Running On Empty
1988 Directed by Sidney Lumet
Synopsis
In 1971, Arthur and Annie Pope blew up a napalm lab to protest the war... Ever since then they have been on the run from the FBI. They chose their lives. Now their son must choose his.
The Popes are a family who haven't been able to use their real identity for years. In the late sixties, the parents set a weapons lab afire in an effort to hinder the government's Vietnam war campaign. Ever since then, the Popes have been on the run with the authorities never far behind.
Popular reviews
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Running on Empty, directed by Sidney Lumet (12 Angry Men, Network), is a wonderfully understated film about two fugitives and their lives as they travel from city-to-city in an attempt to delude the authorities.
Even without their criminal past, the Pope family is extremely unconventional. Arthur and Annie Pope (Judd Hirsch and Christine Lahti) are hippies who blew up a building that was producing napalm. Years later, they now have two sons: Danny (River Phoenix) and Harry (Jonas Abry). They live in a city until they're discovered, and then they pack up their things, dye their hair, and change their names.
The acting is, of course, wonderful, as is the direction. Hirsch contrasts sharply with Lahti, playing the loud, coarse…
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Oh River Phoenix, what lost potential. I still have to see My Own Private Idaho (which I’m very excited for), but he was tremendous here in Sidney Lumet’s Running on Empty, as a young man torn between the love for his family and the desire to become his own man. He rightfully earned the only Oscar nomination of his short career (although strangely in the supporting category, because according to the Academy young actors can’t be leads) and the film also netted a nomination for Naomi Foner’s exploratory screenplay of a family constantly on the run. The Popes live their life in a never-ending state of emergency, always ready to pick up and move somewhere new at a moment’s notice.…
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I would have probably rated this a little higher but for the fact it starred Judd Hirsch. He's just not my cup of tea (I'm being kind)
Recent reviews
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Running on Empty, directed by Sidney Lumet (12 Angry Men, Network), is a wonderfully understated film about two fugitives and their lives as they travel from city-to-city in an attempt to delude the authorities.
Even without their criminal past, the Pope family is extremely unconventional. Arthur and Annie Pope (Judd Hirsch and Christine Lahti) are hippies who blew up a building that was producing napalm. Years later, they now have two sons: Danny (River Phoenix) and Harry (Jonas Abry). They live in a city until they're discovered, and then they pack up their things, dye their hair, and change their names.
The acting is, of course, wonderful, as is the direction. Hirsch contrasts sharply with Lahti, playing the loud, coarse…
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I would have probably rated this a little higher but for the fact it starred Judd Hirsch. He's just not my cup of tea (I'm being kind)
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Beautiful film. Some fine work from two figures who are sadly not with us anymore - Sidney Lumet and the wonderful River Phoenix.
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Even the happy moments in this film made me cry, even as I laughed. Warm and difficult and amazing. Christine Lahti was amazing, I would love Judd Hirsch for this and Ordinary People alone, Martha Plimpton is incredible, and as for River Phoenix, he died much too early and when he did we lost one of the best actors of our time. Sidney Lumet is a phenomenal director.
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Even the happy moments in this film made me cry, even as I laughed. Warm and difficult and amazing. Christine Lahti was amazing, I would love Judd Hirsch for this and Ordinary People alone, Martha Plimpton is incredible, and as for River Phoenix, he died much too early and when he did we lost one of the best actors of our time. Sidney Lumet is a phenomenal director. This just became one of my favorite films. (2007 review)
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Publiqué el 09/04/2011:
"Running on empty" (Al filo del vacío) es mi peli de Lumet: Una pareja de exradicales, buscados por el FBI, viven el día a día con sus hijos
2011-04-09 18:09:54 (+00:00) -
Nomadic anarcho-lefty Jew parents; River Phoenix; piano; Martha Plimpton; aspirant artist; "Lucky Star"; awkward teenage romance; bicycles; the late '80s; — I'm a total mark.
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This is possibly my favourite Lumet film. River Phoenix gives arguably his best performance (for which he was rightfully nominated for his only Oscar) and the story moves seamlessly. The way that Danny's classical music is used throughout the film to convey to emotion of this family drama is genius. Just a great all-around film, despite being one of Lumet's lesser-known efforts.
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Not a bad film...