Advantages: Enjoyable action, decent violence, gore and Arnie one-liners. Disadvantages: Missing the intelligence of the source novel making it fairly one-dimesional.
THE RUNNING MAN Stephen King, you could presume, has a certain degree of foresight. Whilst not exactly identical to his novel The Running Man (written under his pseudonym Richard Bachman and published in 1982), the likes of Big Brother, Shipwrecked and any other hopeless reality television programme you care to mention certainly conforms to his future society where the masses lap up reality game shows. Yet the game shows in King's world are often ... ...offer, making it all the more intriguing for the bloodthirsty audiences of the future to enjoy. Imagine being treated to the likes of watching some nobody looking for their 15 minutes of fame "Climbing for Dollars", before they slip and fall into a pit of wild dogs and are torn to shreds by Mutley and Co. for being an utterly miserable failure. Joy! Alas, the pillars of society haven't crumbled enough to allow for such a tele-visual treat to pass, ...
clownfoot 30.04.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Running Man (DVD)
Advantages: Some of Arnie's memorable one-liners Disadvantages: Looks so cheap it's laughable
...Running Time: 101 Minutes
THE BACKGROUND:
In the tradition of 1980s super action hero, the bloke who was Starsky out of 'Starsky and Hutch' (I kid you not) brings you Arnie in 'The Running Man'. Amazing to think: the uberman of mindless action movies in an adaption of a Stephen King story and a good one at that! The Running Man loses its' Kingesque ending - after all it is an Arnie movie (hint: the goodies prevail, obviously), but retains the theme ... ...America. In order to keep the people distracted, the television networks run violent game shows such as 'Climbing for Dollars' - where a man attempts to ascend a rope pursued by rottweillers whilst snatching as much cash as he can. The biggest show of the lot is 'The Running Man': a show where convicted criminals (the 'runners') have to cross several city blocks chased by psychotic killers (the 'stalkers'). Add into the mix a bunch of Pans People ...
chunlex 04.12.2006
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Advantages: Amusing in places Disadvantages: Looks dated and cheap
...through my old video collection the other day looking for something to watch I came across this early Arnie classic and thought I would give it another viewing.
Set in the year 2019 the economy has collapsed and people’s standard of living has fallen through the floor, America is now a police state and increasingly violent TV programmes are used by the state to control the population and keep them subdued. The number one TV show is The Running Man, ... ...persona and weapons to match. The prize for the contestants is their freedom however if they fail they will pay with their life. The action is beamed to a studio audience and outside to the general population with the public placing bets on which stalker will deliver the next kill. With the advance of reality TV I reckon that this type of game show will be on air a lot sooner than 2019 it the current trend of breaking down social taboos continues.
...
atticusuk 27.07.2004
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The Running Man is a movie starring Arnold Schwarzennegar adapted from a Stephen King short story. Movie adaptations of Stephen King novels have generally, it has to be said, been pretty awful, but at the same time, othres have resulted in some of the finest movies ever made. I give you The Shawshank Redmeption and The Green Mile as two examples of the latter. Whilst The Running Man should never be, and probably will never be again mentioned in the ... ...not one of the worst adaptations I have seen. Equally its not one of the best either. The plot is simple but intriguing and should say something to you about the state of the world as we have it today. Arnold Schwarzennegar plays Ben Richards - a cop wrongfully imprisoned for the murder of women and chidren. He didn't do it, but even so he is imprisoned for it but is given the chance for freedom. You see, in this vision of Earth in the future, there ...
wampyrii 27.09.2001
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Advantages: great entertaining movie Disadvantages: none...unless you don't like blood
...in late 1987 and followed the survival of contestants of a futuristic television program, very loosely based on the 1982 novel of the same name by Stephen King.
**BRIEF PLOT**
It's the year 2017 and the world is in ruin. The economy has collapsed and people are controlled by a police state, there every move being monitored by the government.
The most popular activity for the people is watching the very aggressive game shows, which include dogs ... ...popular show is The Running Man, which is hosted by Damon Killian, (played by Richard Dawson), this show is a simple format, set a criminal (or a 'runner') loose on the derelict streets of old LA and then send several 'Stalkers' to kill them.. much to the pleasure of the watching audience, who enjoy betting on who will survive.
