The Running Man (film)
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| The Running Man | |
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| Directed by | Paul Michael Glaser |
| Produced by | Keith Barish Rob Cohen |
| Written by | Stephen King (novel) Steven E. de Souza |
| Starring | Arnold Schwarzenegger Maria Conchita Alonso Yaphet Kotto and Richard Dawson |
| Distributed by | TriStar Pictures |
| Release date(s) | November 13, 1987 (premiere) |
| Running time | 101 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $27,000,000 |
| IMDb profile | |
A film loosely based on the novel was released in 1987. Also titled The Running Man, it was directed by Paul Michael Glaser and starred Arnold Schwarzenegger as Ben Richards. It also featured future governor of Minnesota, Jesse Ventura, Arnold's bodybuilding-buddy Sven-Ole Thorsen, and pro football legend Jim Brown. Richard Dawson, in a self-parody of his role as the host of Family Feud, plays the host of The Running Man television show, Damon Killian. The theme music was done by Harold Faltermeyer. The film differed significantly from the novel. It is set in the years 2017 and 2019.
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[edit] Plot Summary
In the year 2017, things like oil and food are scarce, and the world economy has collapsed. The great freedoms of the United States are no longer, as the nation has sealed off its borders and become a militarized police state, censoring all film, art, literature, and communications.
With full control over the media, the government attempts to quell the nation's yearning for freedom by broadcasting a number of game shows on which convicted criminals fight for their lives. The most popular and sadistic of these programs is "The Running Man," hosted by Damon Killian.
Ben Richards is a helicopter pilot who refuses to fire upon civilians in Bakersfield, California during a food riot. Since the government held total control over the media, Richards, by not following his orders, was instead turned into a scapegoat by state propaganda for the resulting civilian massacre and imprisoned. Images of the event appear on television across the country, and Richards was given the moniker, "The Butcher of Bakersfield".
Richards spends his time in prison collaborating with two other prisoners on how to escape, but they have to wait for it, as one of the prisoners is a cybergenius and can manipulate computer systems. The holdup however, are the collars each prisoner must wear around their neck which are implanted with a ring of C-4 explosive. Any attempt to remove the collars without the legitimate code will cause the collar to explode- likewise, if any prisoner leaves the boundary of the prison's laser linked worksites, the collar will explode. After finally learning the code to deactivate the collars, Richards and his convict friends stage a fight, and in the ensuing process, manage to escape to freedom- and all three disappear into the underground after having their collars removed.
Richards, now disguised as a construction worker- goes to the last place he remembers- which was an apartment owned by a family member of his. Amber Mendez (Maria Conchita Alonso), now lives in the apartment, and after being overwhelmed by Richards, she discloses that the former occupants were taken to 'reeducation camps'. Richards doesn't trust her, but he can't leave her either, so he attempts to kidnap her and fly to Hawaii. After she alerts airport security, it leads to a chase through the airport, whereafter he is captured with a netgun (afterwards, and the media falsely states that Richards killed several police officers and security guards at the airport).
Richards is forced onto the game show called The Running Man, the most popular television show "in the whole, wide, world," with three other convicts: William Laughlin and Harold Weiss, with whom Richards had escaped from prison, and Amber Mendez, who was caught looking through disks that contained raw footage of "The Bakersfield Massacre" (and who was later portrayed by the media as Richards' lover, among other things, to make the audience dislike her). The show is portrayed as a gladiatorial-style competition that takes place in an earthquake-ruined section of Los Angeles, in which 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, their own "Game Zones", areas where they would have a tactical advantage (Subzero's game zone was an ice rink, as he shared the look of a hockey goaltender, complete with ice skates and razor-sharp stick).
Richards grows from an ex-con "villain" to a popular player of the game as he confronts and kills each Stalker he faces. With the Department of Justice becoming increasingly frustrated by a convict doing well on the show, Killian, during a commercial break, offers Richards a role as a Stalker on the show, which he declines. Killian ultimately stages the death of Richards through computer-generated imagery by the hands of Captain Freedom (Ventura).
As the film progresses, Richards discovers and joins a group fighting the television network that airs The Running Man. They intend to expose the "truth" behind The Running Man -- that contestants who had been declared winners in the past had actually been killed by Stalkers. They also publicize the truth behind the massacre in Bakersfield, so that the viewing public would learn to understand that the government is feeding them lies in order to control their way of thought.
The movie ends in an upbeat, if violent manner. Richards straps Killian into a rocket-powered sled and sends him hurtling through twisting tunnels, eventually launching into the air and crashing into a billboard featuring his own image, exploding on impact.
