Starring: Tom Atkins, Adrienne Barbeau, Joel Bennett, Garrett Bergfeld, Ernest Borgnine Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Binding: DVD Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, Widescreen, NTSC Label: MGM (Video & DVD) Number of Items: 1 Region Code: 1 Release Date: November 21, 2000 Running Time: 99 minutes Theatrical Release Date: July 10, 1981
Description: A thrilling landmark film that jolts along at a breakneck pace, Escape From New York leapt to cult status with high-octane action, edge-of-your-seat suspense and a mind-blowing vision of a lone warrior (Kurt Russell) battling his way out of a post-apocalyptic Manhattan! Hailed as "stylish and scary" (Los Angeles Times), "dark and dangerous" (Newsweek) and "gloriously...fun" (Tyler Morning Telegraph), this fast-paced and furiously entertaining thriller grabs you by the throat and won't let go! In a world ravaged by crime, the entire island of Manhattan has been converted to a walled prison where brutal prisoners roam. But when the U.S. President (Donald Pleasence) crash-lands inside, only one man can bring him back: notorious outlaw and former Special Forces war hero Snake Plissken (Russell). But time is short: in 24 hours, an explosive device implanted in his neck will end Snake's missionand his lifeunless he succeeds!
Amazon.com: In the future, crime is out of control and New York City is a maximum security prison. Grabbing a bargaining chip right out of the air, convicts bring down the President's plane in bad old Gotham. Gruff Snake Plissken, a one-eyed warrior new to prison life, is coerced into bringing the President, and his cargo, out of this land of undesirables. Kurt Russell put his Disney days behind him as the nicest bad guy in the picture. All comic-book sensibilities and macho posturing, this is one of writer-director John Carpenter's better brainless escapes. There are snappy one-liners and explosive action scenes. However, the film lacks tension and some believability even within the realm of SF fantasy. Even when it fails to gel, though, it always manages to amuse, thanks in great part to a varied and unusual supporting cast (watch for Ernest Borgnine as a cabdriver). Followed in 1996 by Carpenter's overdone and campy Escape from L.A.--Rochelle O'Gorman
WTF? DO NOT BUY THIS MOVIE!!! Just give your money to a Drunk, It will be better spent that way.
Escape to Campiness John Carpenter's camp fest Escape from New York is a pleasure - as one can see from amazon viewer reviews - to the fans of B-movies and sci-fi. It is incredibly dated, a feast of contineous over acting and its script jampacked with logical issues (cassette tapes in 1997? Water, electricity, heat, food? Did the UN relocate? What's harder: finding a person in this wild concrete jungle or an x-ray machine outside of New York to neutralize the capsules?). Most of us can also ignore the fact that none of the exteriors have actually been shot in New York. But the film's problems add more to its charm than they hurt. The soundtrack, the director's usual minimalistic syntheshizer compositions, is fantastic.
Carpenter has managed to produce pictures that withhold the test of time quite well as we have seen with his worldwide smash hit Halloween and The Thing, which didn't do well at all upon its release to the silver screen but has gained cult status and critic's appreciation in later years. However Escape from New York remains a great flic to pop into your DVD player, fire up your microwave for some popcorn and enjoy hoaky dialogues that will stick with you for a while.
Blu-Ray looks better than Special Edition + exclusive extra Only goes to show you Clint Eastwood and Charles Bronson aren't the only 80's people who can portray a wicked-cool tough guy. Escape from New York is John Carpenter's post apocalyptic answer to those lone wolf anti-heroes we used to see in the classic westerns. Though the movie is rough around it's edges I see this one as one of Carpenter's better movies.
Stick an anti-establishment ex-military dude, load him up with weapons and drop him in a city controlled by roving gangs of convicts. That's Escape from New York in a nutshell. What makes it work? The characters. What makes the characters work? The actors. You get a nice slice of star power in this movie with the likes of Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasance, Adrienne Barbeau and a slew of others. Put them together and you have some pretty sweet performances. Even Isaac Hayes (Chef of South Park) plays a surprisingly interesting role as the Duke of New York. Considering he was a popular singer back then and not an actor I'm impressed. Of course Kurt Russell owns the screen as Snake Plissken. Thanks for Russel's portrayal that name will go down in sci-fi history.
Special effects aren't much to speak of. Most of the movie is based on set design of a ruined New York City. Not exactly high budget and it shows. The special effects that are on the movie are in the beginning and are quite impressive in a very subtle way. First off you have the model work that really brings the trashed city to life. Also there are some images they put on a display screen that have an impressive and very convincing three-dimensional effect you wouldn't expect by first looking at it. Although it's brief, it's neat enough to be worth noting.
The Blu-Ray release will be the best release to date. Keep in mind this movie was released in the early 80's and John Carpenter is a budget director so the quality of the source material will guarantee this movie will never look like a high def film you're used to seeing lately. In spite of what you may hear there is a noticeable improvement in picture contrast and clarity between this Blu-Ray and all other DVD released previously. There is also audio in DTS HD and Dolby Digital 5.1 to boot.
The special features are worth noting too. You get the same commentaries (one originally from the laser disk release) and documentary as in the Special Edition DVD, but as a special bonus there is a brand new interview with John Carpenter not found on the DVDs. You also get the original opening of the movie in all it's... um... glory (yeah, it's still pretty ugly).
Escape from New York could be called your standard post apocalyptic/gang war type movie, only this is the one that set that standard in the first place. Many people consider it a classic and I tend to agree. It's an interesting look into that harsh cyberpunk future without all the gadgets and tech in the way. It's not a classic in the sense of the greatest of the great, but it is a landmark in science fiction heritage and should be respected as such. If you want the best release to date with the most extras (as in one new interview) the Blu-Ray is the best way to go. If you don't really need the slightly improved video quality then the Special Edition is still worthwhile.
Looks absolutely dreadful Read the reviews at amazon.co.uk. It is upscaled standard definition. It looks like garbage. Don't waste your money, just wait for the official US release which will hopefully be better.
The name's Plissken! Six Stars for Adrienne Barbeau Classic Sci-Fi at its best. What a great character! Seemed like Snake was always in a bad mood, which helps when you're dropped into a city (or prison) filled with scum. Harry Dean Stanton's character was funny, Donald Pleasance as the inept President, and Isaac Hayes as "The Duke" - "A" Number One. Best of all: Adrienne Barbeau..... Oh, her acting was pretty good, too.
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