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(“Runaway Train,” directed by Andrei Knochalovsky. Written by Djordje Milicevic, Paul Zindel and Edward Bunker. Cast: Jon Voight, Eric Roberts, Rebecca DeMornay, John P. Ryan. Rated R. Now playing at Grand Cinemas Alderwood and other SRO Theatres.) The title explains the whole movie. Automatically the mind conjures up a coming-attractions trailer of steel monsters streaking like high-powered death down a stretch of rails that heave and spark in their efforts to contain the wheels of a pilotless engine. And there you have it, a potential feast of cinematic energy comprised of danger, relentless action, man-over machine dilemma.. .the makings of a great time at the movies. With this kind of straightforward premise, ‘Runaway Train”’ is adapted from an old, abandoned screen project by none other than Japan’s Akira Kurosawa, who thought of making the film nearly 20 years ago. The bare-bones plot is set up quickly and simply. In Alaska’s Stonehaven Maximum Securi ty Prison, a lifer named Oscar ‘‘Manny’”’ Mannheim (Jon Voight) is released from three years of solitary confinement and allowed to roam the prison yard. Feared and admired by the ‘‘zoo’’ of killers, rapists and hardened crazies who comprise the prison’s population, Manny is immediately singled out to be ‘“‘iced’’ by his many enemies. Foremost among his adversaries is Prison Security Chief, Rankin (John P. Ryan), who would like nothing more than to see his prisoner make a third escape attempt so he can track Manny down and kill him himself. Of course Manny does escape, along with a young prison punk named Buck (Eric Roberts) who aids him in his flight from the snow-bound prison. The two cons soon flee to a switchyard for freight trains and jump aboard a departing strand with four engines in front, unaware that the sole engineer has just suffered a heart attack and fallen off the train. The engines are runaways from that point on. While Manny and Buck unknowingly ride out their flight to freedom, a trio of sweaty, panicked technicians (Kyle T. Heffner, T.K. Carter and Kenneth McMillan — a great actor who really knows how to panic and sweat) monitor their consoles at Central Control and device various tragic scenarios for stopping the runaway. Meanwhile, Manny and Buck are joined by Sara (Rebecca DeMornay ), a rail employee who’d been sleeping in the train until jarred awake by (pardon the pun) a truly smashing collision. As the train hurtles across the snow-packed, mountainous Alaskan terrain, Security Chief Rankin pursues the rail-bound escapees by helicopter, determined to return Manny to prison or kill him , either way is fine with Rankin. It’s a slim plot, folks, and I’m not ruining anything by telling you. ‘“‘Runaway Train’’ is an action thriller of the likes we only see once or twice every few years — an edge-of-your-seat, one-note scream that starts fast and never slows down. The train and the movie are one and the same thing, and as long as that engine’s out of control, so is the movie. In this case that’s not a negative, for along the way we’re host to some frantically fine tension at the hands of Jon Voight and director Andrei Konchalovsky, the Rus sian emigre who helmed last year’s ‘‘Maria’s Lovers.” You'll notice I left out Eric Roberts. Roberts, who has been out of control as an actor since last year’s ‘‘Star 80,’’ plays Buck with such pathetic, rubber-faced extremity that he turns what could have been a tragic, growing character into an unintentionally fun ny baboon. It’s up to Voight, who’s at the mercy of a simple, semi-literate script, to breathe a haunting balance into the film; as Manny, the animalistic survivalist who knows he’s doomed, Voight manages to stand equal ground with the train, which is clearly the star of the film. The only problem with Voight and the entire cast is that they’ve been given a mouthful of ill-conceived dialogue and are then asked to scream their lines. And scream they do. There’s only one semi restrained scene in the entire movie, and a few fine moments here and there, but we never really get into the minds or backgrounds of any character. What you end up with is a shallow, nonstop study of violence in the form of man-against-man-against-machine, and really not much else. This is all nitpicking, though, because the relentlessness of ‘Runaway Train” draws you in from the start. Remember the ex citing runaway train climax of ‘‘Silver Streak’? Well, this film simply amplifies that excitement. Konchalovsky, cinematographer Alan Hume and their editors (whose names I didn’t catch) cook up such a boiling mix of tension and danger that you can’t help but ignore the film’s shortcomings and ride out this monster to the end. It’s popcorn-chewing, nail-biting fun the whole way. I wouldn’t dare give away the ending, but I can tell you that I found it quite eerily satisfying and dramatically appropriate. (“Insignificance,”’ directed by Nicolas Roeg. Written by Terry Johnson. Cast: Theresa Russell, Gary Bussey, Michael Emil, Tony Curtis. Rated R. Now playing at the Uptown on south Queen Anne Hill. What happens when Marilyn Monroe and Albert Einstein meet up in the same New York motel room circa 1954? And what hap pens when they’re joined by Joe DiMaggio and Senator Joe McCarthy? You'll find out all this and more in “‘Insignificance,’’ the latest journey into the bizarre and provocative mind of director Nicolas Roeg (‘‘Don’t Look Now,’ ‘‘Walkabout,’’ ‘‘The Man Who Fell to Earth’’). While all of the above-mentioned luminaries are never referred to by name (rather, they are called ‘“‘The Professor,”’ “The Sex Symbol,” ‘‘The Baseball Player’ and ‘‘The Senator’’), it’s clear who they are. When their minds and bodies clash, you can be sure something interesting is going to happen. Along the way, ‘‘Marilyn’”’ describes her knowledge of general and special theories of relativity, ‘‘Alfred’’ confesses his fear of mankind’s destruction by the use of the bomb he co-invented, “DiMaggio” collects baseball cards of himself and worries about the end of his career and ‘‘McCarthy”’ works hard at being cor rupt. As their lives intermingle, we get to eavesdrop and catch a random variety of insight, humor, and memorable dialogue from four of this century’s Icons of Humanity, with all the good and evil that term implies. I haven’t seen “‘Insignificance”’ since it played at last year’s Seattle Film Festival, but I’m anxious to see it again. I urge anyone interested to check it out for themselves. Nicolas Roeg makes films which are by no means ordinary in a mainstream sense; you must “‘interpret”’ a Roeg film for yourself, and Roeg doesn’t always make it an easy task. This effort, however, is quite a bit more accessible than many of his other films. While Roeg and writer Terry Johnson fit a lot of thoughtfulness into their work, they’ve not forgotten to keep us entertained while they're stimulating our brain in unconventional ways. Critice’s Corner by Jeff Shannon
Newspaper Details
Edmonds Enterprise
Edmonds, Washington, US
Wed, Jan 22, 1986
Page 21
Full Page
Clipped by
Tony B.
GB 18 Feb 2026
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