The Running Man [Harold Faltermeyer]

Original Motion Picture Score
Music Composed by Harold Faltermeyer

Harold Faltermeyer creates a contemporary and catchy sound.

Although best known for his mid-'80s instrumental smash "Axel F.," Harold Faltermeyer was also a notable producer and session player. His career began with work as an arranger on Giorgio Moroder's soundtrack to the 1978 film Midnight Express, the first in a long series of film-related projects; from there, Faltermeyer moved on to play synthesizer on Donna Summer's 1979 classic Bad Girls before reuniting with Moroder to co-produce Sparks' Terminal Jive.

His breakthrough came in 1984 when he worked on the smash feature comedy Beverly Hills Cop; Faltermeyer's instrumental theme "Axel F." became an unexpected pop hit, and he was soon contracted to work on movies including the 1986 blockbusters Top Gun and The Running Man. In 1990, he also co-produced the Pet Shop Boys' Behavior album, but as the decade progressed — and his signature synth pop sound fell out of commercial favor — Faltermeyer's profile began to diminish. He then primarily involved himself in composing German film scores and in other productions from his studio in Munich, until deciding to return to Hollywood film scoring near the end of the 2000s.

Faltermeyer reappeared on the Hollywood scene when chosen by director Kevin Smith to compose the soundtrack to the Bruce Willis action comedy Cop Out, released in February 2010.

The movie:
Directed by former Starsky and Hutch TV star Paul Michael Glaser, this post-apocalyptic science fiction yarn satirized American entertainment, mocking pro wrestling, game shows, and law-and-order reality programming. Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as Ben Richards, a cop in the totalitarian America of 2019, framed for massacring rioting civilians during a famine.

After escaping from jail, Richards tries to prove his innocence, but his efforts are thwarted at every turn by a regime in need of a scapegoat. Richards is captured along with an innocent civilian, Amber Mendez (Maria Conchita Alonso), and they are forced to participate in a violent game show called "The Running Man," hosted by the unctuous Damon Killian (Richard Dawson). The object of the game for Richards and Mendez: obtain freedom by staying alive against a gauntlet of skillful assassins like "Subzero" (Prof. Toru Tanaka) and "Captain Freedom" (Jesse Ventura), each armed with unique weapons like razor-sharp hockey sticks and chainsaws. With the help of some fellow "contestants," Richards is able to tap into government computers and prove his innocence. The Running Man was very loosely based on a short story by Stephen King, who wrote it under the name Richard Bachman.