Masterful Cinema

Good start, but then it gets ruined

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

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 ****

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!

I loved this movie, I saw it when I was kid. My Dad took me to it when he was training for marathons. I have been searching for it for years. Now that I have found it. it is impossible to obtain a copy since it has been discontinued. Looking for assistance!!!

Running is one of the best movie from Michael Douglas. Even if that movie was made early in his career Michael Douglas was outstanding in his role as a marathon runner Michael Andropolis. But the best feature about that movie is the music score by a little French Canadian named Andre Gagnon. Careful John Williams and James Horner because Andre Gagnon might take your job. The story is also pretty good but because of the acting by Michael Douglas and the music of Andre Gagnon made that movie a not to missed.