---
title: 'Running on Empty (1988)'
type: 'film'
director: 'Sidney Lumet'
released: '1988-09-07'
runtime_minutes: 116
genres:
  - 'Drama'
countries:
  - 'United States'
canonical: 'https://cinepixo.com/movies/running-on-empty-1988'
review_count: 0
imdb: 'https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096018/'
publisher: 'CinePixo'
---

# Running on Empty (1988)

1988 · 116 min · Drama · United States


## Synopsis

Running on Empty is a 1988 American drama film directed by Sidney Lumet and written by Naomi Foner and starring River Phoenix, Judd Hirsch, Christine Lahti, and Martha Plimpton. It was produced by Lorimar Film Entertainment. It is the story of a counterculture couple on the run from the FBI, and how one of their sons starts to break out of this fugitive lifestyle. It marked the second time that Phoenix and Plimpton played romantic interests, having previously co-starred in the film The Mosquito Coast (1986).

## Credits

- **Director:** [Sidney Lumet](https://cinepixo.com/people/sidney-lumet)
- **Screenplay:** [Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal](https://cinepixo.com/people/naomi-foner-gyllenhaal)
- **Original Music Composer:** [Tony Mottola](https://cinepixo.com/people/tony-mottola)
- **Producer:** [Griffin Dunne](https://cinepixo.com/people/griffin-dunne), [Amy Robinson](https://cinepixo.com/people/amy-robinson)
- **Director of Photography:** [Gerry Fisher](https://cinepixo.com/people/gerry-fisher)
- **Editor:** [Andrew Mondshein](https://cinepixo.com/people/andrew-mondshein)

## Cast

- [Martha Plimpton](https://cinepixo.com/people/martha-plimpton)
- [Alice Drummond](https://cinepixo.com/people/alice-drummond)
- [Elżbieta Czyżewska](https://cinepixo.com/people/elzbieta-czyzewska)
- [Lynne Thigpen](https://cinepixo.com/people/lynne-thigpen)
- [Jenny Lumet](https://cinepixo.com/people/jenny-lumet)
- [David Margulies](https://cinepixo.com/people/david-margulies)
- [Judd Hirsch](https://cinepixo.com/people/judd-hirsch)
- [Christine Lahti](https://cinepixo.com/people/christine-lahti)
- [Steven Hill](https://cinepixo.com/people/steven-hill)
- [Michael Boatman](https://cinepixo.com/people/michael-boatman)
- [L. M. Kit Carson](https://cinepixo.com/people/l-m-kit-carson)
- [River Phoenix](https://cinepixo.com/people/river-phoenix)

## Criticism on CinePixo

No reviews published yet.

Source: https://cinepixo.com/movies/running-on-empty-1988
Film facts: Wikidata (Q544780); synopsis from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Reviews, themes and notes are the work of this site's members.