Search - The Running Man (Special Edition) on DVD

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 7/19/2020...

The movie was a bit dated but that's how movies during the 80s were made. The movie took a bit to get going and once it got going Arnold Schwarzenegger was at his best with action and his one liners. Maria Conchita Alonso, a young Jim Brown, a young Jesse Ventura and others shined in this. A must for Terminator, Wrestling and Football fans!

Chad B. (abrnt1) from CABERY, IL
Reviewed on 5/11/2011...

Based on the Stephen King novel (written under his Richard Bachman pen name) this film missed the point. It really doesn't have anything to do with the novel. A pointless action film that seems to exist only to provide Arnold with one liners. This is one of those films where you find yourself wondering what the filmmakers were thinking. Why spend the money to buy the rights to a novel if you're going to ignore it?

2 of 4 member(s) found this review helpful.

Great remaster - pathetic extras

Jon | CA USA | 04/18/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The newly-remastered picture is so much clearer and more vivid than the original release and the DTS soundtrack is an awesome addition. After having heard it, I would've bought it for the DTS, alone. Who knew that a 17-year-old movie could be remastered to DTS quality and 6.1 surround so well (including very targeted use of the rear channels).The extras are another story, as many people have stated. The "Lockdown on Main Street" is a thoroughly one-sided political statement. If it should be anywhere, it should be on PBS, not on an action movie DVD. It feels like execs at Artisan were determined to put this documentary out there and picked "The Running Man" from their upcoming catalog as the best suitor.The "Game Theory" documentary is just a piece in which creators and participants of reality TV shows pat themselves on the back for their popularity. Perhaps fans of reality TV would find it interesting, but I didn't.In summary, the new remastering of the movie is "special," but nothing else on either of the discs is. As someone else said, buy it for the movie. The extras may make my stomach turn, but the movie is one of the best remastering jobs I've ever seen."

Well-Filmed Sci-Fi Adventure Movie!

Barron Laycock | Temple, New Hampshire United States | 08/16/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"In this wry and entertaining take on a world gone crazy, where corporate rulers routinely engage popular sport activities to distill public anger and frustration and to try to distract common people from civic unrest, we find perpetual everyman Arnold Schwarzenegger caught in the vise-grip of official lies when he escapes from maximum security prison only to be caught and selected as the latest "contestant" (read `intended victim' here) for the overwhelmingly popular television program called, appropriately enough, "Running Man". The point of the game is for the contestant to survive being hunted down by a sewerful of villains while trying to make his way through a nightmarish maze. The villains are a bit campy, ranging from an outrageously garbed electric man who dispatches virtual lightning bolts to fry his prey out of existence to a chainsaw freak who attempts to hack his victims to death while riding his motorcycle. Yet the action sequences more than make up for the sometimes-silly dialogue. The supporting cast is composed of veterans like Richard Dawson as the venomous game-show host and producer, who manipulates every aspect of the game to reach the storyline he has laid out. There are also a lot of cameos here, from Mick Fleetwood as a revolutionary to Jessie "The Body" Ventura as a sports commentator to Jim Brown as one of the slayers. The special effects are well done, and the action sequences provide plenty of vicarious violence for the moviegoer. Of course, Arnie has a waft of throwaway one-liners, and we know we are in the hands of experience when he tells Dawson the "he'll be back". Dawson, of course, not knowing whom he is dealing with, blows off the threat. But the moviegoer knows Arnie will be back, and that he will win the day. This is not an intellectually satisfying film, but it is a good, sold action adventure based on an early story of Steven King's that will keep you amused and entertained. It provided one of a series of sequential hits for Schwarzenegger, and helped to cement his reputation as a bankable superstar. Great stuff for wiling away a snowy winter day. Enjoy!"

An above-average sc-fi adventure made possible by Arnold

Kevin Wolf | Lawrenceville, Georgia United States | 10/07/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"(minus one star for the sound)I have seen this movie several times, mostly on television, and I have always found it to be a very exciting and watchable movie. Like other reviewers, my biggest problem with the movie is that it is the same scene over and over. But even so, when you throw in Arnold (i still cant spell his last name), you are guaranteed to taken for the ride of your life. while not an actor with much dramatic range, he still seems to be the only actor who can appear in a movie like this and make it seem like it was the role he was born to play. Dawson is terrific as the almost-likable villian Killian, and the girl in this goes perfectly with arnolds character. If you like action, blood, excitment, and more blood, then check this one out. It may not be the most intellegent movies to come out of the 80's, but it is one the most fun and exciting. Now, whay isn't there a dolby digital track on this disc? I thought the main point of owning dvds is the picture AND the sound. pro logic may cut on vhs, but not on dvd. I'm waiting to see if they'll rerelease it with dts or dd. good movie, cheap disc."