Themes of dystopia such as authoritarianism and state propaganda feature heavily in the film.
Like many adaptations of King's works, this translation to film was not considered artistically successful by many critics. Stephen King himself was reportedly unhappy with it. However it is considered a cult favorite by many of Schwarzenegger's fans. In the film, Schwarzenegger again uses the line "I'll be back", establishing it as his catchphrase. Although this time it was for the purpose of having Killian respond "Only in a rerun".
[edit] 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, many believe that the video game Smash TV was inspired by the events of the film, due to being a game about a very violent fictional gameshow. In later years, the game Manhunt would also be compared to the movie.
[edit] Quotes
- Ben Richards: I've seen too much? All I've seen is a bunch of low foreheads who think they can change the world with dreams and talk. It's too late for that! If you're not willing to act, gimme a break and shut up.
- Ben Richards: (After slaying Sub-Zero) Killian! Here is your Sub-Zero! Now... Plain zero!
- Ben Richards: (Running in the maze looking for the uplink) Uplink ! Underground ! Uplink ! Underground ! Uplink ! Underground ! If you two dont shaddup, I'm gonna uplink your ass! And then you'll be underground!
- [Amber examines the dogtags of several corpses]
- Amber: Whitman... Price... Haddad... "The Running Man"... last season's winners...
- Fireball: No. Last season's losers.
- Ben Richards: You cold-blooded bastard, I'll tell you what I think, I'll live to see you eat that contract! But I hope you leave enough room for my fist, because I'm going to ram it into your stomach and break your goddamn SPINE!! YAAAAAAAAAA!!!! (as he rips a television down and spikes it on the floor)
- Agent: ...for cassettes, video tapes, bubble-chips, or all other methods of recording known or unknown. Sign here.
- [Sven directs Ben to sign]
- Sven: Here! Here, here. Here use my back victim. Ahh!
- [Ben stabs Agent in the back with his pen]
- Ben Richards: Don't forget to send me a copy.
- Damon:...the love of my life, my number one fan, Mrs McArdle. How are you doin'?
- Mrs McArdle: Just fine.
- Damon:I want a kiss now, a big kiss, but remember, no tongues.
- Damon: Hi cutie-pie. You know one of us is in deep trouble. Do you know who I am?
- Ben: Sure, I've seen you before. You're the ass-hole on TV.
- Damon: That's funny, I was going to say the same thing about you. I saw the video of your prison break. Sensational.
- Ben: Let's see. Now where should we go. Maybe some place warm. I need to work on my tan anyway. You see you get so pale in prison. Here you are. Good. Now, I'm going to untie you, and you're going to get dressed, and you're going to come with me.
- Amber: Oh yeah? Well why should I?
- Ben: Because I'm going to say 'please'.
- [Ben lifts Amber and the bench she's tied to off the floor with one arm]
- Amber: Well why didn't you say so?
- [A cleaning man accidentally bumps into Damon Killian]
- Cleaner: Oh, I'm sorry Mister...
- Damon: That's okay, what's your name.
- Cleaner: Dan.
- Damon: Dan, you're doing good work, your work's beautiful. Don't worry.
- Cleaner: Thank you.
- Damon: Ok?
- Cleaner: Thank you.
- IN ELEVATOR
- Damon: Brenda if that ass-hole is mopping the floor tomorrow you will be mopping it for the rest of the week. [to Sven] Let's go!
- Damon: You look pissed, Ben. And believe me you have very right to be. But, could you just listen to me, Ben? This is TELEVISION. It has nothing to do with the people, it has to do with the ratings. For 50 years, we taught people what to eat, what to drink, what to wear. For God's sakes, Ben, Americans LOVE television! They wean their kids on it. They love game shows, they love wrestling, they love sports...violence! So what do we do, we give'em what they want! We're #1, Ben! That's all that matters! Believe me, I've been in the business for 30 years!
- Ben: Well, I haven't been in show business as long as you have, Killian, but I'm a quick learner. And it's time I think I give the public what I think they want.
- [Ben slams Damon into the launch pod and the clamps lock Damon in]
- Damon: You BASTARD! DROP DEAD!
- Ben: I don't do requests.
- Stevie: Don't touch that Dial.
[edit] Trivia
- The 2001 Halloween Horror Nights event at Universal Studios Florida had a haunted walkthrough loosely based on the film, titled RUN. It was remade for the 2006 event as RUN: Hostile Territory, however it has nothing to do with the original, instead being themed after the 2006 horror movie Hostel (film)
- In an politically-themed episode of MXC, a contestant holds up the Japanese release of "The Running Man" entitled "Battle Runner".
