The Running Man

Discuss releases from Arrow and the films on them.

Moderator: yoloswegmaster

Post Reply
Message
Author
User avatar
domino harvey
Dot Com Dom
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm

The Running Man

#1 Post by domino harvey » Fri Mar 15, 2019 8:52 pm

Image

Over a decade after redefining the thriller with The Third Man, director Carol Reed returned to the genre with The Running Man. Reuniting with that film’s cinematographer Robert Krasker (BAFTA-nominated for his work here), Reed goes in the opposite direction visually, framing the twisty plot in sun-kissed widescreen colour.

Rex Black (Laurence Harvey, Walk On The Wild Side) has successfully faked his death in a plane crash and escaped to sunny Málaga under a new identity, waiting for his wife Stella (Lee Remick, Anatomy Of A Murder) to arrive with £50,000 of life insurance money. It’s the start of a blissful, trouble-free new life for the couple – until Stephen (Alan Bates, Gosford Park), the insurance agent in charge of investigating Rex’s death, suddenly arrives in town. Is he just holidaying in Spain, as he claims, or is he on assignment to foil Rex’s scheme?

Adapted by John Mortimer (later the creator of Rumpole of the Bailey) from the novel The Ballad of the Running Man by Shelley Smith, this underappreciated entry in Reed’s celebrated oeuvre makes its official worldwide home video premiere, complete with insightful new bonus features.

2K restoration of the film by Sony Pictures
High Definition (1080p) Blu-Ray presentation
Original uncompressed mono audio
Isolated music and effects track
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Audio commentary by Peter William Evans, author of British Film-Makers: Carol Reed
On The Trail Of The Running Man, all-new featurette with crew members such as script supervisor Angela Allen and assistant director Kits Browning
Lee Remick at the National Film Theatre, an audio-only recording of the actor's appearance at the NFT in 1970
Image gallery
Reversible sleeve featuring original artwork
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Barry Forshaw

User avatar
domino harvey
Dot Com Dom
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm

Re: The Running Man

#2 Post by domino harvey » Tue May 21, 2019 11:04 pm

Key takeaway from this film: Laurence Harvey in a blonde wig looks like 80s-era David Bowie (and good lord I had no idea he was so thin 'til that beach scene). Otherwise this is an easy "thank u, next". As a 70 minute cheapie noir this material may have worked, but as a way too long travelogue screed against the dumbness of insurance agencies, it really doesn't. Lee Remick is beautiful enough to even sustain sporting the world's ugliest sunglasses here, but she also starred in good movies in this period if one just needs an excuse to see her.

User avatar
Randall Maysin
Joined: Tue Apr 02, 2013 12:26 pm

Re: The Running Man

#3 Post by Randall Maysin » Fri Jun 07, 2019 8:26 am

Does anyone know if anyone in the world is ever going to release the two outlying "important" Reed films, The Stars Look Down and Outcast of the Islands? I find the modern-day neglect and lack of interest in Reed, in the world of course, and even among cinephiles in general (not as bad on this forum), really depressing.

User avatar
fdm
Joined: Fri Apr 21, 2006 1:25 pm

Re: The Running Man

#4 Post by fdm » Sun Jun 09, 2019 1:55 am

Outcast Of The Islands is one of Kino's at this point.

Post Reply