Runaway Train (1985)

Introduction
"Runaway Train", a 1985 thriller was directed by Andrei Konchalovsky. The film stars Jon Voight, Eric Roberts, and Rebecca De Mornay and is embeded in the rough and huge Alaskan wilderness. The story explores styles of liberty, fate, and survival, all set within a high-speed, runaway train.

Investiture and Escape
The film's lead characters are Oscar 'Manny' Manheim (Jon Voight) and Buck McGeehy (Eric Roberts), detainees in a maximum-security prison in Alaska. Manny, understood for his several escapes, is a bank robber serving life imprisonment. Buck is a young yet unpredictable inmate serving time for statutory rape. When Manny is lastly released from holding cell due to legal procedures, he immediately starts planning another escape, with Buck eagerly joining him. Together, they ingeniously escape the jail and find themselves in the freezing Alaskan wilderness.

The Runaway Train and Sara
Seeking to get out of the icy wilderness, they hop onto a four-locomotive train, at first unaware that it's driverless due to the conductor collapsing from an apparent cardiovascular disease. The impossibly layered scenario intensifies as it's understood that the train's brakes are harmed. Elsewhere, a rail backyard worker called Sara (Rebecca De Mornay) hitches a flight on the hugely quick runaway train, at first uninformed that she is not alone and the train doesn't have a chauffeur. Roberts, Manny, and Sara handle their fear, bitterness, and hopelessness, as they circumnavigate ways to stop the unstoppable automobile barreling through Alaska.

A Battle of Wills
Meanwhile, both the Alaskan railroad traffic controllers and the prison warden go through a power struggle on how to tackle this intensifying crisis. The warden is desperate to make sure Manny doesn't get away, while the railway authorities are more worried about avoiding a large-scale derailment disaster. As the train speeds on, ending up being a snow and ice-covered leviathan, the trio on board end up being more desperate and their characters clash harshly, more pressing the stress into overdrive.

Resolution
After many stopped working efforts to stop the train, Sara and Buck are saved by a hovering helicopter. Nevertheless, Manny, in a peak display screen of his defiance against restraints and conformity, selects to remain on the train. It becomes apparent that to Manny, the survival within these restrictions is a fate worse than death. The movie ends with a powerful image of Mann, in the face of imminent death, clinging onto the front of the train as it charges on, representing the real freedom he longed for.

Conclusion
"Runaway Train", based on an initial screenplay by popular director Akira Kurosawa, received extensive vital recognition. Voight was twice granted for his efficiency and both Voight and Roberts were chosen for Academy Awards. The film, despite its severe theme and environment, portrays a ruthless demand liberty from various restrictions. The pulsating thriller is an engaging concoction of action, tension, and commentary on the human spirit, making it a classic of the 1980s.

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