movie review escape from new york

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Escape from new york, common sense media reviewers.

Extremely dark '80s sci-fi classic is too intense for kids.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

The rotten Big Apple here represents the worst tha

Plissken is a hard-bitten, surly punk throughout.

Gunfire, explosions, beat-downs, and gladiatorial

Blink-and-you'll-miss-them bare breasts, as NYC pr

The s-word, the f-word, "a-hole," "Jesus Christ,"

Chock-Full-a-Nuts and Coca-Cola signs visible.

Tough-guy cigarette smoking. Drunken-derelict type

Positive Messages

The rotten Big Apple here represents the worst that could happen under a harsh, uncaring government. Along with that comes a theme of mistrusting authority and "the Man." There are no real heroes; the closest thing is a commando-turned-robber, motivated entirely by self-interest (or other people coercing him). Even he is disgusted by the callous attitude of the hostage US president (and, by extension, the society that president represents).

Positive Role Models

Plissken is a hard-bitten, surly punk throughout. While most every character is a criminal, freak, or government bully of some sort (except for the friendly Cabbie), "good guys," for lack of a better word, are all white folks. Main villain is big black dude. The US president's personality is not well established, but we suspect he -- like his country -- isn't very nice.

Violence & Scariness

Gunfire, explosions, beat-downs, and gladiatorial death bouts with fists and clubs. A severed head. Characters stuck with arrows and knives. Implication that high-tech tiny time bombs are implanted in someone's head. A hijacked plane crashes into a Manhattan skyscraper as in 9/11, but only a radar-readout is shown.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Blink-and-you'll-miss-them bare breasts, as NYC prisoners manhandle a girl. Low-cut outfits for the leading lady. Plissken makes an angry joke about "playing with myself." He has a suggestive tattoo around his crotch.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

The s-word, the f-word, "a-hole," "Jesus Christ," "bastard," SOB.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Drinking, drugs & smoking.

Tough-guy cigarette smoking. Drunken-derelict type characters in a skid-row setting, mention of junkies.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know Escape from New York presents a bleak vision of the future and has violence including that violence gunfire, crossbows, thrown knives, land mines, and gladiatorial death bouts with fists and clubs (though except for a severed head there's little explicit gore). Do-not-do-this-at-home stuff includes whiskey used as a firebomb. Swearing is at the typical R-level. The hero smokes cigarettes. There's a quick glimpse of bare breasts. An atmosphere of cynicism and darkness pervades, including a negative depiction of a US president and a police-state America. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Community Reviews

Parents say (3)
Kids say (9)

Based on 3 parent reviews

good 8 and up

Great movie, what's the story.

In a brutal, "near-future" America -- 1997, for this 1981 production -- crime has risen astronomically, coincident with a war against Russia in ESCAPE TO NEW YORK. The island of Manhattan, apparently given up as unsalvageable, has been turned into a giant prison compound, guarded and mined to prevent escape, and so hellish that convicts can opt for execution rather than enter. Then kamikaze leftist terrorists hijack Air Force One and crash it in Manhattan (a 9/11-shudder in that scene!) stranding the US president (Donald Pleasance) somewhere in this lawless zone on the eve of vital peace talks. The warden turns to a new prisoner, ex-war hero Snake Plissken ( Kurt Russell ), to single-handedly retrieve the VIP from the walled-off nightmare city and its gangs. As an extra incentive, the unwilling Plissken is injected with miniature explosive charges that will kill him if he fails to complete the mission in 24 hours.

Is It Any Good?

This movie is summed up by the word "dystopia," the opposite of "utopia," but in fairness, filmmaker John Carpenter, never meant this as an uplifter. Filmed in the purposeful, plain style of the old-school (pre-MTV, pre-video game) movie directors he professed to admire most, Escape from New York is a compelling but relentlessly sour and pessimistic actioner whose only levity comes from the inherent dark humor (a running "joke" that everyone thought Plissken was dead) and a jolly Ernest Borgnine as comic-relief, a lone, cheery yellow-cab driver still picking up fares despite mean streets full of savage lunatics and barbarians. Other filmmakers might have gone for "escapism" in the Hollywood sense and made this a thrill-ride roller-coaster. Instead, Carpenter (shooting on a low budget, using a burnt-out St. Louis standing in for ghost-town NYC) makes it painfully plain that this alternative Manhattan is really not a nice place to visit and you wouldn't want to live there. Kids most likely won't have much interest, and it's not meant for them, anyway.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about Snake Plissken in Escape from New York . Is he a "hero" or, as some have suggested, a character with no redeeming social value? What does his final dialogue with the president mean?

Research the real-life pathologies that assailed New York in the 1960s and '70s, like crime, decadence, drugs, blackouts, riots, economic turmoil, and punk rock, extrapolated to create this dire scenario.

Movie Details

In theaters : July 10, 1981
On DVD or streaming : November 21, 2000
Cast : Ernest Borgnine , Kurt Russell , Lee Van Cleef
Director : John Carpenter
Studio : MGM/UA
Genre : Science Fiction
Run time : 99 minutes
MPAA rating : R
Last updated : December 28, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

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Escape From New York Reviews

Not my favorite classic Carpenter film, it still offers a scrappy look into the director’s political edge.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Aug 5, 2023

The filmmaker’s cynical sense of humor and anti-authoritarian stance are all over the movie without overwhelming the suspense/entertainment focus.

Full Review | Jul 8, 2023

From Kurt Russell immortalizing the lead character to the comic books, action figures, and board games that followed, “Escape from New York” still excites its fans and has earned its status as a time-tested cult classic.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 1, 2023

Escape From New York is an iconic action thriller of the 80's that is arguably Carpenter's coolest film. Snake Plissken is a unique antihero played perfectly by Russell as he demolishes his Disney stigma. It's a good time that remains scarily relevant.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.25/5 | Oct 2, 2022

Sixty per cent a perfectly realized film.

Full Review | Jul 27, 2022

New York as surreal, existential hell was done much better by Walter Hill in The Warriors; Carpenter’s imagery fails to shock today’s jaded audiences.

Full Review | May 23, 2022

One of John Carpenter's most popular films remains this futuristic yarn featuring an irresistible hook and an iconic anti-hero.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Apr 10, 2022

Regardless of how much John Carpenter pays homage to Howard Hawks, or how much Kurt Russell's performance is rooted in Clint Eastwood's various onscreen characters, Escape from New York stands on its own merits and achieves something unique.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4 | Feb 14, 2022

What works is the tone, the character, and the deeply cynical attitude towards authority of all stripes.

