Not to be confused with the 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger action film of the same name, this 1963 thriller by Carol Reed stars Laurence Harvey as Rex, an English pilot who takes revenge on the insurance company that denied a claim for his airplane crash due to a late payment. With the help of his American wife Stella (Lee Remick), Rex fakes his own death in a glider crash and moves to Malaga, Spain, where he takes on the identity of an Australian sheep farmer while waiting for the money to come through. But with the change in identity also comes a change in personality—and a scheme for another insurance scam, which is tossed into jeopardy when the original insurance investigator (Alan Bates) shows up in Malaga. The premise is intriguing and the backdrop—a Spanish vacation town shot in widescreen color by cinematographer Robert Krasker, who filmed Reed’s classic The Third Man—is lovely. Harvey’s performance is lively (even if his Aussie accent tends to slip), Remick is engaging, and Bates brings a touch of loneliness to his role, but there is little suspense in the cat-and-mouse game, and a climactic car chase through the mountains of Spain to Gibraltar is more routine than thrilling. Extras include audio commentary by author Peter William Evans, a new "making-of" featurette, an audio-only recording of Remick speaking at the National Film Theatre from 1970, an isolated music and effects track, and an image gallery. Optional. (S. Axmaker)
The Running Man
Arrow, 104 min., not rated, Blu-ray: $39.99 Volume 34, Issue 5
The Running Man
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