The Running Man (1987) Retrospective / Review

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www.olivers-retrospectives.com
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/ oliverharper1982
The Running Man (1987) Retrospective / Review
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[@obatron1]

I miss movie themes like this. Got to love the 80's for the over abundance of synth.

[@kingdjack6]

more a 90's to 2000's guy.

[@stevezpj]

Synth and lycra - I miss the 80s

[@smaariseth]

I wish the 80s never ended

[@fuzzydunlop1753]

There's no such thing as an over abundance of synths.

[@leohaddad9225]

I liked the running man theme. It’s was fantastic

[@DingKong]

This film is more relevant now than it was when it came out. Apart from that it's a huge amount of fun.

[@joshiasbaja3934]

I totally agree. I first watched it in Mexico in 1988. Today, I’ve lived in Los Angeles two years and reality is mimicking “fiction”

[@adamropp4757]

You said he was on his way to becoming a huge action star in 1987. I would say he was already a huge star by then. Conan the Barbarian/Destroyer, Terminator, Red Sonja , Commando, Raw Deal.

[@adamropp4757]

***** Conan the Barbarian was #1 at the box office for 3 weeks, quadrupled it's money in 4 months and made more revenue than the Terminator. Commando was also #1 for 3 weeks and Tripled it's money over the summer. Raw Deal was #2 doubling it's money, Destroyer also made money and was #4. Any actor who does this in 5 years, plus adding in the #1 hit Terminator is already a star. (Barbarian is actually very memorable and considered a classic, however their classical status NOW is irrelevant to the fact that when they were RELEASED they were hits.)

[@burntvirtue]

Yeah Arnie was definitely already a star by 1987.

[@sookmajoaby]

He was a huge star in 87 but became a megastar after T2

[@bernierose719]

Trickbop last action here was the beginning of the end though

[@boshirahmed]

@@sookmajoaby downhill aftre T2, T2 was his peak, then mediocre to bad movie roles.

[@tenacious645]

I LOVE the pause Richard has after Arnie give his, "I'll be back" line. He was about to dismiss it, but it rattled him. Played so perfectly.

[@Crashtian]

"Here is sub zero... now.... plain zero"

[@jlane9656]

Worst and best line of all time ;-)

[@ted_cruzumaki]

🤯

[@sdawg4834]

What happened to Buzz-Saw? He had to split!

[@cubanref9670]

😂🤣💪🏼

[@eddysandland58]

Hey Christmas Tree!!!

[@hoffy1888]

Arnie owned the 80s!

[@DieHardjagged]

Seriously, he starred in so many good movies, i still think Raw Deal is one of his best action flicks.

[@leigh6417]

YES!

[@i_i8924]

and 90s

[@wolfen337]

Stallone owned the 80s!

[@misterlexx2721]

Stallone and Schwarzenegger. Stallone had 2 franchises running concurrently then .

[@kobathedread]

I love Jesse Ventura in this show. As I did in Predator. In fact, Arnie and Ventura should have made more films together.

[@danielwilliamson6180]

Jesse Ventura had a small part as a guard in Batman and Robin which he shared two scenes with Arnold.

[@Superior_Productions]

Honestly I think Ventura shouldve been cast as Bennett in commando instead of the dude who played Vez from The Road Warrior, it would've made the film stand out more

[@danielwilliamson6180]

@@Superior_Productions Vernon Wells was perfect for Wez.

[@SageofSorrow]

@@Superior_Productions omg.....how have I never thought of that? That would have been an amazing casting lol.

[@TerbrugZondolop]

Agreed

[@jako9793]

Brilliant movie from my teen years , watched it again last month and I still think it's awesome

[@gammaALAN]

Totally agree.

[@renehernandez52]

super underrated ARNOLD FILM BIG TIME!! thanx for doing a retrospect on it mate!!

[@Tigerfire75]

Maybe they could put those two critics on as the next contestants. They could go and give their opinion then.