Full Review | Oct 24, 2021

[O]ne of the standouts of director/co-writer John Carpenter's damn-near-unmatched 1976-1988 run of stupendous filmmaking.

Full Review | Jul 11, 2021

A substandard-by-design, low-budget, accidental sci-fi epic that is too good to pass up.

Full Review | Original Score: 9/10 | Sep 6, 2020

If you don't like Escape From New York, then you and I will have some trouble seeing eye to eye-patch in our taste in movies.

Full Review | Apr 9, 2020

Everything is sluggishly directed by Carpenter, which is odd for a master of the horror genre.

Full Review | Oct 4, 2019

In a time when New York may well have been at its most dangerous, or at least most volatile, John Carpenter came through with a nihilist vision of the city.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Apr 28, 2019

Escape From New York fires on every cylinder. It has a killer concept, iconic characters, legendary art design and musical score...

Full Review | Mar 1, 2019

1997 is the year in which the film's events are set, but far from being a bright, progressive future, it is a hyperbolic deterioration of 1981's here and now

Full Review | Nov 19, 2018

When you look at how action cinema developed over the 1980s, it's now clear to see that Escape From New York is one of the films which established the template for the muscular action hero.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 4, 2018

The film plays its social satire broad but strings it along a rail of self-awareness.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Oct 25, 2018

It has got an intriguing premise, an effective cast, and it has been expertly mounted.

Full Review | Jul 10, 2017

Maybe it's not John Carpenter's best film, but it's one of his most fun and the premise is irresistible: in the future, Manhattan has been turned into a high security island prison and Liberty Island is the guard station.

Full Review | Apr 21, 2017

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‘escape from new york’: thr’s 1981 review.

On July 10, 1981, John Carpenter unveiled his R-rated dystopian thriller in theaters.

By Arthur Knight

Arthur Knight

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On July 10, 1981, John Carpenter unveiled his R-rated dystopian thriller Escape From New York in theaters. The Hollywood Reporter’s original review is below:

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Cast & crew
User reviews

Escape from New York

In 1997, when the U.S. president crashes into Manhattan, now a giant maximum security prison, a convicted bank robber is sent in to rescue him. In 1997, when the U.S. president crashes into Manhattan, now a giant maximum security prison, a convicted bank robber is sent in to rescue him. In 1997, when the U.S. president crashes into Manhattan, now a giant maximum security prison, a convicted bank robber is sent in to rescue him.

John Carpenter
Nick Castle
Kurt Russell
Lee Van Cleef
Ernest Borgnine
426 User reviews
264 Critic reviews
76 Metascore
6 nominations

Snake Plissken

Girl in Chock Full O'Nuts

Harold 'Brain' Hellman

Secretary of State

(scenes deleted)

(as John Cothran Jr.)
Gypsy Guard

All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

More like this

Did you know

Trivia Kurt Russell has stated that this is his favorite of all his films, and Snake Plissken is his favorite of his characters.
Goofs During the sequence where Snake is being chased by the Crazies (and is about to shoot an oval pattern in a wall so he can break through), his eye patch shifts enough to reveal a perfectly good eye. This is commonly regarded as a mistake, but it is not; the novelization of the movie explains that Snake still has his left eye, but he wears the patch due to a paralyzed iris, making it extremely sensitive to light.

Bob Hauk : You going to kill me, Snake?

Snake Plissken : Not now, I'm too tired.

Snake Plissken : Maybe later.

Crazy credits The Avco Embassy logo does not appear in this movie.
Alternate versions Collector's edition laserdisc (during director commentary) shows cut scenes of high-tech bank robbery which led to Snake's conviction and eventual prison sentencing to New York.
Connections Edited into The Needle (1988)
Soundtracks Bandstand Boogie Music by Charles Albertine Courtesy of Cherio Corporation

User reviews 426

Aug 11, 2005
What happened to the girl who was pulled through the floor?
Was Cabbie a prisoner? He didn't really fit the profile but more important he said he'd been driving that same cab in NY for 30 years. Which would mean he started in 1967, long before it became a prison.
What is on the tape that the President keeps in his briefcase?
July 10, 1981 (United States)
United Kingdom
United States
Official site
Escape from New York City
Fox Theater - 527 N. Grand Boulevard, St. Louis, Missouri, USA (Broadway theatre relics)
AVCO Embassy Pictures
International Film Investors
Goldcrest Films International
See more company credits at IMDbPro
$6,000,000 (estimated)
$25,244,626
$25,274,965

Technical specs

Runtime 1 hour 39 minutes
Dolby Stereo
Dolby Digital

More to explore

Escape from New York (United States, 1981)

1988. New York City, overrun by crime, is walled in. It becomes the world's largest, most uncontrolled prison, with the inmates prevented from escaping by armed guards who man the walls twenty-four hours a day. Those confined within the city are free to live and die as they please, creating their own form of government, choosing their leaders, and using guile, brutality, and criminal ingenuity to survive. The city's world-renowned silhouette, gazed upon from the shores of Liberty Island, is familiar, but, without electricity to light up the nights, it has become dark and ominous, like the fledgling society growing in its streets, alleyways, and sewers.

Skip ahead nine years to 1997. The U.S. President's plane, hijacked by terrorists, goes down in the midst of the New York City prison. Master criminal Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell), whose chief personality traits are a dry wit and an unrivaled sense of self-preservation, is chosen to enter New York, rescue the President, and get out again. To insure his cooperation, he is injected with tablets that have a twenty-four hour life span. If Snake hasn't done his job by then, his head will explode. So, left without options, he dons a James Bond wristband, hops in a glider, and heads for the top of the World Trade Center.

Escape from New York has one of the most ingenious premises of any film released during the 1980s. For this, if nothing else, director John Carpenter ( Halloween, Starman ) deserves some credit. Unfortunately, too much of the film's promise goes unfulfilled. Escape from New York isn't really science fiction -- it's an action flick set in a futuristic setting. Epic potential for a masterful, gripping tale is abandoned in favor of cheap thrills.

Action films have certainly come along way in the last fifteen years. In comparison to a Die Hard, Escape from New York has such a low level of excitement that it could almost be considered plodding. Carpenter peppers the film with bursts of action, but there are long, sometimes sluggish, pauses in between. Also, surprisingly (since Carpenter is known as a "master of suspense"), Escape from New York rarely generates much tension, and, when it does, it fails to sustain it. Even the big finale, which involves a chase across a mined bridge, doesn't really get the adrenaline pumping. From an action/adventure standpoint, describing this film as anything better than adequate would be an unwarranted kindness.

