Part of Winter Classics
Based on an original 1960s screenplay by Akira Kurosawa, who intended it to be his first film in color and in English, this white-knuckle ‘80s Cannon action thriller follows the escape of ruthless bank robber Manny (Jon Voight) and Buck (Eric Roberts) from a maximum security prison and onto a runaway train — barrelling through the snowy Alaskan wilderness with no brakes and no one at the switch. Also starring Rebecca De Mornay as a vagabond fellow traveler, and featuring the first on-screen appearance of Danny Trejo — who happened upon the job through actor Edward Bunker who recognized him from their time together at San Quentin.
“The action sequences in the movie are stunning. Frequently in recent movies, I've seen truly spectacular stunts and not been much excited, because I knew they were stunts…. In RUNAWAY TRAIN, as the characters try to climb along the sides of the ice-covered locomotives, as the train crashes through barriers and other trains, as men dangle from helicopters and try to kill the convicts, there is such a raw, uncluttered desperation in the feats that they put slick Hollywood stunts to shame.” —Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times (Jan 17, 1986) “A joyous lunacy unleashed at full force. The true winning formula, however, is found in [Jon] Voight and [Eric] Roberts’ double-act. Their eccentric characters are funny, violent and heartwarming all at the same time, where we root for them despite the fact that they’re basically psychopaths.” —Andrew Latimer, CineVue