[@missnycsparkles]

A great movie. I love the concept and the overall look of it. The score is very awesome too. The only problem I have is the fact that somehow they have super good quality footage of Ben Richards in the helicopter from all angles haha that always made me go wtf?! Excellent retrospective!

[@nicknewman7848]

They even have his own point of view in that footage, when he gets hit in the face with a rifle butt. I'm glad someone else noticed that weirdness. It has bugged me for years.

[@gammaALAN]

Yeah, it’s ridiculous! You also see footage from later in the film used in the Running Man commercial early on! It’s a five star film for me though, warts and all!

[@irondice5183]

Many films fall prey to the "anywhere-cam" troupe, it's not very well thought out

[@danielyeatts491]

"What happened to Buzzsaw? He had to split."

[@zmajodnocaja5088]

A great thing to say after Buzzsaw just sawed your best friend to death. Gotta love the total obliviousness of the screenwriters to things such as tone or reason.

[@lankey6969]

Rest in peace Dynamo. You'll always be remembered as the most questionable hunter in The Running man. I mean, why would an obese opera singer that drives a dune-buggy have electric powers?

[@christophereckes3251]

This film predicted obesity rates would increase and in fact that Dynamo is a knock-off of many fat gladiators during the period of time this movie took place. There was Electrode, Fancy Hands and Shockzlounge to name a few. His vehicle was state of the art Tesla.

[@robotpanda77]

This is a great film and easily could be a vision of the future. The emperors of Rome did not build the coliseum because they wanted a big place to sit when watching gladiators fight. It was built purely to distract the masses from rebellion and is a staple in any authoritarian state. It has happened before, it will happen again.

[@DrLynch2009]

The Original Hunger Games.

[@ed_ward6869]

Lynch85 the hunger games is nothing compared to the running man.

[@iSynthh]

Lynch85 not to mention the hunger games ripped off battle royale

[@ruban8135]

ikr

[@BolinFoto]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/iKjFY5qieNibsLs

[@ytanonymity3585]

The running man before it'll be a Korean TV Show

[@mikeperry7335]

nothing better then an 80s movie set in the future

[@adamrampage]

This is one of my all time favourite movies! In my opinion a classic!!

[@Larry]

I'm surprised they've not done a reboot of this yet. But I guess super violent R movies are out nowadays :(

[@danielmeza4065]

Its called the HUnger Games

[@studinthemaking]

If they redo it. They will just screw it up. Just like they did with total recall redo.

[@MrTHEMONEEMAKER]

Daniel Meza Nope not the same thing my friend

[@MrTHEMONEEMAKER]

They could make a kickass remake there is definitely potential for it we just need the right action star, badass gladiators, a charismatic gameshow host villain and this could be awesome

[@theblocksays]

They COULD have done a more faithful adaptation of the books, instead of relying on nostalgia callbacks/fan-service of the original movies fan boys recognize!

[@maxsdad666]

Arnold was my favorite actor growing up-- being born in 1980. Even tho I really wasn't old enough at the time, I was able to see all of his movies a year or two after their release with the help of H.B.O. and my father's handy VCR. He had an arsenal of recorded movies, and late at night on the weekends my friends and I would watch all the ones we weren't supposed to. We were able to see all the super violent and profane 80's flicks we could handle. Sometimes getting to sleep afterwards was a challenge, but that was all part of the enjoyment! Every year or so Arnie would put out a new movie, and we would have new one-liners and action dialogue to memorize for future aggressive games we would play. Anyways... it's great to look back at in the context of the era and politics that were happening at the time; as kids we had no idea, we were just loving the explosions and uber-violence. Thanks for the reviews!

[@misterlexx2721]

1980 here too. Long life bro.

[@murdock8068]

Same here folks. Nov 1980. Best childhoods ever. Cartoons. Movies. Toys. We had it all!!