Apologists for Escape (and there are mass legions of devoted fans) point out that the film is as much a comedy as it is an action film. And, while it's certainly true that Carpenter has infused the film with elements of irony and wit, his sense of humor is so dour that it rarely sparks more than fitful laughter. In fact, it's easier to recognize that Escape from New York is trying to be funny than it is to actually unearth those few moments of comedy that appear more inspired than pointless.

One area that doesn't merit criticism is the film's look. Although shot on a modest budget of $7 million, Escape from New York has the appearance of a more expensive picture. The skyline scenes of 1997 New York are very impressive. Matte artists, set designers, model makers, and animators all deserve credit for creating a believably futuristic, decadent cityscape. Cinematographer Dean Cundey gets a lot of nice, atmospheric shots that go a long way towards atoning for the film's faults. Carpenter's simple score, which is electronically synthesized, is the perfect audio accompaniment to some of the more ominous visuals (like the scene where the crazies emerge from the New York underground to close in on Snake, recalling George Romero's Night of the Living Dead ).

Kurt Russell is delightful as Snake. The actor, known at the time for his Disney films, makes a better-than-average action hero, incorporating aspects of Clint Eastwood's spaghetti western personality into his character. The presence of veteran actor Lee Van Cleef ( For a Few Dollars More; The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly ), who appears to be enjoying himself enormously, reinforces the Eastwood comparisons. Donald Pleasence, Adrienne Barbeau, and Harry Dean Stanton turn in solid supporting performances. Ernest Borgnine does a wonderful turn as a New York cabby who still remembers the old days, and Isaac Hayes is deliciously nasty as the Duke. Stealing perhaps every scene he's in, however, is Frank Doubleday, whose turn as a bit player is so exaggerated and over-the-top that it's impossible not to notice him.

So, considering all aspects of the production, what is Escape from New York ? A failed science fiction spectacle that devolves into a mediocre action/comedy? Or an underrated cult classic that functions as a ground-breaking adventure film? Perhaps, as is so often the case, the truth lies somewhere in between. Escape from New York is definitely watchable, and, at times, quite enjoyable. However, when the final credits roll, you can be forgiven a vague sense of dissatisfaction, because the creativity that went into formulating the premise was never extended to the script writing stage.

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Den of Geek

Escape From New York 4K review: atmospheric and immersive

This month sees the remastered release of a John Carpenter classic

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It’s regrettable to genre aficionados that the 21st century has seen a marked decline in the cinematic output of cult auteur John Carpenter. Conversely, the reputational stock of the venerable director has perhaps never been higher, as genre fans, critics and a new breed of filmmakers clamour to praise and re-evaluate the creator of Halloween (1978), The Fog (1980) and The Thing (1982). But since 2001’s Ghosts Of Mars , Carpenter has only been behind the camera for two episodes of US anthology TV show Masters Of Horror (2005, 2006) and poorly received psychological chiller The Ward (2010). Meanwhile, he’s dabbled in video games and concentrated on music, releasing three albums and touring them, while consulting on and executive producing this year’s Halloween reboot. Independent to the core and once interested in making fun, thrilling films with his own stamp, it seems Carpenter tired of the system as it tired of him. Now a 4K restoration of Escape From New York (1981) limited theatrical run and new Blu-ray release – a treatment also bestowed on The Fog , Prince Of Darkness (1987) and They Live (1988) – is another attempt to reinforce our love for the big JC. It’s not documented how committed atheist Carpenter feels about sharing his initials with the best-known biblical figure but perhaps the thought causes him to break out the kind of wry half-smile used by one of his laconic heroes. Escape… sees Carpenter regular Kurt Russell play Snake Plissken, a former Special Forces soldier turned federal prisoner. In a dystopian 1997(!), Plissken is offered a pardon if he can rescue the US president in 24 hours after Air Force One is hijacked and subsequently crashed into a Manhattan that has been turned into a giant, open maximum security prison. That is to say “open” throughout the island, but walled around its perimeter and featuring mines at every bridge and tunnel. Snake stomps around the derelict, garbage-strewn island helped by Ernest Borgnine on eccentric form as Cabbie, a lover of show tunes and wielder of Molotov cocktails. Cabbie soon introduces Snake to Brain (Harry Dean Stanton), who recognises him as erstwhile accomplice Harold Hellman, a con who double-crossed him years earlier, and Brain’s tough partner Maggie (Adrienne Barbeau). Together they devise a mission to rescue the president from the crime boss who runs the island, self-proclaimed “Duke of New York City” (Isaac Hayes). Snake navigates the broken city contending with a gallery of grotesques, roadblocks built from stacks of burned-out cars and the duplicitous Brain. The Duke, meanwhile, has his own ideas about getting off the island. As so often with classic Carpenter, Escape ’s rudimentary plot is of less importance than what is done with it. Like a master Motown craftsman delivering a ’60s hit single, each little piece is perfectly calibrated. Take Snake’s appearance. Stubble, eye-patch, leather jacket, lengthy blonde coiffure with industrial quantities of hairspray, cigarette. If his look was any stronger it’d be punching viewers through the screen. It helps that the man rocking this sartorial and cosmetic masterclass is Kurt Russell, essentially the less conservative 1980s Clint Eastwood. Your mum fancied him. Probably your dad and now you, too. Further down the cast, Borgnine is as loveably unhinged as anyone he’d played since The Wild Bunch (1969), while Lee Van Cleef is a solid presence as Police Commissioner Bob Hauk, the man who sends Snake on his quest. Harry Dean Stanton just plays Harry Dean Stanton like he does in Repo Man (1984), Straight Time (1978) and Pretty In Pink (1986), a man who’s seen it, done it and would probably rather avoid any more grief if that’s alright. Donald Pleasance is an effete and sweaty president who is mostly terrified and trussed up. Escape… was shot in 1980 and, perhaps unsurprisingly, the gender and racial aspects of the film are a touch dated. Barbeau, the only woman with a decent chunk of screen time, is sadly little more than Brain’s girlfriend, even if she does shoot guns and kill minions alongside the men in the cast. Hayes as the Duke – replete with ace cowbell-adorned Krautrock theme music – is as cool and mean as the part demands but is underused for the main antagonist of the film. Socio-political niggles aside, this Carpenter classic stands up remarkably well (we can forgive the positively pre-historic tech on display given how quickly things change in that sphere). From the pulsing synth score by Carpenter and musical collaborator Alan Howarth to the nightmarish production design shot mostly in East St Louis, Escape From New York is an utterly atmospheric, immersive experience. Like Walter Hill’s The Warriors (1980), it’s an unforgettable film about an after-dark mission across a grotty NYC, where tackling feral street urchins and staying alive are the key concerns. It deserves to be seen in this crisp and crystal clear new restoration but does provoke one nagging question. If the current US president crashed on to a huge prison island with little chance of survival, would anyone care to rescue him?

