The Running Man (1987)
The world’s economy collapsed in 2019, according to the 2019 World Economic Outlook. As the great American freedoms have been eroded, the nation that was once so powerful has closed its borders and turned into a police state. It censors all literature and film. Two revolutionaries lead a small resistance group that fights oppression. The government has complete control of the media and attempts to quell nation’s desire for freedom through a series of games shows in which convict criminals vie for their lives. Damon Killian hosts “The Running Man”, which is the most popular and sadistic program. A peaceful demonstration of hungry citizens in Bakersfield is sparked by the arrival of Ben Richards, a California police officer. He refuses to open fire and orders Richards to shoot at them. Richards, who is subdued and framed by other officers for nearly a hundred civilians unarmed deaths, is eventually taken down. Richards, along with three others convicts, is again captured after a bold jailbreak months later. He fights with them and three other convicts to defeat a group of gladiators who are hunting him down in the rubble of the Los Angeles earthquake. Killian promises Richards that he will return to settle his score after he double crosses him. The contestants have to search the rubble for resistance, in order to finally reveal the truth about government. –Curly Q. Link
Genre: Action, Science Fiction, Thriller
Director: Paul Michael Glaser
Actors: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Erland van Lidth, Jesse Ventura, Jim Brown, María Conchita Alonso, Richard Dawson, Yaphet Kotto
Country: United States