[@charlessmith263]

In that flick, I was trying to analyze the so-called "prisoner restraint collar", which I call PRC, used in the Wilshire Detention Center scene. It is an extremely scary collar when you see what happened when Chico tried to escape in the breakout-revolt by the prisoners....his head gets blown off by a detonation inside the collar, instantaneously killing him, on the voice-over "Sonic deadline's up, prisoner restraint collars armed, sonic deadline's up, prisoner restraint collars armed..." and character Weiss de-arms the collars by finally breaching the secure computer interface on the command "Perimeter deactivated...." That 2-word phrase de-arms the collars for good and the breakout was complete, but the collars can still go off if they try to take them off. So they had to find somebody to safely take those collars off after the breakout was over. I am guessing that since the PRC was paramilitary, and I am thinking about military meaning they use explosives - most likely the explosive used on those collars was something like C4. As the movie goes on, one of the prison escapees, who still has the PRC on, is helped by a underground de-armer of those PRCs. I am guessing there is a booby-trap circuitry that explodes the collar if the collar is tampered with, so the de-armer had to do a temporary electrical circumvent that allows for something like a 30-second added delay in the fuse that won't blow the collar immediately. But as the collar is detached, there is a back-up arming system that re-arms the collar and still will detonate the collar in 15 seconds, so as the collar is removed, the de-armer puts the collar into the garbage chute on "Good-bye, my lovelies"--the de-armer had to put the armed collar away safely and fast before it exploded, and putting it into the garbage can and closing it contained the detonation. Controlled det - and it worked! This was the scariest part of what "The Running Man" is all about.

[@DiegoBrigante]

Only in a rerun. Best line ever.

[@scottyclayton5604]

Oliver, I LOVE it when you include S & E reviews. Adds a great extra touch.

[@chriswebb3124]

was that a toaster oven strapped to ventura's chest lol

[@lancesingleton3700]

Rotisserie oven lol

[@mattleuty5285]

I love how this film kind of predicted the way T.V has turned out, what with all the reality shows we have now. I remember having Arnie's films on video in the 80's and put this in the same vein as Commando and later Raw Deal.

[@brandonbrake5782]

Been doing a HUGE nostalgic dive in all things Arnold recently, including the Netflix Doc: 'Arnold', and just CAN'T get enough! Thanks for making this as I hold 'The Running Man' as a personal favorite that's a little less known. About to kick back and watch some with my father next week, and just feel all warm and fuzzy watching. Great content!

[@Doronc82]

It won 'Most Violent Movie' of 1987? Didn't Robocop come out that year? Surely it was more violent.

[@carlosalomar4247]

Yes, That's what I thought!!!

[@SB992REBORN]

Well, the released cut of Robocop contained "less graphic" depictions of violence and mayhem than in the unaltered unrated directors cut, ^& PLUS, the violence in Robocop, for the most part [sans Murphy' brutal\depressing execution in the 1st act] was mostly played for laughs, akin to something like Kick-Ass wheras Running Man' felt more dire & "sadistic" it being set in a virtual gladiator, mad max-ian arcade arena, thus why this makes some sense as to why, in my book. JS

[@skidmore15]

My first rental experience as a kid. My grandmother had no idea the violence it had in the plot... made me a huge Arnie fan. Love the cinematography too, the lights, the 80s look... awesome review Oliver! Love your channel

[@ryan8211982]

WWE and WCW legend Jesse "The Body" Ventura was once again co-star with Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Running Man since Predator in the same year, 1987. in The Running Man, Ventura played Captain Freedom, one of the Stalkers.

[@OhioRiverFisherman]

This movie is one of my favorites!!!! I seen it when I was a kid and I've loved it ever since

[@Bobbywoodhogan]

My favourite Arnie film, just has that feel good 80s vibe that only films from that decade could. The greatest decade for movies and music.

[@Akaoni21]

5 or 6 bucks to watch a movie?... They had it good in the past didn't they? :O

[@squamish4244]

It was weirdly prescient about the wave of reality shows that started 13 years later. I kept waiting for them to announce one where participants would be killed onscreen.

