- The Running Man Arnold Schwarzenegger

directed by Paul Michael Glaser
USA 1987

"The Running Man" is an arcade game for the big screen, a contest in which the player is Arnold Schwarzenegger and the game keeps throwing big bruisers at him. To cast this movie, they called up the reserves of Hollywood heavies. There are villains named Fireball, Captain Freedom, Dynamo, Buzzsaw and Subzero, all thrown at Arnold like new chapters in a superhero comic book, and with true comic justice, each villain dies by his own weapon.

The cast reads like a roll call of action heroes and pro wrestlers: Jim Brown, Jesse Ventura, Erland Van Lidth, Professor Toru Tanaka. One after another, they go into battle and are destroyed. This formula would quickly get old if it were not for some sort of gimmick to hold it together, and the movie has just that gimmick in the form of a deadly futuristic TV show named "The Running Man," which is hosted by the veteran TV game show emcee Richard Dawson. Playing himself, he has at last found the role he was born to play.

Excerpt from Roger Ebert's review at the Chicago-Sun Times located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: November 13, 1987

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DVD Comparison:

Artisan Entertainment - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Artisan Entertainment (Special Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC

Big thanks to Enrico for all the Screen Caps!

(Artisan Entertainment - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Artisan Entertainment (Special Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - RIGHT)

DVD Box Covers
Distribution	Artisan Entertainment Region 1 - NTSC	Artisan Entertainment Region 1 - NTSC
Runtime	1:40:21	1:40:33
Video	1.85:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.52 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.78:1 Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 8.44 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: Artisan Entertainment
Bitrate: Artisan Entertainment (Special Edition)
Audio	English Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround	Widescreen: English DTS 6.1 ES, Dolby Digital 5.1 EX; Fullscreen: English Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Subtitles	English, None	English, Spanish, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Artisan Entertainment Aspect Ratio: Widescreen letterboxed - 1.85:1 Edition Details: • Theatrical Trailer DVD Release Date: August 20, 2002 Amaray Chapters 24	Release Information: Studio: Artisan Entertainment Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.78:1 Edition Details: • Audio Commentary with Producer Tim Zinnemann and Director Paul Michael Glaser • Audio Commentary with Rob Cohen - Executive Producer • Lockdown on Main Street • Game Theory • Meet the Stalkers • Theatrical Trailer • on Disc 2 is the Fullscreen version of the movie DVD Release Date: March 16, 2004 Amaray Chapters 24

Comments

The newer Special Edition of The Running Man is superior over the old release. Artisan took some care in making this DVD and added some nice goodies which are worth to check out and the new digital audio tracks add some real improvement over the old release. This new DVD isn't perfect as all four sides are cropped or better say zoomed in but this is the only real letdown. Sharpness, colors and contrast beat out the old DVD and this is an upgrade every fan of the movie should do.

Note: Beware that the Canadian DVD misses out the DTS ES 6.1 track do the fact that Distributor Alliance Atlantis included a French dub of the movie. The rest is identical to this U.S. DVD.

- Enrico

DVD Menus

(Artisan Entertainment - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Artisan Entertainment (Special Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - RIGHT)

Screen Captures

(Artisan Entertainment - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP vs. Artisan Entertainment (Special Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - BOTTOM)

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DVD Box Covers

Distribution

Artisan Entertainment

Region 1 - NTSC

Artisan Entertainment
Region 1 - NTSC