The Escape From New York collectors edition is available on 4K Ultra HD from November 26th.

Movie Reviews

Tv/streaming, collections, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, someone remake "escape from new york," please.

John Carpenter's "Escape from New York " (1981) is often referred to as a cult-classic. I've never been quite sure the kind of criteria anyone would base this kind of statement on, but here is a feature that certainly generated buzz when it came out some three decades ago. It belongs to the time period when movie computers consisted of giant consoles covered with lights of all colors that blinked on and off endlessly. When I first saw it during my teen years it left quite an impression, though recent viewings have not been quite as kind, as it hasn't aged particularly well. We often complain about the recent explosion of remakes of entries that are barely 10-20 years old (or less!) but I believe a new version of "Escape from New York" could make for a welcome exception.

The film has one of those larger than life, preposterous premises that make for great cinematic material. In the "year of the future 1997" crime has increased in the U.S. by 400%, forcing authorities to turn Manhattan into the nation's sole penitentiary by erecting a giant wall that reaches crosses the East and Hudson rivers and rests on the Jersey, Brooklyn and Queens fronts (building it around the island itself would've surely been much easier, but it wouldn't have looked half as good as it does here). The prison's motto is simple: once you get in, you never come out. Perhaps it would have also been a good idea to move the Statue of Liberty anywhere but in front of the world's largest penitentiary, but I suppose the filmmakers still needed it there to give their poster an apocalyptic look, in tune with the "Planet of the Apes" ending (curiously, the Liberty Island scenes were the only scenes actually filmed in N.Y.C.; the rest were shot in a section of East St. Louis, Il).

"Escape from New York " starts with a night in the life of the prison as some fugitives try to escape on a raft and get blown to smithereens. We then get the sight of Air Force One (a rather cheesy special effects version) being hijacked and crashed into the lower part of the island. A nameless U.S. President (played by Donald Pleasence ) manages to escape in one of those cinematic ejecting chambers (similar to the one used years later by Harrison Ford as the President). It isn't long before a group of prisoners decide to abduct Pleasence and send authorities his severed finger as proof of capture (Presidential ring included!). Warden Hauk (played by Lee Van Cleef ) decides to recruit the prison's most recent inductee, enigmatic ex-war hero and now felon Snake Plissken ( Kurt Russell ) by offering him a full presidential pardon (who knows when the President signed it, considering that he's been quiet busy so far) in exchange for a successful rescue mission The only catch here is one of those requisite movie deadlines to make things more interesting, which allows for the typical line of dialogue that sounds great on the trailer: "You have 24 hours to go in and out of there!" Plissken is eventually assisted in his quest by a taxi driver, appropriately named Cabbie ( Ernest Borgnine ), the standard movie prison veteran well aware of the place's goings-on (much like Brooks in " The Shawshank Redemption ") along with Brain ( Harry Dean Stanton ) and Maggie ( Adrienne Barbeau ), two other prisoners whose heroic motives are never made very clear.

Even within such a far-fetched story, absurdity stands out. Russell is ordered to land his glider on top of the WTC with the idea of avoiding being noticed by other prisoners, but somehow he decides that the best possible route there includes flying it in plain view through the canyons of the nearby buildings, and then straight up in a trajectory parallel to the Twin Towers façade (an inexplicable decision that looks extremely cool anyway). Additionally, Carpenter doesn't seem to have spent much time going through the basic intricacies involved in turning NYC into the world's largest prison; case in point: if there are no visiting days and no one is ever getting out of there, what's the point then of mining the bridges instead of simply blowing them away? How are the prisoners fed? And more importantly, where do they get the fuel for their army of gas guzzlers?

Perhaps the film's weakest link is the casting of Kurt Russell as Snake Plissken. Russell has always been at his best in movies about everymen stuck in extraordinary situations (" Breakdown ," " Executive Decision ," etc.) but I don't really think he makes for very good anti-hero material. Russell spends a good deal of the movie doing his best Clint Eastwood sarcasm-dispensing impression (including the constant display of his lower teeth, in Dirty Harry fashion) but he seems much too nice for the role, his clothes seem too new and his hair too recently shampooed to give the impression of being a true hell-raiser. Besides, the script doesn't give him anything terribly interesting to do except for running away from his enemies, rescue a President with whom he never develops any kind of relationship, and getting into a colorful (but badly choreographed) fight with a bald giant.

According to Wikipedia, "Escape from New York" was written by Carpenter in response to the Watergate scandal. It's hard to see much of a connection in the final product except when eventually the President turns out to be a weasel and Plissken the hero who beats the establishment with the help of an audiotape (no less!). Curiously the movie was released around the same time as " Blade Runner ," a prime example of a futuristic, apocalyptic feature and although "Escape from New York" doesn't belong at the same level, it has some terrific ideas and passes the following three tests that suggest it might just make a worthwhile remake: #1 There's plenty of room for improvement, #2 Newer technology could solve some of the original entry's shortcomings and give Snake a better playground where he could do more interesting things, and, more importantly, #3 Most of today's viewers have never seen the original so the premise will seem fresh to many (unless they turn it into another "White House Down" of course).

Gerardo Valero

Gerardo Valero is lives in Mexico City with his wife Monica. Since 2011 he's been writing a daily blog about film clichés and flubs (in Spanish) on Mexico's Cine-Premiere Magazine . His contributions to "Ebert's Little Movie Glossary" were included in the last twelve editions of "Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook."

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EMPIRE ESSAY: Escape From New York Review

01 Jan 1981

EMPIRE ESSAY: Escape From New York

Far-fetched if not plain daft, there is still something enjoyably cinematic in the idea of Manhattan as a walled-in maximum security prison where the criminals swill around in their own skewed version of society. According to the screen captions the barricade went up in 1988, the events of the film occur in 1997. But if prophecy isn't Carpenter's strong suit, his concept, execution and lead character make for a fascinating acid-fairy tale.

Carpenter's ruined Manhattan is a grim, grungy netherworld. Utilising primitive matte and modelwork to construct desolate versions of the real thing, the fragged cityscape is brought to sullen life. A bleak, nightmarish vision of the future with its own class strata, it's pertinent to note that it was created at least a year before Blade Runner. Into this Darwinist hell hole tumbles the US President (Pleasance) in his Airforce One escape pod, clutching a tape of an address which will stave off an imminent world war with the USSR (this is pre-Glasnost moviemaking). To get him, and the tape, out, the ultimate self-preservationist is required. Enter Snake Plissken, ex-soldier turned bank robber turned social reprobate and ultracool sourpuss.

