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The Running Man (film)
Encyclopedia
The Running Man is a 1987 American action film
loosely based on Stephen King
's 1982 novel
of the same name. Directed by Paul Michael Glaser
, the film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger
, María Conchita Alonso
, Jesse Ventura
, Jim Brown
, and Richard Dawson.
The film, set in a dystopia
n America in the year 2019, is about a television show called The Running Man, where convicted criminal "runners" must escape death at the hands of professional killers. The Running Man bears some similarity to "Das Millionenspiel", a fictional German reality show (1970), which is itself based on the novel The Prize of Peril by Robert Sheckley
.
, censoring
all cultural activity
. The government pacifies the populace by broadcasting a number of game shows in which convicted criminals fight for their lives, including the gladiator
-style The Running Man, hosted by the ruthless Damon Killian, where “runners” attempt to evade “stalkers” and certain death for a chance to be pardoned and set free.
Two years later Ben Richards, a military pilot who was convicted of a massacre he actually refused to participate in, escapes from a labor camp
with other inmates and flees to a shanty town
on the outskirts of Los Angeles
. Declining an offer to join a resistance movement, Richards instead seeks shelter at his brother's apartment. He finds it is now occupied by Amber Mendez, a composer for ICS, the network that broadcasts The Running Man. Richards attempts to flee to Hawaii
with Amber as a hostage, but she alerts airport security and Richards is captured and taken to the ICS studios. Killian coerces him to compete in The Running Man with the threat that if he declines, his two weaker escapee friends—Laughlin and Weiss—will be put on the show instead. Richards complies, but as the show begins, Killian reveals that Laughlin and Weiss have been enrolled as runners anyway. Richards and his friends are attacked by the first stalker, Subzero, who is eventually killed by Richards and Laughlin, shocking the show's audience. While continuing to evade the barbaric stalkers, Laughlin and Weiss search for the network's uplink
facilities, which they know are within the game zone.
Meanwhile, Amber begins to question the media's veracity after watching a falsified news report on Richards' capture. Amber discovers the truth about the massacre, but she is captured and subsequently sent into the game zone, where she encounters Richards and the others. The runners split up, each pair pursued by a different stalker. Laughlin is mortally wounded by the stalker Buzzsaw, who Richards subsequently kills. Weiss and Amber are successful in locating the uplink system and learning the access codes, but Weiss is electrocuted by the stalker Dynamo. Amber's screams lead Richards to her, and as the two evade the stalker, Dynamo's buggy flips, trapping him inside. Richards then stuns the audience by merely pinning Dynamo in the vehicle, proclaiming that he will not kill a helpless man.
Amber and Richards return to Laughlin, who reveals that the resistance has a hideout within the game zone before finally dying. Back at the ICS studio, Killian sees Richards' popularity growing, with viewers betting for Richards to win when they are supposed to bet only on the stalkers. Off-camera, Killian offers Richards a job as a stalker, which he furiously declines. As the next stalker, Fireball, pursues Amber and Richards into an abandoned factory, Amber inadvertently finds the charred bodies of the previous season's "winning" (and, supposedly, pardoned) runners. Fireball attempts to kill Amber, but Richards rescues her and kills Fireball with his own weaponry. Running out of options, a frustrated Killian uses computer-generated imagery
to fake the deaths of Richards and Amber in the final match of the episode, a falsified battle against retired stalker Captain Freedom.
In the game zone, Richards and Amber are captured by the resistance and taken to their hideout, where they learn of their “deaths” on the show. Using the access codes provided by Amber, the resistance takes over the ICS satellite. Richards leads the rebels to the ICS studios where they seize the control room, allowing the resistance broadcast. Richards then heads to the main studio floor, shocking the live and at-home audiences who had watched him supposedly die. Amber encounters Dynamo, but she kills him when an errant gunshot sets off the sprinkler system, electrocuting him when the water hits his electrically powered suit. Richards confronts Killian, now shamed and disgraced before those watching. He explains that he had created the show for huge ratings and to appease American viewers' love for television, action and violence. Ignoring the excuse, Richards sends Killian into the game zone aboard a rocket sled, which flies into a billboard, that features Killian himself, and explodes, killing him instantly, much to the delight of the live television audience. The film ends as Ben and Amber share a kiss as they walk off the studio.
reported that 63% of critics gave the film a positive review based on a sample of 32 reviews, with an average score of 5.5/10. In The Running Mans opening weekend, it was released in 1,692 theaters and grossed $8,117,465. The film's total domestic gross was $38,122,105.
