Escape from New York (1981)

"Call me Snake."

Carpenter's classic with Kurt Russell playing a short mean Clint Eastwood with an eye patch (ala John Wayne), Lee Van Cleef as the warden and a cast that includes Ernest Borgine, Adrienne Barbeau, Isaac Hayes and Harry Dean Stanton. Let us not forget Donald Pleasance at the President of the United States. ("You're the Duke, you're A no. 1!") Manhatten as a prison, a downed Air Force One and Snake Plisken sent in to effect a rescue and return before impacted explosive charges blow his head off. Eerie night shooting in a burned out section of St. Louis subbing for New York and an effective Carpenter score. A classic. October 3, 2008

Carpenter Rocks!

Escape From N.Y. was quite an interesting flick regarding a movie of the future using techniques and strategies that still don't exist to this very day.

In addition to what made this movie interesting; it was neat seeing actors and actresses from other John Carpenter flicks co-starring in this movie like Donald Pleasance(HALLOWEEN), Tom Atkins(THE FOG), Charles Cyphers(HALLOWEEN & THE FOG), Adrienne Barbeau(THE FOG), Harry-Dean Stanton(CHRISTINE), Kurt Russell(THE THING), Nancy Stephens(HALLOWEEN), etc., except ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK was an action movie, not a horror movie, plus this was probably the first action movie directed by John Carpenter as well, since most of the other movies Carpenter made back then were horror flicks and thrillers.

In fact, I actually liked ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK a lot better than Carpenter's sequel ESCAPE FROM L.A.; even though ESCAPE FROM L.A. was alot more upgraded and alot more sophisticated than ESCAPE FROM N.Y. was, but I thought the action and the actors in ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK were better and a lot less predictable than they were in ESCAPE FROM L.A., especially since the original flicks of each saga are usually better than the sequels are, which is another reason why ESCAPE FROM L.A. wasn't as good as ESCAPE FROM N.Y. September 10, 2008

A Cult Classic

Not really being familiar with the work of John Carpenter or the acting ability of Kurt Russell, I guess it can safely be said that I went into this movie blind. That, in many ways can be a good thing. I went in with little to no expectations and had no hopes about what I wanted to see. Little did I know that this movie would shock me beyond belief as to how genuinely good it was. Sure it was corny and sure, it was filled with the classic cliché's that we've become familiar with from 80's movies. That didn't make it less entertaining. In fact it made it even more enjoyable than I could have possibly imagined.

This movie had everything and more. It gave us suspense, a bit of horror, a chunk of emotion and a snippet of humour. They all blended together to create what eventually (from what I've learned recently) became a true cult classic. The characters have no real depth but deliver the personalities that made this movie work. Snake Plissken is the typical badass hero who cares for nobody else but himself until he's faced with particular situations. Brain who's the slimy guy who would sell anyone down the river for his own benefit. The only reason they haven't gotten rid of him is because he knows everything and supplies the criminals with oil. Let's not forget the Duke. He's the baddest of all the bad people in New York and, as the saying goes "you don't cross the duke."

The story is set in 1997 (They could have made it a bit more futuristic, I know. Maybe 2050?) And the infamous Island of Manhattan has been turned into one big maximum security prison. Every crook in America is sent to the Island and there's simply no escape. Air Force One is faced with problems and is crashed into the island, leading to the kidnapping of the President. Because of the situation, the prison officers are unable to get him as there are threats to kill him if any attempts to save him are made. The police commissioner known as Hauk has no option but to send in a former Special Operations soldier, who's now a convicted criminal in to save the president. Snake Plissken is made an offer. Save the president within 22 hours or die.

For a movie made in the early 1980s, I was pleasantly surprised at the complexity of some of the visual effects. The border around the island was displayed with absolutely no flaws. Apart from the terrible 80s style haircuts, I would have been convinced that this movie was made in the past couple of years. The setting of a New York run by convicted criminals and psychopaths (better known as the Crazies) comes across as very genuine. At times I came to believe that something like this could come into effect, especially if the crime rates continue to rise. Kurt Russell is great in this movie, and being supported by the legendary Harry Dean Stanton was something great.

I would strongly recommend this to any movie fan. It's really better if you're not familiar with the style of Carpenter or the acting of Russell as you're given a real treat.
August 16, 2008

A GREAT CULT CLASSIC MOVIE!!!

This movie came before Escape from LA, and it's just great. It's not meant to be taken too seriously. There are subtle jokes throughout the movie. A lot of it is tongue in cheek. So enjoy it for what it is. There will be no Oscars, no awards given out for this movie... it's just mindless entertainment. You can tell Kurt Russell is having fun with the character. The whole movie is "over the top" and that's the point. Loads of fun, provided you don't take the movie, or yourself, too seriously. So lighten up, sit back, and enjoy! Check out Escape from LA too. June 13, 2008

Ahead of it's time!

John Carpenter's "Escape From New York" movie was way ahead of it's time and is a much better script and story than "Escape From L.A." In the second movie or it's continuum, there was too much repetitive dialogue copied or borrowed from the 1st movie. Snake is always left behind by one of his fellow thieves in both films and same dialogue of threats are made from United States Police Force commanding officers towards Plissken. They broke the mold with "E.F.N.Y." film after it was released into theaters. Do they have a 'special featurettes' with the new dvd version of "Escape From New York"? June 8, 2008

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