Russell as Plissken is magnificent. Long before the meaty actor's credibility was undone by a parade of indifferent action roles and bad romcoms with Goldie, he embodied the superantihero (next he applied his infallible resourcefulness to The Thing) instilling a sense of can-do physicality and sneery indifference into everything he did (significantly, Tommy Lee Jones was the preferred choice). The voice raspy and laconic, Plissken's slowburning style stems directly from Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood's legendary Man With No Name and is echoed in any number of subsequent loner-arsehole-heroes (Mad Max, Waterworld's Mariner et al).

Casting Lee Van Cleef as the duplicitous Hauk simply underlines the reference. Plissken, though, is more preoccupied, less loosely mercenary than Eastwood's ponchoed outsider. Mainly because he's got an explosive implant in his neck with 24 hours on the clock, a superbly direct dramatic device to give the film a real urgency.

Fuelled by a dark strain of irony, this is far less an action movie than you might expect. Drawn-out sequences, absorbing all of production designer Joe Alves' gritty realism and Carpenter's effective but dated plinky-plonky synth score, are only intermittently punctuated by bursts of Snake's indomitable machismo and fairly mediocre gunplay (revealing budget limitations). Instead, Carpenter has created a kind of apocalyptic character piece-cum-black comedy. And beyond Plissken, Borgnine as NY cabbie Cabbie, Isaac Hayes as badguy Duke, Harry Dean Stanton's Brain and Van Cleef's snidey Hauk make big comic book impressions.

This is a product of post-Vietnam/Watergate America, a world of political distrust and widespread anti-establishment fervour — the hero serves no one but himself, yet we're still invited to admire him, simply for his capability if nothing else. New York (a micrcosm of America) is a desolate, moral wasteland where only the fittest and cruellest survive. Putting the boot in on the American Dream is a theme inherent in many of Carpenter's movies. The director preceeded EFNY with another excellent tale of civil unrest Assault On Precinct 13. And it's notable that the poor, Escape From LA, manages none of this cold cynicism, born as it is out of a less caustic — less relevant? — decade.

Movies | 15 01 2015

Essaying the pop culture that matters since 1999

John Carpenter’s ‘Escape From New York’ Is an A-Grade B-Movie

The most striking thing about watching Escape From New York on Blu-ray is how amazingly the film’s special effects stand up to the test of time, even (and especially) under the unforgiving scrutiny of high definition.

Like many, I first saw the classic 1981 John Carpenter action film on a cathode ray tube fed by either a cable broadcast or a VHS tape. Sure, the effects worked for the film on that medium, but they failed to really inspire the awe that they must have in the theater. That awe is back on Blu-ray.

Then again, it probably takes a deluxe DVD or Blu-ray package not only to appreciate some of these effects, but also to even realize that many of these are, in fact, special effects at all. Scream! Factory’s 2015 Blu-ray release of Escape From New York is just that “deluxe package” for which fans of the film have been clamoring. The two-disc “Collector’s Edition” truly lives up to its name with brand new high definition scans of the inter-positive, struck from the original negative for a beautiful 1080p experience. The existing commentaries by director John Carpenter and star Kurt Russell, as well as producer Debra Hill and production designer Joe Alves, are both present and supplemented with a new commentary by actress Adrienne Barbeau and director of photography Dean Cundey.

The second disc is absolutely packed with extras, including both a behind-the-scenes still gallery and a promotional materials still gallery (both of which, sadly, are now rarities on new releases), theatrical trailers, the famed deleted opening scene, and a documentary about the film. New bonus features include new interviews with actors, photographer Kim Gottlieb-Walker and co-composer Alan Howarth. Most welcome of all, however, is the new documentary called “Big Challenges in Little Manhattan: The Visual Effects of Escape From New York”, which reveals what “special effects” were at the time, and just how the filmmakers achieved such things in a pre-CGI era.

True, 1981 was a long time ago, and the occasional trick and trap appears dated and commonplace. However, other effects actually required Carpenter’s commentary and the new documentary to even suggest that they were effects at all. A desolate Manhattan skyline looming over a thick, dark prison wall is proven to be an incredibly realistic matte painting — by none other than a pre- Terminator James Cameron — resting atop a dam near Los Angeles. A helicopter passing over New York harbor proves to be an animation in front of a miniature. The miniature of Manhattan is strikingly convincing; in that less than a week of filming actually took place in New York, this miniature was used much more often than one might think.

The genius of John Carpenter includes his subtlety in composition. The man has always known that the best special effects are invisible and never detract from the story.

That story (by Carpenter and friend Nick Castle, who played Michael Myers in the original Halloween ), in spite of the fact that it takes place in “the future” world of 1997, is still enjoyable today. When the President of the United States (Donald Pleasence) is forced to eject from a crashing Air Force One, he lands in a desolate, futuristic Manhattan that is used by an American police state as an island prison for irredeemable villains. War veteran turned criminal Snake Plissken (Russell) is enlisted by the Police Commissioner (Lee Van Cleef) to rescue the President. The reward for success is freedom; the punishment for failure is death, courtesy of timed explosives injected into his blood stream with a 22 hour limit.

The excitement, tension and suspense are all there, but the cabal of crazies that populate the now anarchic New York really sell the film. The city actually looks both stunningly dirty and realistic with Max Max -style gangs presiding over it, due in part to the fact that the city blocks used for shooting, located in East Saint Louis, had been burned out during a massive 1976 fire. The self-proclaimed “Duke of New York” is played by Isaac Hayes, while a crazy cab driver who befriends Snake is played by Ernest Borgnine. Harry Dean Stanton portrays an old friend of Snake’s called “Brain” while Season Hubley and Adrienne Barbeau (now ex-wives of Russell and Carpenter, respectively) play two strong women in the city.

The progression of the film is action packed and thrilling, but also often outlandish and over-the-top. However, Carpenter has such skill with balancing this type of film that even the craziest moments seem both deliciously fun and somehow even believable. It doesn’t hurt that the cast takes the film seriously, all the while maintaining a sense of humor and fun, such that the final film, quite simply, works.

