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An absolutely first rate thriller where everything, including the performances, really is turned up to 11 to produce an excessively entertaining film chock-full of nerve-shredding thrills, which also holds a surprise or two up its sleeve in terms of the direction it takes as it nears it conclusion. The film actually mimics the nature of the titular train immensely closely; it crashes along at an unrelenting pace, moves forward in a taut and incessant fashion and barely wastes a speck of unrequired energy.
The performances of the film's two stars, Voight and Roberts, are quite something to behold. I certainly wouldn't say they were 'great' performances from a technical, actorly point of view; they are however brilliant in terms of how viscerally and unabashedly entertaining and effective they are. Both men really go for it full-tilt, completely leaving the world of subtlety and nuance behind, to go head long into the territory of melodrama and scenery chewing. And its a style that works in this instance. It fits alongside the rest of the film's high concept and extravagant nature. And let's be honest, if you're going to be sharing the screen with a massive runaway locomotive, you need to do something to make sure you get noticed, that you don't just disappear into its shadow. As the prison legend Manny, Voight is a vicious and bullying presence, spitting fire and fury. He really is like a wild animal as he growls and bears his teeth throughout the film. There's a fantastic scene where he is given a tremendous speech to impart to Roberts' character. Buck is a clueless kid talking about his plans of crime and how wonderful it will be when Manny sets him straight. He tells him that he can make something of his life. That career criminals like Manny are the way they are because they don't know how to do anything else; they can't hold down a job or take orders from another man. He has too much misguided pride.
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Year of release
1985
1985
Directed by
Andrei Konchalovsky
Andrei Konchalovsky
Written by
Djordje Milicevic
Paul Zindel
Edward Bunker
Akira Kurosawa (based on a screenplay by)
Djordje Milicevic
Paul Zindel
Edward Bunker
Akira Kurosawa (based on a screenplay by)
Starring
Jon Voight
Eric Roberts
Rebecca De Mornay
Kyle T. Heffner
John P. Ryan
Jon Voight
Eric Roberts
Rebecca De Mornay
Kyle T. Heffner
John P. Ryan
Runaway Train
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Plot - Oscar 'Manny' Manheim (Voight) is a ruthless bank robber and a skilled escapist of prisons. He is also a hero to all his fellow inmates at the Stonehaven Maximum Security Prison in Alaska. Not everyone loves him however. The prison's brutal warden, Ranken (Ryan), wants him dead and will do whatever he has to in his bid to accomplish this. Realising this, Manny decides to once again break out of the prison, this time with a young prisoner in tow. That young prisoner is Buck (Roberts), one off Manny's many admirers. Together they survive a gruelling trek through the winter wilderness, eventually arriving at a remote rail yard. They are able to hop on a train and seem homeward bound to freedom. Until that is the train's engineer suffers a heart attack, leaving the train unmanned and out of control. Speeding towards certain disaster they seem to be doomed, until they find that they are not actually alone on the train. They come across Sara (De Mornay), a railway worker who informs them of a way to stop the train, one that comes with a lot of risk however. And as if this wasn't enough they also find themselves being pursued by the relentless warden Ranken.
SPOILER WARNING - Big spoilers in the final paragraph for anyone who has not seen it.
The film is very much a hybrid of Escape from Alcatraz and Speed; kicking off as a prison break/on the run film, before moving into the territory of something resembling a disaster film as three individuals find themselves trapped on an out-of-control train with no way of stopping it. The opening stretch of Runaway Train is set within the confines of the prison walls of Stonehaven Maximum Security. To be honest its made up of fairly standard prison movie cliches, but its done well and with a real vigor to the scenes. You can already sense a potency and a fervor to proceedings. The only problem with this section however is that for a maximum security prison which is meant to be almost impossible to escape from, it was actually pretty damn easy for them to get out. It hardly requires a plan of great genius.
