Runaway Train, which earned him his first and only Oscar nomination, is not the best Eric Roberts performance. But it might be the most Eric Roberts performance.
I just saw the documentary Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films and it rekindled my interest in this movie. Apparently that’s Cannon’s masterpiece.
Haha. Yes, they mostly put out sludge, but everyone once in a while they’d hit the jackpot. RT, Lifeforce, Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, and Street Smart are pretty solid.
Oddly enough, I wound up watching Lifeforce at my local indie cinema last night! And dare I say it...I think I liked it more than Runaway Train? (Hard to say it's "better," though.)
I’ve only seen it once when I was like 10 and it broke my brain… in a good way… I hope. It’s really good. It’s a drug trip in the best sense. I plan to rewatch it for Halloween.
To me the train is the star of the movie. If you just do a You tube search there are people who have done Train Simulator creations of it, modified model trains to look like, etc. In some shots its the ghost coming out of the mist right at you to envelope and swallow you. Other times its the unstoppable juggernaut rolling past you and smashing anything out of its way, but most of all its the illusion of freedom. Its master, the engineer, falls off, freeing it to run as it wants, do what it knows it can do, but its an illusion. All the time its forced to be on the track of its creators, who although absent still control it, the train gains a little freedom but never enough to be truly free as it is with Manny and Buck, they escape one prison for another, the train. The end scene is true freedom for both. The tranquil snow falling, the clean landscape, no tracks visible, so the train could be running anywhere, its freedom and Manny, atop the train, linking his freedom, the choice how he lives and this case dies, with the train. each has vanquished to end things on their terms.
You didn’t mention his starring role as Dr. Nathan Sands in Sharktopus. Disappointing.
I'll try to do better next time, mate. 😂
I'll always remember him hopping around in Best of the Best. Can't remember anything else about that movie, tho.
I've still never seen that one! Apparently Ben enjoyed it as a kid, though.
I just saw the documentary Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films and it rekindled my interest in this movie. Apparently that’s Cannon’s masterpiece.
I read somewhere that a) this is the best film Cannon ever made and b) that's not exactly a glowing endorsement. 😂
Haha. Yes, they mostly put out sludge, but everyone once in a while they’d hit the jackpot. RT, Lifeforce, Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, and Street Smart are pretty solid.
Oddly enough, I wound up watching Lifeforce at my local indie cinema last night! And dare I say it...I think I liked it more than Runaway Train? (Hard to say it's "better," though.)
I’ve only seen it once when I was like 10 and it broke my brain… in a good way… I hope. It’s really good. It’s a drug trip in the best sense. I plan to rewatch it for Halloween.
I learned a lot from this article.
Sorry about that!
I love Pope of Greenwich Village, but I don't want to admit how often I've watched this scene alone. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nW6IrQSR9X4
To me the train is the star of the movie. If you just do a You tube search there are people who have done Train Simulator creations of it, modified model trains to look like, etc. In some shots its the ghost coming out of the mist right at you to envelope and swallow you. Other times its the unstoppable juggernaut rolling past you and smashing anything out of its way, but most of all its the illusion of freedom. Its master, the engineer, falls off, freeing it to run as it wants, do what it knows it can do, but its an illusion. All the time its forced to be on the track of its creators, who although absent still control it, the train gains a little freedom but never enough to be truly free as it is with Manny and Buck, they escape one prison for another, the train. The end scene is true freedom for both. The tranquil snow falling, the clean landscape, no tracks visible, so the train could be running anywhere, its freedom and Manny, atop the train, linking his freedom, the choice how he lives and this case dies, with the train. each has vanquished to end things on their terms.
I really do love those action shots on the train. I have to think Tony Scott studied this film before making Unstoppable.