In the hands of another director, perhaps this would not have been the case, and we would have been left with the B-Movie that Escape From New York might, on the surface, seem to be. But this is John Carpenter, the man who, for decades, made the unbelievable believable and the ridiculous plausible. It may not be much of a surprise that film’s like 1983’s Christine (based on the successful Stephen King novel), 1979’s Elvis (a TV movie about one of the biggest stars of all time) or 1984’s Starman (a romance more than a sci-fi film) have all been considered successful and acclaimed, but a look at Carpenter’s other films bears out his success further.

Dark Star (1984) is a film about a spaced-out planet bombing crew with a beach ball alien on board. That film was his break into Hollywood. Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) was an intentional “exploitation film” that became an entrancing and multi-layered drama and social commentary. Halloween (1978) was a movie about a possibly supernatural slasher killer who we hardly ever see, and it redefined a genre. The Fog (1980) is about a crew of pirate zombies taking revenge on the descendants of a California town who robbed them; it became one of the most enduring films of its kind, inspiring many imitators. Finally, and perhaps most exemplary, They Live (1988) is about a homeless guy (played by wrestler Rowdy Roddy Piper) who finds a pair of magic sunglasses that reveals an alien invasion and conspiracy that has invaded every part of the media, including what we see and hear. That ridiculous sounding concept resulted in overwhelmingly positive reviews, with critics calling it a “masterpiece” and a “wake-up call to the world”.

All of those films became critically acclaimed, successful and influential films. Is it any wonder that Carpenter’s own (admittedly silly-sounding) idea of New York as a futuristic prison and one crazy, invading one-eyed special forces soldier intent on saving the (British accented) US President story somehow manages to work?

It does make a great deal of sense, and Scream! Factory’s near-Criterion quality Blu-ray release is the best proof yet of how well this works. The recent trend in home video has been to release bare bones DVDs and Blu-rays and, even if quality extras existed in previous editions, they are eliminated for current releases. Scream! Factory has been just as guilty, but it may be reversing the trend with this excellent release. From the sight and sound of the main feature to all the bonuses that round out the discs and enhance an already quality and fun movie, this is the collection you’ll want if you’re ever stranded on an island, Manhattan or otherwise.

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Escape from New York (1981) Classic Movie Review 266

Call me “Snake!” – Escape from New York (1981)

Escape from New York (1981)

Today on Classic Movie Review , we are taking on Escape from New York (1981).

It has taken a bit to get this one done. Every time I sit down to write, I end up watching this great movie and seeing myself as Snake. Anyway, this remarkable film only has a 7.2 rating [1] on iMDB.com. On rottentomatoes.com, the film has an 86 percent on the Tomatometer and 77 percent audience approval [2] . What the hell?

New York Times film critic Vincent Canby said in a July 10, 1981 review:

“Mr. Russell, who played the title role in Mr. Carpenter’s television film “Elvis,” is malevolently good as the fallen hero, a man who seems to have had a look into hell even before he lands in the remains of Manhattan. Mr. Borgnine is more or less the comedy relief, as well as the magical character who always happens to turn up with his cab when he’s most needed. Mr. Stanton is fine as the emotionally unreliable Brain, and Mr. Hayes very impressive as the flamboyant Duke. Is it a coincidence that when he exhorts a crowd of followers about their coming freedom, he sounds more than a little like the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.? The fact that he’s the film’s principal villain may not sit well with some audiences, but then perhaps they’ll respond to his style. “Escape from New York” is not to be analyzed too solemnly, though. It’s a toughly told, very tall tale, one of the best escape (and escapist) movies of the season.” [3]

Generally well received at the time of release [4] , I think this film is fantastic and influences post-dating films. Russell as Snake was what every red blood American boy wanted to be and who every red-blooded American girl wanted to date.

Actors – Escape from New York (1981)

The great actor Kurt Russell played the role of anti-hero Snake Plissken. Russell was first covered in Big Trouble in Little China (1986) as a kind of Snake Plissken with a regular job. Hawk faced Lee Van Cleef, played the director of the federal prison, Hauk. Van Cleef was first covered in the great western The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence (1962). Ernest Borgnine showed what a great star he really was as Cabbie, a sort of Deus ex machina character. Borgnine was first covered in the tights and fights film, The Vikings (1958).

Donald Pleasence was cast as the endangered President of the United States. According to iMDB.com, he was pitched this role as “the love child between Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher.” [5] So, not a great humanitarian. Pleasence was first covered in the western comedy The Hallelujah Trail (1965), where he played Oracle Jones, a booze-inspired prophet. Sexy Adrienne Barbeau played the role of Maggie. When this film was made, Barbeau was married to the film’s director John Carpenter. Barbeau was first covered in the over-the-top comedy Back to School (1986). Harry Dean Stanton played Brain, a character who knew how to make things work, a valuable skill in the prison. Stanton was first covered in Red Dawn (1984) as the dad. Avenge me, boys!

Isaac Hayes played The Duke, A number one, the head of the largest gang in the prison. Hayes was born in Tennessee in 1942. Hayes was from a poor family and dropped out before finishing high school. He eventually got his diploma at the age of 21.

Hayes was a self-taught musician and was a part of the Memphis Sound, working with luminaries such as Otis Redding and Booker T. Jones. Hayes worked a day job and performed at night. In 1963, Hayes joined Stax Records, writing songs and playing backup. His two best-known songs are “Soul Man” and “The Theme From Shaft.” For the latter song, Hayes won an Oscar for Best Original Song with the movie Shaft (1971) and was nominated for the Best Original Dramatic Score Oscar as well.

Hayes’ first movie was Tough Guy (1974). He was active in television roles as well. Other movies include Escape from New York (1981), I’m Gonna Git You Sucka (1988), CB4 (1993), Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993), Escape from L.A. (1996) maybe, and Reindeer Games (2000). He is probably best remembered by the younger set for playing Chef on “South Park” 1997-2005.

Hayes was finally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall in 2002 and into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005. Hayes suffered a stroke in 2006 and died in 2008.

Frank Doubleday played messenger and gang member Romero. Doubleday was born in Connecticut in 1945. He amassed 35 film and television credits from 1975-1997. All of his films were not A-listers. Doubleday had a very unusual look and was cast mainly as a villain. His films include The First Nudie Musical (1976), Assault on Precinct 13 (1976), Escape from New York (1981), Avenging Angel (1985), Space Rage (1985), Nomads (1985), Broadcast News (1987), and, Shakespeare’ s Plan 12 from Outer Space (1991).

In addition to his film and television roles, Doubleday taught acting with his wife in Hollywood. Doubleday died in 2018.

Jamie Lee Curtis was uncredited as the narrator and computer voice. Director John Carpenter inserted himself into the film as a Secret Service agent and a helicopter pilot.