[@marguskiis7711]

+valinor100 First reality shows were made as early as in the 50s, which inspired writer Robert Sheckley, who 1960 wrote the original story "The Prize of Peril" which was later copied by Stephen King.

[@michaelwills1926]

valar waiting for that too...give it a few more years.

[@SammEater]

The Running Man is one of my favorite Arnie movies.

[@javierr.castillo1101]

"Then your ready for Captain's Freedom's work out. YEAH!"

[@OliverHarper]

Cheers for the feedback buddy and thanks for subscribing!

[@DeepeyeLV]

Every track in this movie is fantastic. There are few movie like that.

[@DOYLETWAT]

Hey light head! Hey Christmas tree!

[@GlennnD]

Oliver Harper ! Really like your video's ! You give a great reviews without shouting and give much facts about people who are involved with the movies. Thumbs up !

[@OliverHarper]

@Hogweed2543 Thank you ever so much for those kind words. I really appreciate it.

[@ramonpinyataro8255]

I actually felt that this movie was great in my opinion has aged very well

[@NY4Life]

This maybe the best Post Apocalyptic Fight For Freedom movie I've ever seen.

[@DSan-kl2yc]

James Faraci ever watch roller ball?

[@Sefert79]

Dynamo is the funniest/insaniest dystopian gladiator ever. CLAP IF YOU LOVE!

[@Popo111603]

I do love The Running Man OST.

[@kennethwilliams7731]

A very fun film! Ive watched it several times and it always holds my attention. I think I may watch it this weekend,again!

[@robcohen7678]

So addicted to this channel

[@OliverHarper]

Cheers buddy, i hope you enjoy the rest of the reviews and my future videos. :)

[@MaxskiSynths]

Severely underrated film! the theme is amazing too and as a kid I was always excited to see this on the tv.

[@peterkrug4124]

"Hey, Christmas tree! Follow me, lightbulb!"

[@19822andy]

All the film has in common with the short story is the title. I'd love to see a movie that more closely followed the short story

[@lancesingleton3700]

Did you still enjoy the film?

[@Ricktofenable]

great professional review, thanks!

[@adamwatson2914]

This is good! Love seeing clips with a review.

[@CaptainMauser]

Legendary film score! One of the best of the 80's! Thanks Faltermeyer! Hey Christmas three!

[@sonnybrown4758]

I love this flick

[@kazuhirala]

Soundtracks to this film is really amazing till this day it's good

[@paulmidgley8040]

Pretty sure it's the work of the great harold faltermeyer.

[@Solo413]

Maria Conchita Alonso...absolutely delicious back in the day.

[@leegsy]

How are your balls?

[@journeyman1218]

Absolutely agree

[@eastbaysteez]

you review every movie i watched as a youngster. amazing nostalgia... subscribed immediately

[@SchlossRitter]

Perimeter ... Deactivated

[@SavageMontreal]

Sonic deadline is down... Prisoner restraint collars are armed.

[@gammaALAN]

Brilliantly edited scene!

[@martinhudecek8886]

Just finally seen this retro classic from start to finish, after many times being late to the party. Some very disturbing Orwellian stuff in there, despite the cheesy 80s vibe.

[@lancesingleton3700]

Facts

[@martinhudecek8886]

@@lancesingleton3700 I don’t follow? You agree with my appraisal?

[@lancesingleton3700]

@@martinhudecek8886 yes everything you said is facts i agree with your assessment of the film

[@martinhudecek8886]

@@lancesingleton3700 I was thinking earlier today how limited Arnold is outside of action films but he was above par here. A great real life rags riches story if far from a great actor.

[@eclectic_gamer]

I'm surprised this film hadn't had a remake

[@seeingred1409]

you had to say it didnt you.lol

[@JoelCraike]

I hope they never remake or reboot it either

[@damianstarks3338]

iv been on this channel a few times and i m liking what i see cbg19 needs to check this sit out.

[@PatTheBatmanFan]

One of John Carpenter’s most underrated film scores.

