Rampage (1987 film)

{{Short description|1987 film by William Friedkin}}

{{Short description|1987 film by William Friedkin}}

{{use mdy dates|date=December 2023}}

{{Infobox film

{{Infobox film

| name = Rampage

| name = Rampage

| country = United States

| country = United States

| language = English

| language = English

| budget = $7.5 million<ref name="dino">{{cite news|title=Producer's Picture Darkens |last=Knoedelseder Jr. |first=William K. |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=30 August 1987 |page=1}}</ref>

| budget = $7.5 million<ref name="dino">{{cite news|title=Producer's Picture Darkens |last=Knoedelseder Jr. |first=William K. |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=30 August 1987 |page=1}}</ref><ref name=Kelley/>

| gross = $796,368<ref>{{mojo title|rampage|Rampage}}</ref>

| gross = $796,368<ref>{{mojo title|rampage|Rampage}}</ref>

}}

}}

'''''Rampage''''' is a 1987 American [[Crime (genre)|crime]] [[Drama (film and television)|drama film]] written, produced and directed by [[William Friedkin]]. The film stars [[Michael Biehn]], [[Alex McArthur]], and [[Nicholas Campbell]].

'''''Rampage''''' is a 1987 American [[Crime (genre)|crime]] [[Drama (film and television)|drama film]] written, produced and directed by [[William Friedkin]]. The film stars [[Michael Biehn]], [[Alex McArthur]], and [[Nicholas Campbell]]. Friedkin wrote the script based on the novel of the same name by William P. Wood, which was inspired by the life of [[Richard Chase]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Liebenson |first1=Donald |title=But Soft, Friedkin Speaks |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/ct-xpm-1993-06-18-9306180307-story.html |access-date=30 December 2023 |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=June 18, 1993 |archive-url=http://www.freezepage.com/1703943539TYLMAKANGC |archive-date=30 December 2023}}</ref>

The film premiered at the [[Boston Film Festival]] on September 11, 1987, but its theatrical release was stalled for five years due to production company and distributor [[De Laurentiis Entertainment Group]] going bankrupt. In 1992, [[Miramax]] obtained distribution rights and gave the film a limited release in North America. For the Miramax release, Friedkin reedited the film and changed the ending.

==Plot summary==

==Plot summary==

==Release==

==Release==

''Rampage'' was filmed in 1986 in [[Stockton, California]], where it had a one day only fundraising premiere at the Stockton Royal Theaters in August 1987. It played at the Boston Film Festival in September 1987, and ran theatrically in some European countries in the late 1980s. Plans for the film's theatrical release in America were shelved when production studio [[De Laurentiis Entertainment Group|DEG]], the distributor of ''Rampage'', went bankrupt. The film was unreleased in North America for five years. During that time, director Friedkin reedited the film, and changed the ending (with Reece no longer committing suicide in jail) before its US release in October 1992.{{sfn|Friedkin|2013|pp=400-401}} The European video versions usually feature the film's original ending.

''Rampage'' was filmed in 1986 in [[Stockton, California]], where it had a one day only fundraising premiere at the Stockton Royal Theaters in August 1987. It played at the Boston Film Festival in September 1987, and ran theatrically in some European countries in the late 1980s. Plans for the film's theatrical release in America were shelved when production studio [[De Laurentiis Entertainment Group|DEG]], the distributor of ''Rampage'', went bankrupt. The film was unreleased in North America for five years.<ref name="Watchdog">{{cite magazine |title=Friedkin vs. Friedkin: RAMPAGE Revisited |magazine=[[Video Watchdog]] |issue=13 |date=September 1992 |page=36}}</ref> During that time, director Friedkin reedited the film, and changed the ending (with Reece no longer committing suicide in jail) before its US release in October 1992.<ref name=Kelley/>{{sfn|Friedkin|2013|pp=400-401}} The European video versions usually feature the film's original ending.