When we move onto the train the film becomes an intensely riveting experience, constantly escalating in terms of the risks and the thrills. The moments of action are just absolutely incredible. We see characters climbing along the side of the train as they are buffeted by wind and snow, we see them struggle to find their footing on its icy exterior, we see them get thrown about as the train crashes through any obstacle in its path and we watch men suspended in the air from helicopters as they attempt to apprehend the escaped prisoners. While such stunts obviously took a great deal of skill, coordination and planning they don't feel rigid or rehearsed as can sometimes be the case. They look absolutely real. There's no sense of 'oh they'll be ok. It's just a stunt after all, they know what they're doing.' Just completely edge-of-the-seat stuff. And Konchalovsky captures it superbly, adding an immense degree of raw energy and wild vitality to the action. While I was also a fan of the way the film was shot. With the majestic snow-covered scenery all around them the film has a very bleak and cold appearance to it that really allows the monstrous black train to pop off the screen in contrast.
Film Trivia Snippets - Akira Kurosawa co-wrote the original script and planned to direct it in upstate New York. The project was cancelled however as a result of snowstorms so severe that the crew were unable to work. At the time Kurosawa had originally planned to cast Henry Fonda as the railway-man and Peter Falk in the role of the escaped convict. /// Kurosawa's original screenplay was apparently inspired by an actual incident in the Northeast, when an unattended locomotive allegedly throttled up by itself and took off down the line. /// Tom Berenger was originally cast in the role of Buck but dropped out to shoot Platoon instead. Jeff Bridges also declined the role which eventually went to Eric Roberts.
While opposite him Eric Roberts is electric as Manny's partner and sycophantic admirer Buck. It's a crazed and twitchy performance with Roberts barely pausing for breath or staying still for an instant. He rather reminded me of a shark; just constantly on the move. And despite the fact that he's a convicted criminal I actually came to care about him in a way because Roberts has such a naïve, simple-minded nature to him. Despite how captivating their performances are however I was stunned to discover that both men had been nominated for an Academy Award for their performances here. It's certainly not the typical fare that the Academy usually go for. Also throwing his overblown stylings into the mix is John P. Ryan's sadistic warden, consumed by a need to stop and defeat his nemesis Manny. In fact his ruthless warden does whatever he can to ensure that Manny is actually able to attempt an escape again, just so that he can justifiably kill him. While Rebecca De Mornay proves an important factor in exposing the true characters of the escapees in an admirably unglamorous performance.
Despite its high concept and fairly bombastic nature the film actually attempts to produce something deeper and even existential. It's a film concerning the great desire for freedom, for control of your life. And not just to be free from prison. Towards the film's conclusion Manny apparently begins to cross the line into insanity as the fate of the characters appears sealed. If he can't have control over his life, he will have control over his death. He will decide how and when it will happen. And this becomes symbolised with a powerful image that closes out the film. After choosing to rescue Buck and Sara, he makes the decision to call time on his own life; after all it's better to die free than to die in prison. He has done one decent thing in his life and now he has chosen to die with dignity and honour. He reverses the power vacuum with the warden by imprisoning him this time, and then he climbs onto the top of the train and struggles against the wind just to stand up. An apt metaphor for his life. With a stirring piece of Vivaldi scoring the scene I found it to be a truly powerful and poignant image as the film fades out with Manny riding to his doom. Perhaps this existential bent to the film shouldn't come as a great surprise however given Akira Kurosawa's involvement in the film. Kurosawa was part of the team that worked on the initial script back in 1970, and he was slated to direct the film. As a result of various creative and scheduling issues however the project never came about under his stewardship, and it would remain on the shelf for another 15 years.
Conclusion - It's a got a simple premise, is over-acted to the absolute hilt and doesn't always hit the mark when trying to find metaphysical meaning but the resulting package is an absolutely thrilling breakneck ride to the end of the line, complete with a surprising amount of depth and characterisation. The acting style means that it certainly won't be for everyone but I ate it up. The script is taut, the action is incredible and Voight is monstrous. Just a complete adrenaline rush.