Running Time

Nicely made black and white movie with some very nice acting.

Carl (Bruce Campbell), once a popular highschool student gets released from prison after serving 5 years for a heist gone bad. Outside, his friend and partner Patrick awaits his release so they can go rob a bank, but when he meets the girl he left behind in highschool 15 years ago he stands with a difficult choice of having to choose the money or her.

The movie was just over an hour and since it seemed very live we get to see all the actors really putting in a great effort to make this movie good.

It's an idea with the potential to go wrong, but Hitchcock made it work with Rope, and now Josh Becker has done the same with Running Time; a film with the word 'cult' written all over it! The fact that this film is shot in black and white makes it stand out somewhat from the crowd of nineties films, but it's the way that it's filmed that is Running Time's claim to fame. Becker shoots the film in one continuous shot that follows around lead character Carl through one day. This idea worked brilliantly for Hitchcock, but I was worried that it might not work so well for a movie about a heist - but it really couldn't have worked better! As mentioned, the plot follows Carl Metushka - a man newly released from prison. He meets up with his buddy, and it soon becomes apparent that Carl hasn't decided to stay away from the life of crime. No, he and his friend have a heist planned and we watch as they pick up a couple of people needed for the heist, and proceed to do the actual robbery...but you can't expect a plan like this to go off without a hitch.

The fact that Running Time is filmed in one continuous shot means that it's very easy to get into. This is complimented by the running time, which is extremely short at just sixty five minutes, and means that the film really doesn't have time to get boring. Becker keeps things interesting with a constant flow of action, and some rather amusing dialogue, which ensures that the film constantly makes for fun viewing. One of my major reasons for seeing this film was because of the presence of B-movie maestro Bruce Campbell. Campbell has a lot of charisma, and this shines through excellently in this film. Campbell is a very handsome man, and Becker makes good use of that fact with his role here. The rest of the cast are secondary to Campbell, but good use is made of all of them, and they all give realistic performances. The film is a little preposterous as certain things, the ending especially, are a little silly -but it really doesn't matter as Josh Becker's experiment is a huge success and overall, I can't not recommend that everyone takes the time to track Running Time down!

"Running Time" is more a cinematic stunt than a movie. It provides intellectual diversion but little emotional involvement. All of the edits in this "continuous take" project are obvious, but it is great fun to watch Bruce Campbell do what he does so well. Anita Barone is especially good in what is essentially an underwritten part as Janine, the whore with the heart of gold. As an added bonus, the movie is shot with all-Steadicam and gave me both a headache and an upset stomach. I haven't had both of those while watching a film since "Galaxy of Terror"! I soldiered on 'til the end because I wanted to see what happened next, so I'll declare "Running Time" a cut above a mild diversion.

This is an amazing movie. I popped the DVD into my player expecting a typical Bruce Campbell b-movie, but "Running Time" turned out to be much more than that. It succeeds on every level. Bruce Campbell shines in the leading role. I just love this man. This has got to be one of his best movies, right up there with the "Evil Dead" trilogy and "Bubba Ho-Tep". Actually, the whole cast is great. I especially fell for Anita Barone who I'd like to see in a lot more movies in the future. I won't spoil it for you, but watch out for her first meeting with Bruce Campbell's character in the movie. It's hilarious.

"Running Time" is shot in beautiful black and white, which gives the movie a film noir feeling. The script is written very cleverly with some witty dialog and tight pacing. From the beginning we are drawn into the story. The old real time formula works here for a change, although the concept does sometimes lead to a few lengths here and there. Still, the movie is far from ever getting boring and at 70 minutes running time "Running Time" (haha) is maybe even a bit too short. Doesn't matter. For me this one is an overlooked sleeper. If you get a chance, watch it!

Made in the same all-in-one-take method that Hitchcock (who is thanked in the end credits) created for ROPE, RUNNING TIME is actually more inventive on some levels. Hitchcock shot his film on a stage at Warner Bros., but Becker's is made out in the streets of Los Angeles. Granted, Hitchcock didn't have the highly mobile, lightweight camera equipment available to Becker, but it couldn't have been easy shooting RUNNING TIME (amusing, punning title) from moving cars and on Los Angeles streets.

The script is taut and well-written, and occasionally quite amusing as the hold-up men squabble amongst themselves during the robbery. The movie is also unexpectedly romantic in a tough, ultra-film-noir manner (the hero and heroine have sex before they recognize each other from high school).

Becker also varies the style impressively at times, from a rock-steady, documentary-style approach at the beginning, to a more surrealistic sequence during the robbery, as the camera shifts wildly from one perspective to another.

The film didn't have much theatrical distribution, and is evidently available on video only from the director, but video stores should stock it. This is one of those movies whose reputation will increase in the years to come.