Story – Escape from New York (1981)

The dark opening credits and music ramp the intensity up right away. A crawl on the screen tells that in 1988, the U.S. crime rate rose 400 percent. A narrator (Jamie Lee Curtis uncredited) continues that Manhattan Island in New York becomes the solo maximum security prison for the United States. The narrator continues that a 50-foot wall has been built on all land access, and the bridges and waterways are mined. The guard force surrounds the prison, but they mostly stay out, and the prisoners control everything inside the walls. Once a prisoner is sent inside, they are never allowed to come back out.

Just a quick note. When this movie came out in 1981, turning New York into a prison seemed like something that could happen.

The year is now 1997. The guards patrol the walls of the prison as helicopters overfly the waterways. Two prisoners are attempting to cross the river on a makeshift raft. The helicopter warns them to turn back, or they will be killed. The desperate prisoners continue towards freedom and are blown to bits by the helicopter.

Rehme (Tom Atkins) is second in command of the guard force. He confirms the killing of the prisoners. A transit bus arrives at guard headquarters on Liberty Island. A single prisoner is escorted off the bus. The prisoner is wearing a black tee-shirt, a leather jacket, urban camo pants, knee-high boots, and he has a patch over his left eye. Everyone will be wearing it next year.

The computer voice says that prisoners have a right to be terminated rather than being sent to the island. Many of the guards are in the hallway to look at the prisoner being brought in.

Outside, Hauk (Lee Van Cleef) arrives in a limo. Rehme tells him that a small jet is in trouble over the prison’s restricted airspace. They cannot identify the call numbers David 14. A woman’s voice comes from David 14 saying it is too late, he is going to die. Finally, a message comes from Washington that David 14 is Air Force One, and the U.S. President is onboard.

In the cockpit, a woman from the National Liberation Front of America has control of the plane. She reads her manifesto over the radio. In the back of the plane, the Secret Service cannot get into the cockpit. The President (Donald Pleasence) handcuffs a briefcase to his wrist. Security places a tracker around his other wrist. The tracker transmits the President’s vital signs. The president gets inside a red escape pod and prepares for the crash. The plane heads into New York and hits a building. The escape pod falls through the floors of the building.

Hauk and a strike team head out in some helicopters. They land near the crash site and move towards the pod. Hauk finds the pod, but it is open and empty. Romero (Frank Doubleday), a character named as a tribute to director George Romero, gives demands. Romero is not to be touched; they have 30 seconds to leave, and if they come back inside, he dies. Hauk is forced to retreat as he is shown a finger wearing the President’s ring. Romero is an iconic creepy guy.

Back at base, Hauk talks to the Vice-President. Hauk is given permission to try a rescue. Hauk has the new prisoner brought to his office. He calls the prisoner Plissken to which the prisoner replies, call me Snake (Kurt Russell). Hauk reads Snake’s record aloud. Snake has been in the Special Forces unit Black Light. He has two Purple Hearts, from Leningrad and Siberia. So clearly, we are at war with the Soviet Union. He has been given a life sentence for robbing a Federal Reserve.

When Hauk introduces himself, Snake has heard of him because Hauk was in the Special Forces unit Texas Thunder. Hauk says he will give Snake a full pardon if he rescues the President within 24-hours. Snake has been selected because he has military experience flying gliders.

Rehme arms Snake and gives him as much information as they have. Snake is given a tracer to wear on his wrist and a tracker for the President’s bracelet. Hauk tells Snake that they have 22-hours remaining before the Hartford Summit ends, and the Chinese and Soviets will go home. The third World War will continue if they don’t hear the tape on nuclear fusion that the President has in his briefcase.

Snake is taken to a medic that gives him a shot in each side of his neck. The medic insists that Hauk tell Snake what he was injected with. Hauk says they have injected two capsules into his neck that will explode in 24-hours. Snake starts choking Hauk, but the medic stops him saying the charges can be neutralized with x-rays. Snake says he is going to kill Hauk when he gets back.

Snake flies the glider into the prison and lands on the top of the World Trade Center. Unfortunately, the towers are now gone. They were imposing. Snake takes the elevator down to the 50 th floor, at which it stops. He goes the rest of the way on foot and doesn’t see that prisoners are moving around in the background.

On the ground, Snake makes it to the pod location. Snake picks up the President on the tracker. He follows the President’s tracker until he arrives at an old theater. There is some kind of dance show going on inside where the dancers sing the song “Everyone’s Coming To New York,” with lines like “Shoot a cop/With a gun/The Big Apple is plenty of fun/Stab a priest/With a fork.” Cabbie (Ernest Borgnine) is watching the show, but he sees Snake come inside.

Snake follows the signal to the building basement. Cabbie comes out to meet Snake and says he thought he was dead. This line is believed to be an homage to Big Jake (1971), a movie in which everyone said that to John Wayne ’s character upon meeting him. Cabbie warns Snake not to go into the basement.

Three men attempt to rob him in the basement, but he deals lethally with two, and the third retreats. Snake sees a man beating the crap out of a man wearing the President’s bracelet. When he pulls the man free, it is a crazy person that has found the bracelet. Snake wants to end the rescue thinking the President is dead, but Hauk makes him continue under the threat of death.

Snake wanders the darken streets having no real idea where the President is located. A prisoner comes running down the street and starts banging on manhole covers as a signal. Snake sees Crazies climbing out of the sewers and subways. He takes refuge in a Chock Full O’ Nuts diner. Inside is a pretty young woman (Season Hubley). She was married to Russell at the time of filming. She recognizes Snake and says she heard he was dead. She tries to convince Snake to take her out when he goes, but the floor opens, and she is pulled to her death by the Crazies.

Snake uses his gun to escape, but the Crazies pursue him. Snake runs down the alley with a group in hot pursuit. Cabbie and his taxi pull up to the end of the alley. Cabbie casually lights a Molotov cocktail and stops the Crazies by throwing it in the alley. Cabbie blasts the swing tune “Bandstand Boogie” on his cassette player as they drive.

Snake pulls his gun on Cabbie, and Cabbie quickly lets out that The Duke (Isaac Hayes) has the President. The Duke is the headman in New York. Snake wants to meet The Duke, but Cabbie says no way.

Cabbie drives Snake to the New York Public Library. Cabbie bangs on the door, and Maggie (Adrienne Barbeau) refuses to open the door until she is told Snake is with him. Cabbie tells Maggie that Snake needs to meet Brain (Harry Dean Stanton) so he can get to The Duke. Maggie says to Snake that she heard he was dead.

