Essential
Summary
Like the movie, The Running Man score is underappreciated and has a memorable main theme that captures the dark story despite the lighter tone of the film. This is still great stuff and a worthy addition to your collection.
Review: I’ve always felt like The Running Man doesn’t get enough love from people as I consider it one of Arnie’s most entertaining and outlandish pictures. It’s pure 80’s excess and I love everything about it including the music score from Harold Faltermeyer. The fully expanded score got an official release a couple of years ago, so I’ve been wanting to review it for a while.
With 35 tracks featuring practically every piece of music from the film, this really is action movie music nirvana; Harold Faltermeyer was always a master of synth music having created the iconic themes for Beverly Hills Cop and Top Gun; The Running Man also features a memorable main theme that matches the tone of the film.
I love how we also get the intro music for each of the Stalkers with Buzzsaw Attack a particular favourite due to its screeching electric guitar awesomeness.
TRACKLISITING
1 Logo-Bakersfield (Full-Length Version) 3:00
2 Fight / Escape 3:51
3 Game Show Promo 0:36
4 Laughlin’s Collar / Richards’ Collar 2:00
5 Network 0:36
6 Richards’ Apt. Sneak 1:13
7 Captain Freedom’s Workout 1:56
8 Airport Chase 1:26
9 Medical Checkup 2:23
10 Richards’ Intro 0:49
11 Hawaii / Amber Sneaks / Richards’ Betrayal / Blast Off 2:00
12 Richards Lands / Come On Down 1:25
13 Subzero Intro 1:58
14 Subzero 3:55
15 Count’s Aria Marriage Of Figaro (Instrumental Version Of Dynamo’s Theme) Composed By – Wolfgang Mozart* 0:40
16 Uplink / Amber Launch / Richards Grabs Amber 2:55
17 Buzzsaw Dynamo 1:51
18 Buzzsaw Attack 1:54
19 Weiss Finds Uplink 1:17
20 Buzzsaw-Richards Fight 1:55
21 Valkyrie Intro / Valkyrie Composed By – Harold Faltermeyer, Richard Wagner 2:37
22 Spare Dynamo / Laughlin Dies 2:22
23 Fireball Intro 1:23
24 Fireball Chase 2:04
25 Fireball-Amber 2:09
26 Death March Composed By – Glen Barbee*, Jackie Jackson 0:48
27 Fake Death 1:37
28 Mick / Richards Amber 1:40
29 Broadcast Attack 5:06
30 Killan Is Launched (Unreleased Version) 0:55
31 Revolution / End Credits (Alternate Version Of Intro-Bakersfield) 1:59
32 Intro-Bakersfield 2:02
33 Captain Freedom’s Workout (Full-Length Version) 2:27
34 Massacre Highlights 1:09
35 Buzzsaw Attack (Minus Lead Guitar) 1:53
I believe tracks 9, 21, 32, 33, 34, 35 were originally released on the original soundtrack from Varèse Sarabande and Tracks 15, 30, 31 were previously unreleased or alternate versions.
Overall, this expanded score to The Running Man is awesome stuff and despite sounding very 80’s this is still a classic score with a more Dystopian feel than the actual film which goes more for laughs. A worthy addition to any action fan’s collection.