[@jmm1233]

Paula's Theme is one my fav tracks of the soundtrack of this movie , but to trying to find a non film rip is impossible sadly , yet itis one the most best themes ever from this film

[@jordana4910]

It really does hold up. Sure, some of it is goofy but the world does parallel ours to a degree.

[@zeonmx]

The Hunger Games and Battle Royale all got the idea from Running Man.

[@j.b.booker7912]

great review! the theme from this is so good. thanks for covering the soundtrack too. most dont bother.

[@clericjack]

Would love to see a remake that's faithful to the novel; in my humble opinion, it is King' s best novel.

[@syphonfilter8372]

I love your reviews. I haven't seen them all yet but I have to ask: Have you ever agreed with Siskel&Ebert? XD I can't blame you if haven't. I find myself disagreeing with them more than agreeing. Awesome review.

[@OliverHarper]

I generally agree with Ebert when he reviews films. I included many of their reviews to give a balance to the video and also to reflect what critics thought at the time. Cheers for your feedback mate.

[@syphonfilter8372]

Oliver Harper Your welcome. Anytime. It's refreshing in this day and age to see someone with good taste and an eye for things that people don't see in films that truly are enjoyable. I don't know how you feel about animation but have you reviewed The Secret of NIMH? Imo, one of the best animated films ever made. Keep up the good work. We need more critics like you.

[@OliverHarper]

Syphon Filter Hey bud, I haven't reviewed The Secret of NIMH as of yet, I've only covered two animated films - The Black Cauldron and Street Fighter. Its something i want to do more in future. But I get so many requests its hard to get to them all. Thanks for your feedback I really appreciate it.

[@syphonfilter8372]

Oliver Harper Hey, ya got all the time in the world. Take it one at a time. Get to the ones you want to do first. Secret of NIMH is probably my favorite 80's animated film. It's loosely based on the book "Mrs. Brisby and the Rats of NIMH" (Pretty much all movies are loosely based on their books XD) and long story short, I thought it was a testament to how old school animation is done. Best of luck and I hope winter isn't hitting your area too bad.

[@OliverHarper]

Syphon Filter Cheers bud, the winter weather is okay where I am in the UK, its quite mild. I feel sorry for the people in the States and Canada where its as cold as the south pole!. Its crazy!.

[@christopher-fc7vr]

"now that hit the spot" great line lol.

[@PhatGirlLuvr68Comix]

This movie, out of any others, Deserves a remake. Best line: "I can't wait to ram it into your stomach and break your goddamn spiiiiiiieeeenne!"

[@jamesl.anderson1384]

6:24 Beverly Hills Cop (1984) 6:25 Top Gun (1986) 6:29 Cop Out

[@JesusSuckedGayPenis]

Out of all the 80's films set in the future, bizarrely this is the most accurate. Holy crap they predicted a lot of shit correctly, maybe that's why it's aged so well.

[@i_i8924]

Demolition Man is probably king of predictions

[@stefanosprokopis6974]

This is one of Arnold best. I love this film.

[@stevezpj]

Awww, no mention of the computer game "Flashback" which does a nice homage to this (and Total Recall) I love how they totally predicted taking one actor's face digitally and then applying it over another actor after working out how both look in 3 dimensions. Coincidentally, one of the first times I saw this done in close up was in Terminator Salvation and it was Arnie's younger face on his stunt double.

[@44excalibur]

Arnold Schwarzenegger was already a huge action star by the time The Running Man was released in1987 with the success of Conan The Barbarian, The Terminator, Commando, and Predator, along with a couple of less successful films like Conan The Destroyer, Red Sonja, and Raw Deal.

[@southlondon86]

I also used to get this mixed up with Total Recall because of the strong red colours used throughout. Seems like red & neon blue were very popular colours in late 80s/early 90s films.

[@usernamemoved]

Are you saying those colors aren't popular now???? GO WILDCATS !!!! lol

[@TheWaynos73]

I love the running man. It almost feels like a prophecy with people’s addiction to reality tv these days.

