The Running Man (1987)
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.
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Added by Hextor · 6 months ago
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Trailers & Videos
🎙️ SYSK Episodes
#051725
Selects: Night Trap: The Video Game Failure that Changed the Industry
"With a collar of the kind that Arnold Schwarzenegger was wearing at the beginning of Running Man."
— Chuck
Chuck describes the device used by the augurs in Night Trap by comparing it to Arnold Schwarzenegger's collar in Running Man.
May 17, 2025
#012123
Selects: How Game Shows Work
"I think it also inspired the movie the running man, pretty clearly, if I'm not mistaken."
— Chuck
Mentioned as being inspired by American Gladiator, a game show featuring physical competitions.
Jan 21, 2023
#071422
Why Bowling is Awesome
"kind of like a running man version of bowling"
— Josh
Josh compares the danger of crossing the foul line in bowling to the hazards in The Running Man movie.
Jul 14, 2022
#052721
Night Trap: The Video Game Failure that Changed the Industry
"With a collar of the kind that Arnold Schwarzenegger was wearing at the beginning of Running Man."
— Josh
Josh compares the augurs' neck collar device to the one worn by Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Running Man.
May 27, 2021
#091118
SYSK Live: How Game Shows Work
"I think it also inspired the movie The Running Man, pretty clearly, if I'm not mistaken."
— Chuck
Mentioned as being inspired by American Gladiators, a game show with contestants competing against muscular opponents.
Sep 11, 2018
#111011
How Presidential Debates Work
"they bore about the same resemblance to that first televised debate in 1960 as the game show in the movie The Running Man Bears to You Bet Your Life"
— Josh
Josh used this comparison to describe how modern presidential debates have changed drastically from the 1960 Kennedy-Nixon debate.
Nov 10, 2011
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
M
Marvin J. McIntyre
Harold Weiss
G
Gus Rethwisch
Buzzsaw
Professor Toru Tanaka
Subzero
Mick Fleetwood
Mic
Dweezil Zappa
Stevie
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