The Running Man (Special Edition)
by Paul Michael Glaser
List Price:
Our Price: $8.99
You Save: $5.99 (40%)
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Buy Used: from $3.31 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jesse Ventura, Jim Brown, Maria Conchita Alonso, Yaphet KottoDirector: Paul Michael Glaser
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1 EX
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC, Original recording remastered, Special Edition, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 101 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-03-16
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Republic Pictures
Movie Reviews of The Running Man (Special Edition)
Movie Review: A surprisingly timely sci-fi adventure movie
Summary: 4 Stars
Arnold Schwarzenegger is a game show contestant in which the stakes are his life. Framed for a crime, he must literally run from his life from "stalkers" that are cheered on by an in person audience of thousands and a TV audience of millions. These assailants could pass for Marvel Comics supervillians. "The Running Man" is a game show has a contract with the government to place people convicted of major violent crimes on its show and satisfy people's desire to see these criminals hunted down. Full pardons are supposedly available to those who survive. Although this government is totalitiarian and is not big on free speech, they do allow "The Running Man" because it satisfies a poor and hungry population and serves as a valuable distraction.
The movie features Richard Dawson as the game show host, someone who was also a game show host in real life. It also has Jesse Ventura, long before he was governor of Minnesota, as one of the stalkers.
The scene in which Schwarzenegger is running in loud colored tourist garb from police who are chasing him to get close enough to shoot a net over him is hilarious.
This is an example of what I call political science fiction. It features a possible future social political scenario that is dramatic and far fetched. Unlike traditional science fiction, this movie is not concerned with technology or speculations of what scientific discoveries and inventions will have been made by a particular point in the future.
Although our government is a far cry from "totalitarian", it is amazing how much in The Running Man has come true. We do indeed have a government that has encroached more on our privacy and our civil liberties. I generally agree with the DVD's special feature on civil liberties, but I would like for them to have given some examples of what they are talking about. We also have contest shows that border on exploitation, courtesy of broadcaster that will put anything on TV for ratings. The recent glut of reality TV is an example of this, as confirmed by another special feature on this DVD. The set for "Climbing for Dollars", a TV show which Amber is watching in her apartment, eeriely resembles the set of "Fear Factor."
Who would have guessed that this 1987 movie would be able to tell us so much about our world today?
Summary of The Running Man (Special Edition)
In this action thriller based on an early story by Stephen King, Los Angeles in the year 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 on television is an elaborate game show in which convicted criminals are given a chance to escape by running through a gauntlet of brutal killers known as "Stalkers." Anyone who survives is given their freedom and a condominium in Hawaii, so when a wrongly accused citizen (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is chosen as a contestant, all hell breaks loose. Cheesy sets and a slimy role for game-show host Richard Dawson make this violent mess of mayhem a candidate for guilty pleasure; it is the kind of movie that truly devoted Arnold fans will want to watch more than once. And check those credits--choreography by Paula Abdul! --Jeff ShannonAction & Adventure DVD Video
DVD Video
- Action & Adventure
- African American Cinema
- Animation
- Anime & Manga
- Art House & International
- Classics
- Comedy
- Cult Movies
- Documentary
- Drama
- Educational
- Fitness & Yoga
- Gay & Lesbian
- Horror
- Kids & Family
- Military & War
- Music Video & Concerts
- Musicals & Performing Arts
- Mystery & Suspense
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Special Interests
- Sports
- Television
- Westerns
Movies most talked about in Films that are Original and Innovative, Yet . . . - Part I
Last Remake of Beau GesteUniversal Studios; Release date: 1992-03-12; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
Batman Returns (Two-Disc Special Edition)BATMAN RETURNS; Release date: 2005-10-18; DVD
Best price: $35.99
Batman (Two-Disc Special Edition)Release date: 2005-10-18; DVD
Best price: $59.88
12 Monkeys (Special Edition)Release date: 2005-05-10; DVD
Best price: $6.06
Price in other shops:
The Wedding Singer - Totally Awesome EditionSANDLER,ADAM; Release date: 2006-04-25; DVD
Best price: $5.46
Price in other shops:
Spanking the MonkeyRelease date: 2005-12-06; DVD
Best price: $9.17
Price in other shops:
The Assassination of Richard NixonPENN,SEAN; Release date: 2005-04-26; DVD
Best price: $2.76
Price in other shops:
Laugh or I'll Shoot Collection (The Naked Gun / Top Secret! / Airplane! - Don't Call Me Shirley! Edition)Release date: 2006-04-11; DVD
Best price: $16.58
Price in other shops:
DickRelease date: 1999-12-14; DVD
Best price: $3.56
Price in other shops:
Ghostbusters (Widescreen Edition)Sony; Release date: 2006-03-14; DVD
Best price: $3.88
Price in other shops:
Similar DVD Movies
Red SonjaWarner Brothers; Release date: 2004-07-06; DVD
Best price: $4.49
Price in other shops:
End of DaysSCHWARZENEGGER,ARNO; Release date: 2000-04-18; DVD
Best price: $2.97
Price in other shops:
The TerminatorMGM; Release date: 2001-10-02; DVD
Best price: $3.91
Price in other shops:
True LiesSCHWARZENEGGER,ARNO; Release date: 1999-05-25; DVD
Best price: $6.79
Price in other shops:
The 6th DayRelease date: 2001-03-27; DVD
Best price: $3.23
Price in other shops:
EraserRelease date: 1997-03-26; DVD
Best price: $3.99
Price in other shops:
PredatorRelease date: 1998-11-03; DVD
Best price: $9.02
Price in other shops:
Red Heat (Special Edition)Release date: 2004-09-07; DVD
Best price: $3.94
Price in other shops:
Commando (Director's Cut)TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2007-09-18; DVD
Best price: $10.26
Price in other shops:
Total RecallRelease date: 2005-05-31; Published: 1990; DVD
Best price: $3.43
Price in other shops: