Running

1979 "A story about having the courage to be what you are!"
5.9| 1h42m| PG| en
Details

An Olympic hopeful marathon runner hopes his success will be the answer to his marriage woes and other personal problems.

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Reviews

UnowPriceless hyped garbage
Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.
Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.
Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
moonspinner55 At a time when urban runners or joggers were seen as fanatics, Michael Douglas plays an unemployed, divorced thirty-something with two kids who sees running as a means of making it...and even more lofty than that, he hopes to enter the Olympics! Reels of film go by with nothing for us to look at except Douglas' desperately focused, determined face. The trouble with that is, this isn't really a character at all: our hero is nothing but a mouthpiece on the move. He's impatient hothead--a drop-out from both medical and law school!--plus a buddy to his ex-wife (Susan Anspach, who cheers him on), a role-model to his youngest daughter (whose schoolmates make fun of him), and an enemy for the people. Writer-director Steven H. Stern has apparently soaked up nothing but clichés in training for this exceedingly thin character study; he spits them right back at us, expecting us to cheer. *1/2 from ****
JLKenausis I saw this IN THE THEATRE when I was 15 and a recreational runner. I found it awful. Ony 2 movies that I ever saw were worse (theater viewings only). The other two movies that were worse were The Other Side of the Mountain and some snowmobiler movie where the guy crashed after flying off a mountain and spent the entire movie crawling through the snow on his stomach. Among films where the main character does not fall off a snowy mountain while traveling fast, this rates as my absolute least favorite.SPOILER:At 15, I was already tired of the whole "Take this job and shove it!" type of films and Running was one of them. Michael Douglas, quits his job, wraps his tie around his head and goes out for a long run.Then he works his way up to the Olympic team.He falls during the Olympic marathon after stepping in a pot hole (yeah, there'd be one of those on the course!) and hobbles to the finish in darkness.END SPOILERI like fantasy. I like sports. I even run myself. I like rooting for real underdogs.This film just gave me the dry heaves.If you want to see a good film that revolves around running, check out Without Limits.Steve Prefontaine was both real and mystical. Most of all, he was nuts!
richard-650 This is one of my favorite films. I saw it about 1981 on a premium channel, and recently went to great lengths to obtain this film on DVD. Apparently it hasn't been released in the U.S.. Though the production itself is lacking,(especially the music) I think the story itself is one of the best ever brought to film with the old "quitter finally triumphs" plot. Michael Douglas really brings his character to life. What jogged my memory about this film was the "running" portion of "Forest Gump". After watching the DVD of "Running", I can't help but think that section of "Forest Gump" was derived from this movie. This is especially apparent in the scene where Michael is training and the neighborhood kids join in on the run. The extras could have been cast to be more realistic, but if you'll look past the production, you'll find a truly inspiring story!
peachandrudy I went to this movie because I am a runner. I think I was the only one in the whole theater."As Mike Douglas so aptly put it "No one came" as in "some came running...get it...well...The movie was a big disappointment. First of all, the lead men in the Boston Marathon scene could never have built like football players. to be honest, Michael was the only one who looked like a legitimate runner. It started off with him getting up in the wee hours, guzzling down orange juice, and running fully clothed for his job to work. I believe he would have had a good case of heartburn by the time he got there!And the end when he is heroically crawling to the finish line after everyone else has gone...too much . The only realistic aspect was his relationship with his wife, who couldn't handle this business of her husband running, not working and taking care of the family. It seems he couldn't do both.