Meanwhile, whilst on patrol, a helicopter gunship pilot, Ben Richards, (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger), refuses an order ...
blissman70 02.08.2008
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Advantages: Well written, Arnie's timing Disadvantages: Strange
The second film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger to be released in 1987 was title The Running Man, and was loosely based on the novel of the same name, penned by Stephen King. Arnie's first movie that year was Predator, and met with great critical and commercial success. The Running Man attempted a more futuristic approach, aiming at a sci-fi action adventure.
The Plot
In the year 2017, the police control the state, and the government create a few ... ...called The Running Man, where convicted criminals fight each other for survival, hosted by Richard Dawson.
Ben Richards is a wrongly convicted mass murderer, and finds himself plunged into the limelight as the latest criminal on The Running Man. He must survive the game show in order to emerge the other side to clear his name.
The Cast and Performances
Arnie plays the fall guy very well, with his ability to fill his expression with disbelief and ...
pmcds 12.06.2008
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Advantages: Fun action/satire Disadvantages: Extremely 1980s
...of an oddity. Based on the novel by Richard Bachman; which in fact is a pseudonym for popular horror writer Stephen King, it explores the potential power and misuse of the media. On the other hand, it's a spectacularly eighties action vehicle for one of the great icons of the genre: Mr. Arnold Schwarzenegger. 'The Running Man' is one of the more overlooked gems from Arnie's eighties exploits, being overshadowed by much bigger films like 'The Terminator', ... ...shame because it's probably the most interesting of the bunch. It is the year 2017 and a totalitarian government uses the media; or more specifically television to control/subdue its underlings by pumping out sadistic, violent game shows and blood sports (an echo back to Roman times and gladiators perhaps). 'The Running Man' is the cream of the crop of these TV shows and is the most successful program in history. But as its popularity (and its ratings) ...
Markula 13.02.2009 (16.02.2009)
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Do you remember the days when Arnold Schwarzenegger made good movies? Believe it or not, but he did. Box-office-wise, he peaked in popularity with Terminator 2 in 1991, but most of his movies since then have been pretty poor...the odd exceptions being Kindergarten Cop, True Lies, Eraser(maybe) and I thought Last Action Hero was a pretty good idea. Terminator 2 was the icing on the cake for him...he became absolutely massive off of it. Nowadays, it ... ...that they mention will be the Terminator role. That's great, because he deserved the success, but there is a tendency to forget the work he had done beforehand. His rise to megastardom was as a result of some well-received action movies that he made throughout the 80's. Obviously, the original Terminator introduced him to the world, and it seems fitting that the same franchise helped him to reach his peak. However, I think the best movie that this ...
MrRPriest 27.02.2001
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Advantages: See opinion Disadvantages: See opinion
Picture this.... TV runs the world in the future. Powerful TV stations run by media moguls run the world. Sounds a bit like Sky TV to me. Anyway, the running man film is all about corruption, deceit and crime to get the all important TV ratings up in a futuristic version of America. Background storyline -------------------- Somewhere in the future, Criminals can prove their innocence by proving themselves on a national TV spectacular gameshow called ... ...American Prime Time TV. The next contestant to enter the game will be different to the others. He is an innocent man.... his name is Ben Richards, an Ex Cop, wrongly imprisoned for a crime he did not commit. Richards is a cop who flies his own helicopter gunship and is ordered to fire on citizens who are rioting for food. Refusing to fire on innocent civilians, he is knocked unconscious, jailed, accused of false charges and assigned to a penal colony. ...
andycharger 25.04.2001
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Advantages: Plenty of action, it's almost credible and enjoyably silly Disadvantages: There are some very cheesy lines!
...I have yet to read the book by Stephen King, the film version of 'The Running Man' remains one of my favourite Schwarzenegger films - it's not in the same league as 'The Terminator', but it's still well-made and (to a point) a pretty credible film about a nightmare post-apocalyptic future and the struggle to throw off the shackles of authoritarian rule. The film is set just a few years into this century - humankind has used up virtually all of the ... ...by brute force, even as the people are starving on the streets. The most effective mechanism of control at their disposal is a game show known as 'The Running Man', in which criminals are given the chance of a pardon if they (unarmed) can evade the stalkers (tooled up to the max with an assortment of weaponry, naturally) in the abandoned city blocks that were left in ruins after a great earthquake. Arnie is the latest contestant on this macabre show ...
