Running on Empty

Ever wonder what happens to anarchic, domestic, revolutionaries when they retire? After watching Running on Empty you will probably not be much the wiser about that, but you will perhaps have some idea what it must be like to be constantly on the run from the law, and just how hard it can be to shake your past. Many are never allowed to forget.

Released in 1988, Running on Empty stars a young River Phoenix as Danny Pope, the teenage son of Arthur and Annie Pope (Judd Hirsch and Christine Lahti), a couple of ex-anarchists who are still on the run from the FBI after a mission to blow up a napalm lab in 1971 went wrong. This act of vandalism was part of the anti-Vietnam War protests of an activist group called The Liberation Front, and resulted in the crippling and blinding of a cleaner at the factory.

The Popes, including second son Harry (Jonas Arby), move from town to town, assuming different identities as they go. They are extremely careful to avoid suspicion, and rehearse their new identities as if they were actors preparing for the stage. While their children are young, this running proves mostly successful, but as Danny approaches the end of his school years, he is faced with decisions about college, love, and his future. Covering their tracks becomes increasingly more difficult, but not as difficult as preparing Danny for the future. His desire to stop running brings the family to crisis point. How long can they keep running, dragging their children along by default? They have to make some serious decisions, for as the parents themselves have known all along, the children have done nothing wrong, but are being punished regardless.

Running on Empty was directed by Sidney Lumet, who also directed Murder on the Orient Express, Dog Day Afternoon, Serpico, and The Wiz - OK, so it wasn't all good... Lumet is no stranger to dramas, and this film is quite a surprise. The acting is very good, especially from River Phoenix (who also displays a great talent as a pianist) and what a loss to the world of movies this young man's passing was. There are a number of familiar faces in the cast, and although at times it looks like a tele-movie (especially the first 20 minutes), this quickly proves itself to be a little better than that.

There are a few four letter words sprinkled throughout the film, but nothing most of us have never heard before, and other than that there is little here that would warrant a rating of M15+. Those who love good character-driven films will love this. The acting carries the script that occasionally drops into cliche mode, but is generally strong. Those that find themselves in tears when characters are backed into emotional corners should keep a box of tissues close by.

Oh boy, where to start? Let's go straight for the jugular. How does this sound? A pan and scan transfer? What the...? Why? What is even more annoying than that (yes there is something more annoying than that), is a misspelled message on the back cover, and another as the disc fires up, boasting that the film has been modified from its original version (1.85:1) to fit your television screen; so long as you don't have a widescreen telly, natch. This is also an NTSC release so make sure your hardware is NTSC compatible.

Overall there is not much going for this transfer. The image is slightly soft in most shots, and colours are generally muted, faded or just plain discoloured. From Chapter 26 on there is some evidence of discolouration in the form of bars across the screen. There is also some evidence of colour-bleeding, but this is not severe. Shadow detail is satisfactory. There are also some rather large film artefacts such as dirt and white marks. There is a tiny amount of grain in some shots, and a very few instances of minor shimmer, though you will need to pay close attention and is not distracting.

There is no layer change.

If you were hoping for an impressive audio experience to make up for the poor video, then you are in for a big disappointment. There is a choice between an English Dolby Digital 1.0 mono, and a French track with the same specifications, but with crackles and pops and some slight hiss. The audio is completely underwhelming. Being mono, only the centre speaker makes so much as a squeak and naturally, there is no separation or panning. Low-level sounds are non-existent but are not really missed.

All dialogue is clear and audio synchronisation is not an issue.

Settle kids, for you get Interactive Menus (You know I've always wondered what other kind of menu there is. A Non-interactive Menu maybe? I mean, how would that work?). Oh yeah, you also get Scene Access should you wish to start watching the film from somewhere other than the beginning. A most helpful Special Feature I am sure you'd agree...

Well, it's typical I guess. A fairly decent film gets the blandest of transfers. There are no extras to encourage consumers, the video and audio struggle to rise above VHS quality, and to top it all off, it is an NTSC Region 4 version. Admittedly, this is a mid-price DVD, but there is little to recommend this for your collection, unless you are some sort of River Phoenix collector.