in downtown Los Angeles, where the host, Killian, requests that he compete. Richards agrees when he learns that Laughlin and Weiss - who were also captured - would enter the show in his place. After Richards agrees to enter, Killian adds Laughlin and Weiss anyway.

Meanwhile, Amber Mendez pursues the story Richards told her of his innocence. She is caught in the ICS archives while looking for the original tapes of the case, and is subsequently sent into the game grid.

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, and nicknames.

Weiss and Laughlin do not survive the game, but Richards grows from an ex-con "villain" to a popular player of the game as he confronts and kills each Stalker he faces - save one, Dynamo (Van Lidth); Richards shows mercy to his crippled opponent (who was later electrocuted near the end of movie by Mendez). With the Justice Department becoming increasingly frustrated by a convict doing well on the show, Killian offers Richards a job as a Stalker, which he declines.

Running out of options, Killian orders that Captain Freedom (Ventura), a highly decorated ex-Stalker who became a TV-show host and commentator, be brought back to battle Richards. Captain Freedom respects Richards and defies orders to battle him in person.

Meanwhile, Richards and Amber find and join an underground group fighting ICS. They intend to expose the truth behind the show: that previous Running Man winners were actually killed by Stalkers. Amber had smuggled the Bakersfield tapes into the arena, allowing the group to also leak the government's cover-up of the massacre.

With the audience support towards Richards and nothing else to do, Killian 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.

Richards leads the rebels to the ICS studios and interrupts the show. The rebels defeat the guards in a shootout, leaving Killian and Richards alone. Richards straps Killian into the rocket-sled used to transport convicts into the game grid, and launches him into a billboard, causing a giant explosion.

Killian's death is seen by audiences watching live television: they cheer.

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

Video game

A video game based on the movie was released for the ZX Spectrum, [http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseekid.cgi?id=0004275] Commodore 64, [ [http://www.lemon64.com/?game_id=2194 Lemon - Commodore 64, C64 Games, Reviews & Music! ] ] Amstrad CPC, [ [http://www.cpczone.net/index.php?game=756 Running Man by Grandslam for the Amstrad CPC ] ] Amiga, and Atari ST. [ [http://www.atarilegend.com/games/games_detail.php?game_id=2962 Atari Legend - Legends never die! ] ] 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 the upcoming "Madworld" have also been compared to the movie.

References

External links

*
* [http://www.alltrailers.net/the-running-man.html "The Running Man" trailer]

Box Office Leaders USA
before = Fatal Attraction
date = November 15
date2 = November 29
year = 1987
after = Three Men and a Baby