Flodum 01.12.2000
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Advantages: Exciting and entertaining action adventure Disadvantages: The script has some corny one-liners
The Running Man tells a chilling tale of reality television taken to extremes, with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the title role. Based on Stephen King's novel of the same name, the story is told in an entertaining and humorous way, but also relates to modern day television, which is swamped with newer and more extreme reality TV shows. The Running Man is set in 2017, in a time when the world economy has collapsed and everyone is living in a totalitarian ... ...the media is censored the government does allow a number of game shows to be broadcast, including the sadistic and horrible 'The Running Man', in which convicted criminals fight for their lives against a number of vicious enemies. At the current count none of the criminals who have participated in the show have survived. In this dark and miserable world we meet Ben Richards (Schwarzenegger), who plays a police officer. The story unfolds with Richards ...
bigmike33 02.10.2006
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Advantages: Great fun,great action scenes,brilliant villains Disadvantages: not all that original,special effects a bit dated
...opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.
The Running Man has always been one of my favourite Arnie movies; it is based on (but how much it follows I don't know) a Stephen King Novel. The plot is set in a future America where the country has no free speech and music and most entertainment has been censored so that it is un-threatening to the Government. To keep the people entertained, there is a worldwide smash TV show called 'The Running ... ...wasteland and has to survive the attacks of 'Stalkers' who hunt them down, it is presented by Damon Killian (Richard Dawson - a real life Game Show Host), a real nice guy to the public, but really a nasty piece of work. A man by the name of Ben Richards (Arnold Schwarzenegger - Predator) has been wrongly imprisoned for gunning down helpless civilians who were rioting for food. The government has made out that Richards shot the people down in cold ...
Flash-Hammer 16.12.2005
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after the entertainment this brought to our screens, maybe it should be made in to a real life game show. you know the type, and this would fit in perfectly in japan. of course, there is one man being the hero as usual and doing things which everybody else has tried at and failed with their lives being the penalty for failure and that is taking on the creatures and animals in the game show maze with very scarce resourses and only their wits to survive! ...
steveymacca 26.09.2000
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Review of The Running Man (DVD)
Advantages: Classic Arnie Disadvantages: Cheesy as hell
...not a big fan of the phenomenon that is (or maybe that should be was these days) Arnold Schwarzenegger, then maybe you should steer clear. However if you have watched Terminator, or Red Heat, or Raw Deal, or any other classic old Arnie films, and you have never seen this one, hurry down the video shop now!
The story is set in the future based on a game show which is used by a military state to satisfy the bloodthirsty desires of the people, and ...
BIGHORSE 12.01.2001
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Advantages: Good action - Great acting. Disadvantages: A bit predictable.
...very bizarre game show from the 21st century called The Running Man. In this game show convicted killers are given an option to execution by trying to evade being killed for three hours in a chase and if successful they will be rewarded with their freedom. The chase takes place in a disused part of the city where everything looks like derelict warehouses and pot holed roads. The whole area is covered by TV cameras and the complete chase is televised ... ...and killed. The Stalkers who do the chasing are larger than life figures who live a life of luxury as international celebrities, but take the risk of being killed themselves during the chase. Normally this is very unlikely as the stalkers have an arsenal of weapons and all the resources of the TV network behind them. The host of the show is a very charismatic character named Damon Killian who is played extremely well by Richard Dawson. Killian revels ...
daseaford 17.06.2001
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In this action thriller based on an early story by Stephen King, Los Angeles in the year ... more
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 ...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Production Year: 1979 - Science Fiction - Director: Ridley Scott - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Sigourney Weaver, John Hurt, Tom Skerritt, Harry Dean Stanton, Ian Holm, Yaphet Kotto, Veronica Cartwright
Production Year: 2007 - Science Fiction - Director: Francis Lawrence - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Dash Mihok, Will Smith, Salli Richardson, Willow Smith
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![The Running Man [1987] [DVD] [1988]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/96931123.jpg)