In retrospect, William Friedkin said: "At the time we made ''Rampage'', [producer] [[Dino De Laurentiis]] was running out of money. He finally went bankrupt, after a long career as a producer. He was doing just scores of films and was unable to give any of them his real support and effort. And so literally by the time it came to release ''Rampage'', he didn’t have the money to do it. And he was not only the financier, but the distributor. His company went bankrupt, and the film went to black for about five years. Eventually, the Weinsteins' company [[Miramax]] took it out of bankruptcy and rereleased it. But this was among the lowest points in my career."<ref name=Vulture>{{Cite news|url=https://www.vulture.com/2013/05/william-friedkin-interview.html|title=Director William Friedkin on Rising and Falling and Rising in the Film Industry |last=Ebiri |first=Bilge |author-link=Bilge Ebiri |work=[[Vulture (website)|Vulture]] |date=May 3, 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130505192533/https://www.vulture.com/2013/05/william-friedkin-interview.html |archive-date=May 5, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In retrospect, William Friedkin said: "At the time we made ''Rampage'', [producer] [[Dino De Laurentiis]] was running out of money. He finally went bankrupt, after a long career as a producer. He was doing just scores of films and was unable to give any of them his real support and effort. And so literally by the time it came to release ''Rampage'', he didn’t have the money to do it. And he was not only the financier, but the distributor. His company went bankrupt, and the film went to black for about five years. Eventually, the Weinsteins' company [[Miramax]] took it out of bankruptcy and rereleased it. But this was among the lowest points in my career."<ref name=Vulture>{{Cite news|url=https://www.vulture.com/2013/05/william-friedkin-interview.html|title=Director William Friedkin on Rising and Falling and Rising in the Film Industry |last=Ebiri |first=Bilge |author-link=Bilge Ebiri |work=[[Vulture (website)|Vulture]] |date=May 3, 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130505192533/https://www.vulture.com/2013/05/william-friedkin-interview.html |archive-date=May 5, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Reception==

==Reception==

In his review, film critic [[Roger Ebert]] gave ''Rampage'' three stars out of four saying, "This is not a movie about murder so much as a movie about insanity—as it applies to murder in modern American criminal courts...Friedkin['s] message is clear: Those who commit heinous crimes should pay for them, sane or insane. You kill somebody, you fry—unless the verdict is murky or there were extenuating circumstances."<ref name="RogerEbert.com">{{cite news|first=Roger |last=Ebert |authorlink=Roger Ebert |title=Rampage |url=http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/rampage-1992 |date=October 30, 1992 |access-date=July 28, 2017}}</ref>

The film received a polarized response.<ref name="Harvard">{{cite news |last1=Dry |first1=Sarah C. |title=AN EYE FOR AN EYE: "Rampage" Shows the Horror of Murder |url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1992/10/29/an-eye-for-an-eye-rampage/ |access-date=30 December 2023 |work=[[The Harvard Crimson]] |date=October 29, 2002}}</ref><ref name="Terry">{{cite news |last1=Terry |first1=Clifford |title=From mad to worse |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1992-10-30-9204080376-story.html |access-date=30 December 2023 |work=Chicago Tribune |date=1992-10-30 |archive-url=http://www.freezepage.com/1703943955PWWOWKUWPD |archive-date=2023-12-30}}</ref> Some critics ranked ''Rampage'' among Friedkin's best work.<ref name="Kelley" /> In his review, film critic [[Roger Ebert]] gave ''Rampage'' three stars out of four saying, "This is not a movie about murder so much as a movie about insanity—as it applies to murder in modern American criminal courts...Friedkin['s] message is clear: Those who commit heinous crimes should pay for them, sane or insane. You kill somebody, you fry—unless the verdict is murky or there were extenuating circumstances."<ref name="RogerEbert.com">{{cite news|first=Roger |last=Ebert |authorlink=Roger Ebert |title=Rampage |url=http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/rampage-1992 |date=October 30, 1992 |access-date=July 28, 2017 |work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |via=RogerEbert.com}}</ref> [[Gene Siskel]] opined the film needed more scenes in the courtroom.<ref name="Siskel">{{cite news |last1=Siskel |first1=Gene |author1-link=Gene Siskel |title=Friedkin's 'Rampage' Skims Surface of Provocative Subject |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/ct-xpm-1992-10-30-9204080375-story.html |access-date=30 December 2023 |work=Chicago Tribune |date=30 October 1992 |archive-url=http://www.freezepage.com/1703943673OBRQUOVIZS |archive-date=30 December 2023}}</ref> [[Janet Maslin]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' praised the acting and commented, "'Rampage' has a no-frills, realistic look that serves its subject well, and it avoids an exploitative tone."<ref name="Maslin">{{cite news |last1=Maslin |first1=Janet |author1-link=Janet Maslin |title=Review/Film; Random Murder Spree In a Friedkin Thriller |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/10/30/movies/review-film-random-murder-spree-in-a-friedkin-thriller.html |access-date=30 December 2023 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=1992-10-30}}</ref>