, Commodore 64
, Amstrad CPC
, Amiga
, and Atari ST
. The game was developed by Emerald Software Ltd
and published by Grandslam Entertainment
. A 1990 video game called Smash TV
was inspired by The Running Man.
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
loosely based on Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
's 1982 novel
The Running Man
The Running Man is a science fiction novel by Stephen King, first published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman in 1982 as a paperback original. It was collected in 1985 in the hardcover omnibus The Bachman Books...
of the same name. Directed by Paul Michael Glaser
Paul Michael Glaser
Paul Michael Glaser is an American actor and director, perhaps best known for his role as Detective David Starsky on the 1970s television series Starsky and Hutch; he also appeared as Captain Jack Steeper on the 1999 to 2005 NBC series Third Watch.-Early life:Glaser, the youngest of three...
, the film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
, María Conchita Alonso
Maria Conchita Alonso
María Conchita Alonso , better known as María Conchita, is a Venezuelan Grammy Award-nominated singer and actress.- Early life :...
, Jesse Ventura
Jesse Ventura
James George Janos , better known as Jesse Ventura, is an American politician, the 38th Governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003, Navy UDT veteran, former SEAL reservist, actor, and former radio and television talk show host...
, Jim Brown
Jim Brown
James Nathaniel "Jim" Brown is an American former professional football player who has also made his mark as an actor. He is best known for his exceptional and record-setting nine-year career as a running back for the NFL Cleveland Browns from 1957 to 1965. In 2002, he was named by Sporting News...
, and Richard Dawson.
The film, set in a dystopia
Dystopia
A dystopia is the idea of a society in a repressive and controlled state, often under the guise of being utopian, as characterized in books like Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four...
n America in the year 2019, is about a television show called The Running Man, where convicted criminal "runners" must escape death at the hands of professional killers. The Running Man bears some similarity to "Das Millionenspiel", a fictional German reality show (1970), which is itself based on the novel The Prize of Peril by Robert Sheckley
Robert Sheckley
Robert Sheckley was a Hugo- and Nebula-nominated American author. First published in the science fiction magazines of the 1950s, his numerous quick-witted stories and novels were famously unpredictable, absurdist and broadly comical.Sheckley was named Author Emeritus by the Science Fiction and...
.
Plot
By 2017, the global economy has collapsed and American society has become a totalitarian police statePolice state
A police state is one in which the government exercises rigid and repressive controls over the social, economic and political life of the population...
, censoring
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
all cultural activity
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
. The government pacifies the populace by broadcasting a number of game shows in which convicted criminals fight for their lives, including the gladiator
Gladiator
A gladiator was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their legal and social standing and their lives by appearing in the...
-style The Running Man, hosted by the ruthless Damon Killian, where “runners” attempt to evade “stalkers” and certain death for a chance to be pardoned and set free.
Two years later Ben Richards, a military pilot who was convicted of a massacre he actually refused to participate in, escapes from a labor camp
Labor camp
A labor camp is a simplified detention facility where inmates are forced to engage in penal labor. Labor camps have many common aspects with slavery and with prisons...
with other inmates and flees to a shanty town
Shanty town
A shanty town is a slum settlement of impoverished people who live in improvised dwellings made from scrap materials: often plywood, corrugated metal and sheets of plastic...
on the outskirts of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. Declining an offer to join a resistance movement, Richards instead seeks shelter at his brother's apartment. He finds it is now occupied by Amber Mendez, a composer for ICS, the network that broadcasts The Running Man. Richards attempts to flee to Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
with Amber as a hostage, but she alerts airport security and Richards is captured and taken to the ICS studios. Killian coerces him to compete in The Running Man with the threat that if he declines, his two weaker escapee friends—Laughlin and Weiss—will be put on the show instead. Richards complies, but as the show begins, Killian reveals that Laughlin and Weiss have been enrolled as runners anyway. Richards and his friends are attacked by the first stalker, Subzero, who is eventually killed by Richards and Laughlin, shocking the show's audience. While continuing to evade the barbaric stalkers, Laughlin and Weiss search for the network's uplink
Earth station
A ground station, earth station, or earth terminal is a terrestrial terminal station designed for extraplanetary telecommunication with spacecraft, and/or reception of radio waves from an astronomical radio source. Ground stations are located either on the surface of the Earth, or within Earth's...
facilities, which they know are within the game zone.