[@sfighter991]

Good review, I actually really like this movie, however back then as a kid, I had no idea it was actually based on a book, let alone written by Stephen King. I since then read the book and now notice all the changes. I think this is one case where it could benefit from a remake. But keeping true to it's original book roots and casting a competent actor in the lead. But for now I'll enjoy this action packed funfest.

[@alfredosauce1]

gosh that music at the end is awesome

[@shaggyalonso]

"We have all seen how the media twists the truth to make us think in one direction with a basis to gain control over us" - top comment, and more relevant than ever in 2022.

[@RossTheNinja]

When a word starts with a vowel sound, use "an" before it.

[@danielm2808]

This is one of my fave Arnie films, the action and one liners on cheap sets does it for me.

[@LetsPlayPC]

Man I wish that they had been more faithful to the book with this movie. It could have been great.

[@10072018]

We used to watch this movie every weekend when I was a kid.

[@adambusenlehner3689]

The full score soundtrack is now available from Varese Sarabande on a 2CD release.

[@jellygiraffe]

Having recently read the book, I'd love to see this movie remade. While I still love it as is, and it was a great vehicle for Arnie, I was blown away by how much better the book was. I think a remake sticking closer to the source material with someone like Jake Gyllenhall (spelling?) would be great. Would have been perect for Liam Neeson, if he was younger. Great reviews on this channel BTW.

[@lastguyminn2324]

I read the book before I saw the movie, and to this day I absolutely hate this adaptation. A faithful adaptation of the novel would be incredible. I hope we one day see it.

[@flowinsounds]

@@lastguyminn2324 the book was so dark. i'd love to see a faithful version

[@drakashrakenburgproduction5369]

@@flowinsounds you're in luck. Edgar Wright confirmed he is making a remake that is more faithful to the book.

[@philsurtees]

One of the most prescient action movies of all time! It not only predicted the takeover of reality TV and shows like Survivor. For those saying the movie should be remade, just look at Gamer...

[@NachtSchreck13]

This movie goes well back to back with another 1987 production, Robocop.

[@tunnis7us]

I see more underlying theme in this film and it's that violence and suffering of people is entertaining and this perhaps not so near future we might see see this type of entertainment I mean we have seen it already for years via news and such.

[@thetreblerebel]

Great videos mate

[@gold24k54]

I love watching these movies.

[@tedpilledtonysoprano5512]

I just now realized that the ICS headquarters is the same building used by Wolfram and Hart in the Angel series

[@bestboutgaming3212]

This film did age very well.

[@fse30]

Thanks for the video! You seem to have omitted the casting of Maria Conchita Alonso as the other main character of the film. Could you tell us a bit more about Her and if available any information about she got the role... where there any known actors competing for the role Alonso landed?

[@ryan8211982]

Sven Thorsen who played head security Sven in The Running Man was on Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future as Lt. Michael "Tank" Ellis, Ground assault unit.

[@ScotsDestroyer]

sub zero, now plain zero

[@RossTheNinja]

DevilsBathtub zero is more than sub zero

[@MaxskiSynths]

@@RossTheNinja He was warmed up to death

[@davidjjanderson1981]

They are releasing the complete soundtrack on vinyl in the UK on the 14th August 2020. Looks like a very nice release .

[@SageofSorrow]

The only thing I don’t like about this movie is how it practically hyped up this big showdown between arnold and Jessie Ventura’s character.......and it never happened lol. Closest we got was Jessie killing Arnold’s body double.

[@Jim90117]

I honestly think Richard Dawson makes this movie, he absolutely nails the back handed two faced career showman. I would love to see a remake where Richards and Killian have more screen time together and perhaps have the chasers be a tad more terrifying.

[@studinthemaking]

Such a great soundtrack.

[@notmyrealname3403]

Can you explain the art in your thumbnails. How is it created, who does it, are there hard originals etc. I find them interesting, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. If this has been done can you direct me there?

[@hedheb2619]

Will you ever do Eyes Wide shut or other Kubrick films?