The Running Man

The Running Man Information

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The Running Man is a 1987 American science fiction-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. Director Andrew Davis was fired one week into filming and replaced by Glaser. Schwarzenegger has stated this was a "terrible decision" as Glaser "shot the movie like it was a television show, losing all the deeper themes." Schwarzenegger believes this hurt the movie. Paula Abdul is credited with the choreography of the Running Man dance troupe.

The film, set in a dystopian America in the year 2017, is about a television show called The Running Man, where convicted criminal "runners" must escape death at the hands of professional killers.

Plot

By 2017, the global economy has collapsed and American society has become a totalitarian 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, 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.

Eighteen months later, Ben Richards, a military pilot who was convicted of a massacre (in the process of suppressing a food riot in Bakersfield, California) which 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", but Richards kills him instead using barbed wire as a garrotte. This shocks the audience, as this is the first stalker to ever die on the show.

Laughlin and Weiss, both members of the aforementioned resistance movement, seek to exploit their current situation by searching for the network's uplink facilities, which they realise 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", whom Richards kills with Buzzsaw's own chainsaw. 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 instead of the stalkers. Off-camera, Killian offers Richards a job as a stalker, which Richards 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 to broadcast unedited footage of Richards' part in the Bakersfield massacre. 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 and desperately attempting to prove his point by explaining 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 featuring Killian himself and explodes, killing him instantly, much to the delight of the live television audience. The film ends with Richards and Amber sharing a kiss as they walk off the studio.

Cast

Arnold Schwarzenegger as Ben Richards, a wrongfully convicted military pilot who fights for his life in The Running Man show and joins the resistance against Killian.
María Conchita Alonso as Amber Mendez, a composer for the ICS who poses as Richards' girlfriend but who later develops real feelings for him after learning of his innocence.
Richard Dawson as Damon Killian, the ruthless host of a number of lethal game shows, including The Running Man, though he is loved by the audience for his charisma. He is the main antagonist of the film.
Yaphet Kotto as William Laughlin, a resistance member who allies himself with Richards in The Running Man and sacrifices himself to save Richards from Buzzsaw.
Marvin J. McIntyre as Harold Weiss, a resistance member who joins Richards and Laughlin in The Running Man and decrypts the uplink network codes for the resistance, though he is killed by Dynamo. McIntyre would later co-star again with Schwarzenegger in Twins.
Mick Fleetwood as Mic, the secret leader of the resistance. He initially distrusts Richards for his supposed role in the Bakersfield massacre, but accepts him as an ally once he discovers the truth.
Charles Kalani, Jr. as Professor Subzero, a stalker who uses a hockey-stick capable of cutting steel, exploding pucks, and a hockey rink zone specially fitted for him. He is killed by Richards who slits his throat with barbed wire.
Gus Rethwisch as Eddie "Buzzsaw" Vatowski, a stalker who uses a specially reinforced chainsaw and a motorcycle, and the previous season champion. He mortally wounds Laughlin, but is then slain by Richards.
Jesse Ventura 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 to use Killian's equipment and gimmicks. Ventura would later co-star again with Schwarzenegger in Predator and Batman & Robin.
Jim Brown as Fireball, armed with a flamethrower and jetpack. He secretly murders the previous season winners while Killian falsifies footage of their prize holiday. He is killed when Richards uses his own weaponry on him.
Erland Van Lidth De Jeude as Dynamo, an opera singing stalker who drives a buggy and wears a suit that allows him to arc electricity. He is defeated by Richards, and then killed when Amber sets off a water sprinkling system on him. This was Erland Van Lidth's final role before his death.
Dweezil Zappa as Stevie, one of Mic's men.
Sven-Ole Thorsen as Sven, Killian's head of security. Though mostly silent, he gradually grows to distrust Killian over the course of the film, and ultimately refuses to defend him against a vengeful Richards. Thorsen, either as a stuntman or an actor, is known to be Schwarzenegger's most frequent collaborator.

Reception

Although most critics praised Richard Dawson's performance as Killian, overall critical reaction to the film was mixed. The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes 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 Man's opening weekend, it was released in 1,692 theaters and grossed $8,117,465. The film's total domestic gross was $38,122,105, becoming a box office success.

Video game

A video game based on the film was released for the ZX Spectrum, 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.