Meanwhile, Amber begins to question the media's veracity after watching a falsified news report on Richards' capture. Amber discovers the truth about the massacre, but she is captured and subsequently sent into the game zone, where she encounters Richards and the others. The runners split up, each pair pursued by a different stalker. Laughlin is mortally wounded by the stalker Buzzsaw, who Richards subsequently kills. Weiss and Amber are successful in locating the uplink system and learning the access codes, but Weiss is electrocuted by the stalker Dynamo. Amber's screams lead Richards to her, and as the two evade the stalker, Dynamo's buggy flips, trapping him inside. Richards then stuns the audience by merely pinning Dynamo in the vehicle, proclaiming that he will not kill a helpless man.
Amber and Richards return to Laughlin, who reveals that the resistance has a hideout within the game zone before finally dying. Back at the ICS studio, Killian sees Richards' popularity growing, with viewers betting for Richards to win when they are supposed to bet only on the stalkers. Off-camera, Killian offers Richards a job as a stalker, which he furiously declines. As the next stalker, Fireball, pursues Amber and Richards into an abandoned factory, Amber inadvertently finds the charred bodies of the previous season's "winning" (and, supposedly, pardoned) runners. Fireball attempts to kill Amber, but Richards rescues her and kills Fireball with his own weaponry. Running out of options, a frustrated Killian uses computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
to fake the deaths of Richards and Amber in the final match of the episode, a falsified battle against retired stalker Captain Freedom.
In the game zone, Richards and Amber are captured by the resistance and taken to their hideout, where they learn of their “deaths” on the show. Using the access codes provided by Amber, the resistance takes over the ICS satellite. Richards leads the rebels to the ICS studios where they seize the control room, allowing the resistance broadcast. Richards then heads to the main studio floor, shocking the live and at-home audiences who had watched him supposedly die. Amber encounters Dynamo, but she kills him when an errant gunshot sets off the sprinkler system, electrocuting him when the water hits his electrically powered suit. Richards confronts Killian, now shamed and disgraced before those watching. He explains that he had created the show for huge ratings and to appease American viewers' love for television, action and violence. Ignoring the excuse, Richards sends Killian into the game zone aboard a rocket sled, which flies into a billboard, that features Killian himself, and explodes, killing him instantly, much to the delight of the live television audience. The film ends as Ben and Amber share a kiss as they walk off the studio.
Cast
- Arnold SchwarzeneggerArnold SchwarzeneggerArnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
as Ben Richards - María Conchita AlonsoMaria Conchita AlonsoMaría Conchita Alonso , better known as María Conchita, is a Venezuelan Grammy Award-nominated singer and actress.- Early life :...
as Amber Mendez - Richard Dawson as Damon Killian
- Yaphet KottoYaphet KottoYaphet Frederick Kotto is an African-American actor, known for numerous film roles , and his starring role in the NBC television series Homicide: Life on the Street .-Early life:Kotto was born in New York City, the son of Gladys Marie, a...
as William Laughlin - Marvin J. McIntyreMarvin J. McIntyreMarvin J. McIntyre, sometimes billed as Marvin McIntyre is an actor with more than thirty years worth of screen appearances. His credits include:*Fandango *Pale Rider *Silverado *Short Circuit...
as Harold Weiss - Mick FleetwoodMick FleetwoodMichael John Kells "Mick" Fleetwood is a British musician and actor best known for his role as the drummer and namesake of the blues/rock and roll band Fleetwood Mac. His surname, combined with that of John McVie, was the inspiration for the name of the originally Peter Green-led Fleetwood Mac...
as Mic - Charles Kalani, Jr.Charles Kalani, Jr.Charles "Charlie" J. Kalani, Jr. was an American professional wrestler, professional boxer, college football player, soldier, actor, and Martial Artist who, in fighting rings, was also known as Professor Toru Tanaka, or simply, Professor Tanaka.-Early life:He was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, the son...
as Professor Subzero, a heavily muscled man using a hockey-stick capable of cutting steel, exploding pucks, and a hockey rink zone specially fitted for him. - Gus Rethwisch as Eddie "Buzzsaw" Vatowski, a large brawny man using specially reinforced chainsaws and uses a motorcycle, the previous season champion.
