Runaway Train

Film Review by Philip Concannon | 22 Jul 2013
Film title: Runaway Train
Director: Andrei Konchalovsky
Starring: Jon Voight, Eric Roberts, Rebecca De Mornay, Kyle T. Heffner
Release date: 22 Jul
Certificate: 15

A surprise contender at the 1986 Academy Awards, Andrei Konchalovsky’s thriller Runaway Train transcends its potentially trashy B-movie premise with committed performances and first-rate direction. Jon Voight and Eric Roberts leave no scenery unchewed as the escaped convicts who hitch a ride on a train that’s soon careering out of control, but both actors find an unexpected amount of emotional depth in their characters as the film progresses.

Konchalovsky establishes and sustains a suitably relentless forward momentum with intelligent staging and tight editing, and the old-school stunt work on display as the characters cling to the side of the snow-covered train is frequently astounding. You can't help but wonder what the great Akira Kurosawa, whose unproduced screenplay inspired the film, would have made of it all. One suspects he would have appreciated the craft and conviction exhibited by all involved, and the profundity that the film achieves with its genuinely remarkable final image. [Philip Concannon]


Runaway Train, The Arrow Story


Runaway Train, original trailer

Runaway Train in released in DVD and Blu-ray double-play on 22 Jul by Arrow Video

Special Features:

• High Definition transfer of the film prepared by MGM for the Cannes Film Festival premiere

• High Definition Blu-ray and Standard Definition DVD presentation of the film

• Original Uncompressed Stereo Audio

• Optional English SDH Subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

• Running on Empty – An Interview with director Andrei Konchalovsky

• From Thespian to Fugitive – Star Jon Voight shares his memories of his Academy Award-nominated role

• Sweet and Savage: Eric Roberts recalls his Academy Award-nominated performance• The Calm Before the Chaos – Co-star Kyle T. Heffner remembers Runaway Train

• Trailer with commentary by Rod Lurie• Original Trailer• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Joe Wilson

• Booklet featuring new writing on the film by critic Michael Brooke, a new interview with Runaway Train’s Production Designer Stephen Marsh conducted by Calum Waddell, as well as the original Life Magazine article that inspired the film, illustrated with rare behind-the-scenes production images

http://www.arrowfilms.co.uk