[[Owen Gleiberman]] of ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' called the film "despicable", saying that the "movie devolves into hateful propaganda" and "its muddled legal arguments come off as cover for a kind of righteous blood lust".<ref name="EW">{{cite magazine |last1=Gleiberman |first1=Owen |author1-link=Owen Gleiberman |title=Rampage (1992) |access-date=30 December 2023 |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |date=November 6, 1992 |url= http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0%2C%2C312272%2C00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070520173236/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,312272,00.html |archive-date=May 20, 2007}}</ref> [[Stephen King]], an admirer of ''Rampage'', wrote a letter to the magazine defending the film.<ref name="Kelley" />

In retrospect William Friedkin said: "There are a lot of people who love ''Rampage'', but I don’t think I hit my own mark with that".<ref name=Vulture/>

In retrospect William Friedkin said: "There are a lot of people who love ''Rampage'', but I don’t think I hit my own mark with that".<ref name=Vulture/>

In 2021, Patrick Jankiewicz of ''[[Fangoria]]'' wrote, "Half-serial killer thriller, half-courtroom drama, Rampage is an unnerving study on the nature of evil and what society should do about it."<ref name="Fangoria">{{cite news |last1=Jankiewicz |first1=Patrick |title=William Friedkin's RAMPAGE: How An Underrated Modern Serial Killer Thriller Was Lost And Found |url=https://www.fangoria.com/original/rampage-retrospective/ |access-date=30 December 2023 |work=[[Fangoria]] |date=April 28, 2021}}</ref>

==Home media==

==Home media==

Friedkin's original cut featuring the alternate ending and some additional footage was released on [[LaserDisc]] in Japan only by Shochiku Home Video in 1990.<ref name=Kelley>{{Cite news |last=Kelley |first=Bill |date=1992-12-06 |title=Delayed 'Rampage' a "New" Serial Killer Film is Actually a Re-Cut Version of a Movie Shelved for Six Years |work=[[Orlando Sentinel]] |url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/1992/12/06/delayed-rampage-a-new-serial-killer-film-is-actually-a-re-cut-version-of-a-movie-shelved-for-six-years/ |access-date=2023-12-30}}</ref>

The American edit of the film was released on [[LaserDisc]] in 1994 by [[Paramount Home Entertainment|Paramount Home Video]].<ref name="Kelley" /> The film received a [[DVD]] release by SPI International in Poland.<ref>{{cite web |title=Rampage (DVD) Michael Biehn McArthur William Friedkin PL IMPORT |url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rampage-Michael-McArthur-William-Friedkin/dp/B00356ITC2/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8 |website=Amazon |access-date=30 December 2023}}</ref>

Friedkin's original cut featuring the alternate ending and some additional footage was released on [[LaserDisc]] in Japan only by Shochiku Home Video in 1990.

[[Kino Lorber]] announced plans to release ''Rampage'' on Blu-ray in 4K UHD sometime in early 2024.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hamman |first1=Cody |title=Rampage: William Friedkin serial killer thriller is getting a 4K UHD release |url=https://www.joblo.com/rampage-friedkin-4k/ |website=JoBlo.com |access-date=30 December 2023 |date=2023-12-28}}</ref>

As of 2010, the film has been released on [[DVD]] only in Poland, by SPI International.

The American edit of the film was released on [[LaserDisc]] in 1994 by [[Paramount Home Entertainment|Paramount Home Video]].

==References==

==References==

* {{Rotten Tomatoes|rampage_1988}}

* {{Rotten Tomatoes|rampage_1988}}

* {{mojo title|rampage|Rampage}}

* {{mojo title|rampage|Rampage}}

* [https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1992/10/29/director-friedkin-confronts-social-issues-in/ Director Friedkin Confronts Social Issues in Film] at [[The Harvard Crimson]]

* [https://rarefilmm.com/2019/02/rampage-1987/ ''Rampage'' original cut and 1992 recut] at rarefilm.com

{{William Friedkin}}

{{William Friedkin}}

[[Category:1987 films]]

[[Category:1987 films]]

[[Category:1987 independent films]]

[[Category:1987 independent films]]

[[Category:American courtroom films]]

[[Category:American crime drama films]]

[[Category:American crime drama films]]

[[Category:American crime thriller films]]

[[Category:American crime thriller films]]

[[Category:De Laurentiis Entertainment Group films]]

[[Category:De Laurentiis Entertainment Group films]]

[[Category:1980s English-language films]]

[[Category:1980s English-language films]]

[[Category:1980s legal films]]

[[Category:1980s serial killer films]]

[[Category:1980s serial killer films]]

[[Category:Films based on American novels]]

[[Category:Films based on American novels]]