- Jesse VenturaJesse VenturaJames George Janos , better known as Jesse Ventura, is an American politician, the 38th Governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003, Navy UDT veteran, former SEAL reservist, actor, and former radio and television talk show host...
as Captain Freedom, a ten-time former Running Man Stalker champion. He becomes increasingly disgusted by repeated one-sided matchups until he is finally selected, but refuses when Killian demands he use equipment and gimmicks. - Jim BrownJim BrownJames Nathaniel "Jim" Brown is an American former professional football player who has also made his mark as an actor. He is best known for his exceptional and record-setting nine-year career as a running back for the NFL Cleveland Browns from 1957 to 1965. In 2002, he was named by Sporting News...
as Fireball, armed with a flamethrower and jetpack. - Erland Van Lidth De JeudeErland Van Lidth De JeudeErland van Lidth de Jeude was a Dutch-born actor who appeared in several Hollywood films, as well as being a wrestler, an opera singer bass-baritone, and also worked with computers. While his large size Erland van Lidth de Jeude (June 3, 1953 - September 23, 1987) was a Dutch-born actor who...
as Dynamo, an opera singing man who drives a buggy and wears a suit that allows him to project electricity. - Dweezil ZappaDweezil ZappaDweezil Zappa is an American rock guitarist and occasional actor.-Early life:Zappa was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of musician Frank Zappa and Adelaide Gail Sloatman, who worked in business. He is the second of four siblings: his older sister, Moon, younger sister Diva and younger...
as Stevie - Sven-Ole ThorsenSven-Ole ThorsenSven-Ole Thorsen is a Danish actor, stuntman, bodybuilder and strongman competitor. Sven won Denmark's Strongest Man in 1983....
as Sven the head of security for Killian, who belittles him as a "brainless brute" stereotype.
Reception
The review aggregation website Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reported that 63% of critics gave the film a positive review based on a sample of 32 reviews, with an average score of 5.5/10. In The Running Mans opening weekend, it was released in 1,692 theaters and grossed $8,117,465. The film's total domestic gross was $38,122,105.
Video game
A video game based on the film was released for the ZX SpectrumZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
, Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
, Amstrad CPC
Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad CPC is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the United Kingdom,...
, Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
, and Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
. The game was developed by Emerald Software Ltd
Emerald Software Ltd
Emerald Software was a video game publisher founded in 1988 by two UK entertainment executives - David Martin of Martech, and Mike Dixon who previously worked with EMI and worked as the company CEO....
and published by Grandslam Entertainment
Grandslam Entertainment
Grandslam Entertainment was a computer and video games software house based in Britain. It was formed in late 1987 from the ashes of Argus Press Software by former Argus Managing Director, Stephen Hall. Grandslam developed and published many games for home computers during the 1980s and 1990s...
. A 1990 video game called Smash TV
Smash TV
Smash TV is a 1990 arcade game created by Eugene Jarvis and Mark Turmell for Williams. Home versions were developed for various platforms and most were published by Acclaim Entertainment.-Description:...
was inspired by The Running Man.
See also
- List of American films of 1987
- The 10th VictimThe 10th VictimThe 10th Victim is a 1965 Italian/French international co-production science fiction film directed by Elio Petri. It is based on Robert Sheckley's 1953 short story "Seventh Victim". Sheckley later published a novelization of the film in 1966.-Plot:...
- The Prize of Peril, novel published in 1958
- Le Prix du DangerLe Prix du DangerLe Prix du Danger is a 1983 French-Yugoslav science fiction movie, directed by Yves Boisset. It is based on Robert Sheckley's The Prize of Peril, published in 1958.-Story:...
, French movie from 1983 - Das Millionenspiel - German TV movie from 1970