The Running Man

"It is the year 2019. "The Running Man" is a deadly game no one has ever survived. But... Schwarzenegger has yet to play."

1987 1h 41m EN

👍

6.5

SOLID

🥫

59%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

6.6

IMDB

★6.5TMDB · 3,002🥫59%Rotten Tomatoes●45Metacritic★6.6IMDB · 189,583

ActionThrillerScience Fiction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

By 2017, the global economy has collapsed and U.S. society has become a totalitarian police state, censoring all cultural activity. The government pacifies the populace by broadcasting a number of game shows in which convicted criminals fight for their lives, including the gladiator-style The Running Man, hosted by the ruthless Damon Killian, where “runners” attempt to evade “stalkers” and certain death for a chance to be pardoned and set free.

“It is the year 2019. "The Running Man" is a deadly game no one has ever survived. But... Schwarzenegger has yet to play.”

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Cast

Arnold Schwarzenegger
Ben Richards
Richard Dawson
Damon Killian
María Conchita Alonso
Amber Mendez
Yaphet Kotto
William Laughlin
Jim Brown
Fireball
Jesse Ventura
Captain Freedom
Erland van Lidth
Dynamo
Marvin J. McIntyre
Harold Weiss

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Paul Michael Glaser
Writers: Steven E. de Souza, Tom Cranham, Petko Kadiev
Languages: English, Italian, Japanese, Spanish
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

39 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 4 languages: English, Italian, Japanese, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CAST

Did you know

271+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Paul Michael Glaser, shot by Thomas Del Ruth. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Original score by Harold Faltermeyer. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Mark Warner shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Richard Dawson and María Conchita Alonso carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "It is the year 2019. "The Running Man" is a deadly game no one has ever survived. But... Schwarzenegger has yet to play.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Paul Michael Glaser directs. Thomas Del Ruth behind the camera. Harold Faltermeyer scores. Mark Warner cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Italian, Japanese, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

139 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Dialogue crosses 4 languages: English, Italian, Japanese, Spanish.
3271+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
4Directed by Paul Michael Glaser, shot by Thomas Del Ruth. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Harold Faltermeyer. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Mark Warner shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Arnold Schwarzenegger and Richard Dawson and María Conchita Alonso carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "It is the year 2019. "The Running Man" is a deadly game no one has ever survived. But... Schwarzenegger has yet to play.".
9IMDB entry: tt0093894 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 16 themes, including "based on novel or book", "dystopia", "game show", "on the run".

The technical file

Cinematography: Thomas Del Ruth
Original score: Harold Faltermeyer
Editing: Mark Warner
Production design: Jack T. Collis
Costume design: Robert Blackman
Makeup / hair: Frankie Bergman
VFX supervisor: Robert Grasmere
Sound: Rick Kline
Stunt coordinator: Bennie E. Dobbins
Runtime: 101 min · 1h 41m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $27,000,000
Box office: $38,122,105
Return: 141% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Running Man (1987)
Rotten Tomatoes: 59% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 45/100
IMDB rating: 6.6/10 · 189,583 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

1 win & 3 nominations total

Also by

Paul Michael Glaser

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2016-08-07
★ 7/10
I'm not into politics. I'm into survival. The Running Man is directed by Paul Michael Glaser and adapted from the Stephen King (as Richard Bachman) story by Steven E. de Souza. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Conchita Alonso, Richard Dawson, Yaphet Kotto, Jim Brown, Jesse Ventura, Erland van Lidth, Marvin J. McIntyre, Gus Rethwisch, Professor Toru Tanaka and Mick Fleetwood. Music is by Harold Faltermeyer and cinematography by Thomas Del Ruth. It may be packed with cheese and is as nutty as a squirrel's sandwich, but this is one astutely entertaining futuristic slice of sci-fi pie. Schwarzenegger becomes a reluctant contestant in the most popular TV show of the time, The Running Man. It's a sadistic show where convicts are thrust into a zonal world and have to avoid an array of stalking killers. Cue lots of outrageous violence, equally outrageous costumes, and of course with Arnold in the lead there's plenty of dialogue zingers. The caustic observation of how television programmes have evolved is potently portentous, and it's all played out to an industrial 80s score from Faltermeyer. It helps if you know what you are going to get from it, since it's a typical Schwarzenegger movie from the fruity chaotic popcorn era in the 80s. So with that in mind, for A.S. fans this is one to gorge on with glee - for others it may not have the charm offensive required to strike a chord. 7/10
CinemaSerf2025-11-16
★ 6/10
“Richards” (Arnold Schwarzenegger) has always had trouble with authority. Usually, that’s because he doesn’t like carrying out arbitrary orders in his newly militarised USA. When he finally finds himself on the wrong side of the law, his options are reduced to participation in the ultimate game show. He can win his freedom and a life of luxury if he’s the last man standing, but along the way he is going to play ball with the manipulative producer “Killian” (Richard Dawson) who has no intention of paying him a cent. Before long, though, “Richards” begins to realise that there is an undercurrent of resistance thriving here and it’s goal it to destroy the network and reinstate some sort of liberty for the now put-upon citizenry. With the “Stalkers” like “Fireball” (Jim Brown) on his tail, what chance this ill-equipped band can learn who to trust and then prevail when all the cards are stacked against them. I wouldn’t say this is one of Arnie’s more charismatic efforts, nor do either Dawson nor his henchmen really create much of a sense of menace, but it does poke fun at the whole concept of money-grabbing reality television and showcases just what people are prepare to do, to tolerate and to cheer when they are watching. Indeed, for much of this humanity reverts to it’s almost brutally tribal, gladiatorial, roots. It’s impossible to know just how many ideas it may have either inadvertently spawned or rather depressingly predicted (or both) and had Paul Michael Glaser perhaps spent just a little more time on improving the inane dialogue and cast a more sinister “Killian” this could easily have been quite a threateningly portentous warning of things to come. In the end, though, it’s just a little lacking in the story’s own convictions; at times had more of the “Generation Game” to it than anything with plausible jeopardy and it’s Harold Faltermeyer score has dated it dreadfully.
GenerationofSwine2026-06-06
★ 10/10
OK, it wasn't like the novel.... the Novel was sort of Network turned into an action movie with a scrawny lead... and this missed the mark and went more into straight Science Fiction Action, but it's still really fun to watch and still has some of the satirical edge to it. Which puts it above the remake which dropped satire altogether, and just made the movie into a nonstop lecture about how the Democrat Party and Communism are the only good things on gthe planet. The remake sort of left Netword behind completely and made a leftist version of Red Scorpion... if Red Scorpion constantly talked down to it's audiance in the most belittling way possible. 1987's Running Man doesn't tak down to it's audiance... at all. But it also loses a lot of the satire form the source material, it doesn't say anything political... it says less about politics than the Bachman novel did. It's not very deep, but it also doesn't try to be, they just made an entertaining Science-Fiction Action Adventure film. They succeeded in the entertainment part, it's not the best to come out of the 80s, but it's fun enough to be memorable and compared to the trash that comes out today... it's 10 out of 10. Compared to the remake it's 10 out of 10. Back when I was 7 and saw it in theaters with my dad.... 5 out of 10, memorable fun but not very good.