MovieChat Forums > Runaway Train (1986) Discussion > Can anyone explain the final quote?

Can anyone explain the final quote?


Shakespeare is overrated. All he has written is garbage.
So what does that last quote really mean?

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As I interpret it (and I'm sure others will have their own interpretation);
The quote could refer to a few different things seperately (or all at once, of course).

The obvious one is Manny himself, who is considered a beast by society at large, and by a few people in particular, people like Ranken for instance, and Sara (who in a fit of rage calls him an animal - to his very visible dismay).
The quote would then mean that no, he is not an animal/beast because even a beast feel pity - whereas Manny feels none.
I'm not to sure about that interpretation though, because Manny obviously feels pity, to a degree.

It could therefore more properly be referring to Ranken, who by any and all accounts seem devoid of any kind of pity, and is therefore worse than even the most fierce beast.

My favourite though is a bit more spiritual (for lack of a better word).
The quote equals a description of the progression of time and/or the relentlessness of life. And by this definition the quote is saying that any being, no matter how fierce, has the capacity to feel pity. But time/life is unyieldingly what it is, and is therefore not a beast - it is therefore understood that humans, by nature, are beasts.

If you want to take that final interpretation one step further, the train itself - by looks and sounds alone very easy to mistake for a beast - could then be a metaphore for time/life. Plowing unstoppably through the hostile landscape towards the inevitable end. The quote would then be referring to the train, making a symbolic line between it and life, and then pointing out that it, despite its characteristics, is no beast.

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It's really all of it, that's one reason why Kurosawa was such a master.

The time / life / train one is a good analogy. The train brought them freedom and also death. Even the fiercest beast knows some pity and will always, inevitably, been put down by it without any pity. The fiercest monster can't be as monstrous as life itself.

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I'm not to sure about that interpretation though, because Manny obviously feels pity, to a degree.

It could therefore more properly be referring to Ranken, who by any and all accounts seem devoid of any kind of pity, and is therefore worse than even the most fierce beast.

I've always believed that the line was meant not just for Manny and the warden but for ALL humanity.

Remember the scene when Manny was beating up Buck after Buck nearly froze to death outside the locomotive? Sara and Manny had this interaction that made me come to this conclusion:
Sara: "You're an animal!"
Manny: "No; worse....human. HUMAN!!!!"

Prison is hell itself with some of the most vile people trapped within (serial killers; rapists; etc.....of course; not everyone in prison is truly guilty but that's beside the point.) What other species has revealed themselves to be so violent? There are some that kill for the thrill; will use their fellow man as a means to an end and some take sadistic pleasure in seeing others suffer. How many wars and deaths have been caused because of some social/political/religious agenda being pushed? Heck; humanity is so fierce and deadly that it can practically eradicate ALL life on the planet.....

As for Manny; in the end he didn't care about saving lives (even his own.) He just wanted to make darn sure that he didn't go back that prison hellhole and to take his tormentor/worst enemy down with him.


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The movie has a plot hole?!?
EVERY FRIGGIN' MOVIE HAS A FRIGGIN' PLOT HOLE!!!!!

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With your ignorant and insulting opinions of Shakespeare, I don't know why anyone would bother answering you.



Why aren't cookies called bakies?

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I admit that I was being a bit harsh in my opinion.

My impression is that he is very hard to understand in this day and age.
I also think that there are those who will act like they like ol Shakes just to seem highbrow or like him as a status symbol even if they can't understand a word he says.
I'm just frustrated at the flowery language he uses. Just get to the point and make it so we can all understand without the BS poetry talk.

Damn, I'm good.

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First, it is just gibberish to distract you from the fact that there's no real ending to the movie.

But what it means is : There is no beast so fierce that they do not have some pity, which is why Manny disconnected the second engine so the man and woman could survive. But the second line is that he saying he really has no pity and therefore he is actually no beast because a beast would still have pity.



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No real ending? It's 100% clear and extremely moving. What's not to understand about what happens next? It's even more powerful that it has no verbal dialogue and ends before the crash.

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I don't know about that but Manny wanted so much to "scrub" those little spots that he wishes he could do now. Manny on his knew scrubbing the floor and telling the boss yes sir. Something along those lines it went.

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