Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Runaway Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 21, 2020

Michael Crichton's "Runaway" (1984) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of 101 Films. The only bonus feature on the disc is an audio commentary by critic Kevin Lyons. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

When I first saw Michael Crichton’s Runaway, I thought that it was a rather ridiculous film. I did not buy its prediction that in the future people would be naive enough to acquire personal robots to run their lives for them. It is not that I did not see the possibility of having intelligent robots helping because they were already being used in several different industries. I just did not believe that people would allow them to do the little things that make their lives interesting -- like shopping or setting up their dates. But now we have Alexa, and the only thing this virtual pal does not do is the cooking and serving that one of the intelligent robots in the film does. I also did not believe that the killer spiders and the other flying gadgets Gene Simmons’ lunatic uses would materialize. I thought it was obvious that if they existed, they could land in the hands of the wrong people and cause some real trouble. Now we have miniature drones that could do pretty much everything the killer spiders and the gadgets do in the film.

There was something else in this film that I did not think was ridiculous and I knew was coming. It was the digital technology that can instantly profile people and store information that later on can be used against them. The CIA, FBI, and Interpol were already collecting and storing information that allowed them to track down criminal elements, but this digital technology was different and a game-changer. It was Big Brother’s ultimate weapon, the permanent solution that could eliminate trouble before it occurred. The Chinese already have the technology, and they can scan and monitor an unlimited amount of people as they go about their daily lives. Their cities are equipped with thousands of outdoor cameras for this very reason -- to collect data on everyone. This technology is now officially used to identify problematic targets with elevated body temperature to minimize the spread of Covid 19. (Yeah, right). In Crichton’s film, the same technology can instantly program smart bullets to use the body temperature of a target that needs to be destroyed, so when they are fired, they can’t miss.

Last night, I sat down to revisit Runaway for the first time in probably twenty years. I was enjoying the dated action quite a bit, but my mind just would not stop drawing parallels to so much that is happening at the moment. In the film, a single lunatic uses an advanced technology to cause some serious trouble and two cops (Tom Selleck and Cynthia Rhodes) basically get lucky when they try to take him down. The resolution is predictable, but the fact that all of the scenarios Crichton goes through are now entirely plausible made me seriously ponder whether technological progress, as it is usually described and understood by most of us, is such a great thing. There are plenty of older sci-fi films that warn about the point of no return, which is that moment when progress can be used to do permanent damage. Crichton’s film does the same -- it warns about a future, which is already here, when an evil mind goes rogue and uses progress to do some serious damage. The concept isn’t new, but the fact that after all the progress we have made what looked ridiculous in the early ‘80s is now a reality is seriously concerning.

Crichton secured the services of cinematographer John A. Alonzo, who lensed the classic thriller Chinatown. The intense soundtrack was created by Oscar-winner Jerry Goldsmith.

Runaway Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Runaway arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of 101 Films.

The release is sourced from a pretty good older master, but there are some issues with the technical presentation. While viewing the film, I noticed multiple areas where the gamma levels are off, which likely means that the encode was done incorrectly. This is an issue that I can quickly and easily fix on my system, but I mention it because it exacerbates another issue. The disc also isn't encoded particularly well, so in many darker areas the grain becomes noisy, and the elevated gamma makes it stick out more than it should. The good news is that there are no traces of problematic digital work. Also, the color grading is quite pleasing. Finally, from start to finish, the film looks very healthy. All in all, even though the master that was used is older, the technical presentation could have been very solid. It is still possible to enjoy the film, but some people will notice the issues that are highlighted above. My score is 3.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Runaway Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The audio tracks cannot be selected from the main menu, so you will have to use your remote control to pick the one you prefer. I viewed the film with the LPCM 2.0 track and thought that it was outstanding. This was not surprising, however, because the current master comes from Sony Pictures, which means that the 2.0 track was optimized as best as possible.

Runaway Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - audio commentary by critic Kevin Lyons.

Runaway Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I always thought that Michael Crichton's Runaway was a rather silly action film, but after revisiting it on Blu-ray, I have changed my mind. Amidst its action, there is some serious food for thought, and to be honest, I don't like the fact that so many of its speculations about the future are now part of our reality. This Region-B release is sourced from a nice older master that was supplied by Sony Pictures, but I think that the technical presentation should have been a lot more convincing.