Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

Running Time Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf April 25, 2021

Co-writer/director Josh Becker aims to take his Hitchcock fandom to the next level in 1997’s “Running Time,” which attempts the same illusion of a long, single-take feature that was found in 1948’s “Rope” (and various imitators). Instead of offering a dramatic examination of a crime, Becker and co-writer Peter Choi decide to put the audience into the middle of dangerous business, launching a real-time heist movie that follows star Bruce Campbell around the Los Angeles area, portraying a man with a plan facing an hour of his life where everything goes wrong. “Running Time” has an enticing gimmick, and it’s superbly executed by Becker, who really sells the feeling of unbroken screen activity. It helps to have a supercharged premise filled with thinning patience and hostile characters, and when it’s locked in suspense mode, the endeavor is riveting. Becker and Choi can’t maintain such pace, even for a scant run time of 69 minutes, but they get the effort moving in a major way, earning viewer interest in the unfolding nightmare of mishaps.

Carl (Bruce Campbell) has completed a five-year-long stint in prison, ready to enjoy life as a parolee, sharing plans for a bright future with the Warden (Art LaFleur), who’s reluctant to let the model prisoner go. Once outside the prison gates, Carl is met by Patrick (Jeremy Roberts), his friend and criminal partner, who’s arrived with a van, supporting the free man’s immediate return to criminal behavior, making a plan to rob a nearby laundry that’s been handling the Warden’s secret cash flow. Join the pair are Buzz (William Stanford Davis), a safecracker, and Donny (Gordon Jennison Noice), a driver with a drug problem. Feeling uncertain about the mission, Carl tries to silence his doubts as the team deals with numerous setbacks and mistakes, also managing Janie (Anita Barone), a high school girlfriend he’s awkwardly reunited with during the intense hour.

“Running Time” tries to fit in as much information as possible during its early moments, in a race to define character motivation and history while the actors remain on the move. Carl is introduced in prison, experiencing his final moments inside the facility, where he’s praised by the Warden, offered a box of cigars and kind words after five years of good behavior, learning more about the laundry business during his stint. Once he’s past the gates, the illusion of rehabilitation is dropped, replaced with the kickoff of a plan to rob an establishment laundering the Warden’s money. Carl is reunited with Patrick, and we learn the parolee took the fall for his pal five years ago, with the pair working through old business as they climb into a van, beginning their approach to a special safe containing a small fortune.

Becker and Choi offer clean character connections and small stakes, and they have a sense of humor as well, displayed in the early going where Carl takes a moment to have sex with a prostitute in the back of the van, learning that the lady is actually Janie, a jilted ex-girlfriend who hasn’t gotten over their breakup. It’s a bit of a stretch to believe that these two don’t immediately recognize each other, but the idea is amusing, also establishing a level of emotion that’s dealt with in the picture’s second half.

In the ramp-up to the heist, “Running Time” offers outstanding screen energy, with cinematographer Kurt Rauf doing a heroic job keeping up with the actors, who are in a constant state of movement, and cutting from Raymond Bertheaud and Kaye Davis delivers forward momentum with invisible edits, skillfully piecing together Becker’s extended scenes of turmoil and blunders. For a scrappy, low-budget effort, “Running Time” looks terrific, maintaining grittiness and fluidity as the story focuses on the criminal endeavor, which doesn’t go as smoothly as Carl hopes for, soon realizing he’s dealing with complete idiots and an addict as he tries to buy a better future.

Running Time Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Listed as an "All-new 2K scan and restoration of the original camera negative," "Running Time" is nicely refreshed for its HD debut. The AVC encoded image (1.42:1 aspect ratio) presentation offers heavy but film-like grain and comfortable balance for the B&W cinematography. Delineation is strong throughout. Detail is excellent, surveying facial surfaces and costuming textures. Interior decoration is open for inspection. Los Angeles street tours are dimensional. Source is in excellent condition.

Running Time Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix encounters a few sibilance issues during the listening event, but primarily remains clear and involving. Dialogue exchanges retain performance nuance and emphasis, maintaining intelligibility even with the presence of loud background activity, including dramatic events inside a noisy van. Scoring cues are defined, supporting suspense with distinct instrumentation, offering heavier bass. Atmospherics are intact, securing street movement.

Running Time Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features co-writer/director Josh Becker and actor Bruce Campbell.

• "Run and Gun" (20:27, HD) is an interview with the charming, loquacious Bruce Campbell, who recalls his first interactions with co-writer/director Josh Becker, which date back to 1971, with the pair attending the same Michigan school, joined by Sam Raimi. Becker had big filmmaking plans as a kid, driving Raimi nuts, eventually following through on his Hollywood dreams, moving to L.A., where he promptly developed scurvy. A fan of Alfred Hitchcock and "Rope," Becker decided to try his luck with the single-take adventure for "Running Time," collecting Campbell after he survived the boredom of the "McHale's Navy" shoot, eager for a meaty acting experience. Campbell recalls the difficult choreography involved in "Running Time," which was finished in ten days. Character business was added along the way, beefing up motivations, and the interviewee details fatigue shared amongst the crew, who worked without permits and police protection. Campbell analyzes the movie's style and blurring of the time period, and considers it a "true indie" and a "lost gem," happy to have it back in circulation.

• Q&A (19:32, SD) brings viewers to the 1997 Champagne-Urbana Freaky Film Festival, with Josh Becker and Bruce Campbell arriving to introduce a screening of "Running Time." However, disaster strikes when a film print doesn't arrive, forcing the twosome to kill time while a video master screening was assembled. Topics include Campbell's willingness to appear in a "Hercules" spin-off and his time working on the television show "Homicide." Becker details early teenage collaborations with Campbell and fills dead air with some singing. Campbell also reinforces the importance of creative control to a room full of film students.

• And a Trailer (2:18, HD) is included.

Running Time Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Running Time" eventually transitions from the heist story to a softer study of unresolved issues between Carl and Janie, who haven't gotten over their high school history. After the restless energy of crime dominates the first half of the picture, Becker makes a miscalculation, slowing down the endeavor to understand the primal connection between the sweethearts. "Running Time" is sharply acted and nicely manufactured, but the production attempts to exit on matters of the heart while the rest of the feature enjoys a state of panic. Becker and Choi are well-intentioned with this creative decision, but it's difficult to watch such a supremely tense movie gradually lose interest in creating interesting trouble for its characters.