The Running Man (1963) (1 Viewer)

[Garysb]

This Columbia Picture was fairly recently released by Arrow starring Laurence Harvey , Lee Remick, and Alan Bates and directed by Carol Reed, It is a good little thriller . On Amazon it seems hopelessly confused with the better known and more recent Arnold Schwarzenegger film of the same name. Customer reviews and links to streaming on the order page of this film go to the Arnold film or TV series of the same name. I only became aware the film had been released on blu ray when looking at the current Barnes and Noble Arrow Video 50% off sale - Online Only ( $18 using code "SUNSHINE"). Sounds like another great Columbia restoration.

Per the Amazon Page:
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 color.

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 worldwide Blu-ray premiere, complete with insightful new bonus features.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

• 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

 

[Robin9]

I saw this film when I first came out. I was a bit disappointed and I've never watched it again. I think I ought to give it another try. 55 years is a long time. The movie won't have changed but I have!

 

[Keith Cobby]

It's not a great film and I have never been a fan of Laurence Harvey. But, and it's a big one, it stars the absolutely wonderful and radiant Lee Remick. And this for me is enough to pick up a copy.

 

[Nick*Z]

Not the turkey most critics claimed it to be when it came out. Never warmed to Laurence Harvey, but the luminous Lee Remick and Alan Bates make up for his shortage. And second-tier Carol Reed is infinitely better than first-tier just about everyone else. So, not as good as Reed's own Third Man or Our Man in Havana or Odd Man Out, but still a highly entertaining film with good performances and superb location work lensed by Krasker. The Blu-ray's image quality is uneven; opticals and main titles not even given basic clean-up, with white speckling everywhere and grain never stabilized. Otherwise, colors are bright and satisfying and contrast is excellent. The ravages of time crop up everywhere and ought to have been addressed before slapping this one to disc. Judge and buy accordingly.

 

[bujaki]

Not the turkey most critics claimed it to be when it came out. Never warmed to Laurence Harvey, but the luminous Lee Remick and Alan Bates make up for his shortage. And second-tier Carol Reed is infinitely better than first-tier just about everyone else. So, not as good as Reed's own Third Man or Our Man in Havana or Odd Man Out, but still a highly entertaining film with good performances and superb location work lensed by Krasker. The Blu-ray's image quality is uneven; opticals and main titles not even given basic clean-up, with white speckling everywhere and grain never stabilized. Otherwise, colors are bright and satisfying and contrast is excellent. The ravages of time crop up everywhere and ought to have been addressed before slapping this one to disc. Judge and buy accordingly.

I totally agree with Nick*Z's assessment's of the film and the disc. Second-tier Reed is better than a lot of what's going around as good work nowadays; Krasker is one of the top lensers in the world; Bates exudes a subtle sexual and human warmth that Harvey does not; and Remick is always luminous, sublime, (insert your god-like adjective here).

 

[haineshisway]

A VERY disingenuous Arrow description. I don't believe for a minute that this is a Grover Crisp thing - I think they probably either had an HD master sitting around (most likely) or they scanned something in England.

 

[bujaki]

A VERY disingenuous Arrow description. I don't believe for a minute that this is a Grover Crisp thing - I think they probably either had an HD master sitting around (most likely) or they scanned something in England.

Definitely not a Crisp transfer.

 

[RMajidi]

The spiel at the top said:

• 2K restoration of the film by Sony Pictures

I didn’t see any explicit mention of Grover Crisp supervising this, nor did I infer it. Unless the statement about this being a 2K restoration by Sony is an outright lie, I don’t see how Arrow is being disingenuous here.