Inside Brain’s lair, there are oil wells and stills. Snake recognizes Brain as Herold Helman. They know each other from some kind of criminal deal gone bad. Snake threatens Brain for the President’s location, but Brain bluffs for his survival. Snake says he will take Brain out in his glider if he helps. Cabbie wants to go too. Maggie says The Duke is taking everyone out of prison. Snake says that The Duke won’t be because there is a time limit on the President’s value.

Brain works for The Duke of New York, who controls the Gypsy gang, the largest and most powerful in the city. Brain has a map of the mines on the 69 nd Street Bridge. The plan is that The Duke will use the President as a shield for the convey, and all of the prisoners will follow him out of the city.

Snake, Cabbie, Maggie, and Brain head towards the taxi. Cabbie hears The Duke’s car coming. Cabbie escapes in his taxi. The other three hide as The Duke drives by in his white town car that features candelabras on the hood and a disco ball inside. Romero is in the back seat. The Duke and Romero are at the library looking for Brain and the map of the bridge.

Snake steals a station wagon from The Duke’s convey. Snake, Brain, and Maggie head for the President’s location. Brain is petrified. They cut down Broadway and are attacked by the Skull gang. The car has been armored somewhat and makes it through the attack. There is a barricade at the end of the street. Snake reverses the car through the barricade.

The Duke and his convey roll down a parallel street, but Brain says they still have enough time to get to the President, who is stashed in a railcar at was the Grand Central Train Station. Brain tries to bluff his way into the train. However, the guard won’t let him inside.

Snake goes over the top of the train and kills the two guards with the President. The President is a broken man. Snake releases him, and they head out. The Duke’s men jump off the train and recapture the President and Snake. The Duke and Romero arrive, and Brain says he was forced to help.

The Duke confronts Snake as to his identity. Brain tells The Duke that they need Snake alive. The Duke knocks Snake out and then says he heard Snake was dead.

A helicopter from the police force checks the city, and there is no movement on the streets. At sunrise, the Secretary of State (Charles Cyphers) wants to raid the prison. Hauk refuses to carry out the order. About twelve hours remain.

Snake wakes up in a sports arena where The Duke has the President chained to the wall while he shoots around him with Snake’s gun. Brain tells The Duke about the time limit on the President. The President is made to say you are the Duke of New York, A number one. Brain lobbies to have Snake kept alive. The Duke sends Brain to get the bridge map. At last, the President’s briefcase is shot open. Romero takes the cassette tape from inside.

Two helicopters investigate a large crowd of prisoners in the park. When the cops land, the prisoners run away. The cops find the President’s briefcase.

Brain figures out that Snake has a glider on the roof of the World Trade Center.

Back at the prison headquarters, Hauk opens the briefcase and finds The Duke’s demand for their exit. They also find some of Snake’s equipment. Hauk gets ready to make the assault on the prison. There are a little under two hours remaining.

A limping Snake is taken to a boxing ring where he is matched with a muscular monster (Ox Baker). The Duke says only Snake’s head will be with them, riding on the hood of his car. Both fighters are given baseball bats to use in the fight.

While the fight is taking place, Brain and Maggie go to see the President. Romero is guarding him and wearing Cabbie’s hat that he traded for. Brain bluffs his way inside. The President is wearing a long blonde wig. Brain stabs Romero, and Maggie guns down the other three guards.

Snake is taking a beating so far in the fight. He sees a man ringside wearing his rescue tracker. Snake and the monster are rearmed with spikey bats and garbage can lids. Brain and Maggie take the President outside. In a surprise move, Snake kills the monster. He jumps on the man by the ring and activates the tracker. The crowd chants Snake’s name as The Duke gets word that the President has been taken. The warriors all run after Brain leaving Snake free to escape. Hauk halts the attack.

Snake makes it to the World Trade Center, and Hauk tracks him to the location. When Snake gets to the roof, Maggie and Brain are in a gun battle with the Indians. The gang cuts the glider loose, and it falls to the ground. Snake, Brain, Maggie, and the President head back down the tower.

Snake takes the map and the car key from Brain He is going to leave him and Maggie behind. The President says the tape is missing, and Brain claims to know where the tape is located. Brain’s car won’t start. When Snake opens the hood, a man with a crossbow is in the engine compartment. The Duke has also arrived.

Snake shoots a steam engine that is conveniently next to The Duke. In the confusion, Snake and his group escape. When they get outside of the building, Cabbie arrives with his taxi. Snake takes over the driving and asks Brain where the tape is. Cabbie says, oh, here it is. He traded Romero for the tape. Snake plays some of the President’s tape and then sticks it in his pocket.

Snake and company speed through town with The Duke in pursuit. Brain is reading the map from the backseat as they cross the bridge. The Duke and his car are behind them on the bridge. Finally, the taxi hits a mine and is blown in half. All of the passengers except Cabbie survive.

Brain is following his map as Snake goes another way. Brain hits a mine and is killed. Maggie refuses to leave and gets a pistol from Snake. She begins firing at The Duke’s car as it approaches. The Duke crashed into a parked car. Maggie is crushed by the car and dies. The Duke follows Snake and the President on foot.

Hauk gets word about the cars on the bridge. He sends a vehicle with a winch to the guard end of the bridge. Snake and the President make it to the wall. The guards send down the cable and pull the president up and over.

The Duke arrives and begins firing at Snake. Snake attacks The Duke and gets on the rope to be pulled up. The President stops the lift. He kills The Duke with an automatic rifle and starts yelling A number one, and you’re the Duke at the dead body. Snake is pulled over.

Hauk demands the tape from Snake before he will allow the medic to neutralize the charges. It is done with two seconds remaining.

They set up a broadcast so the President can play the tape for the conference and stop World War III. Snake approaches the President, who is now a self-righteous jackass again. Snake says a lot of good people died getting him out. The President says the nation appreciates their sacrifice. He then dismisses Snake saying he is on the air in three minutes.

Hauk asks Snake if he plans to kill him now. Snake says he is too tired. Hauk offers him a job and calls him Snake. Snake says, “The name’s Plissken!”

The President begins his speech by saying he presents this recording, hoping that these great nations can live in peace. When he hits the play button, the song “Bandstand Boogie” plays. Snake walks away in the distance tearing up the President’s tape. The movie ends.

Conclusion – Escape from New York (1981)

It is interesting to note that any character that said “I thought you were dead” to Snake was killed in the film.

On a technical note, when Snake flies the glider over the city, there is a nice, what appears to be a 3-D rendering of the city. However, at the time, this was too expensive to pay to have done by a computer. The special effects folks made a black model of the city. They placed white tape in a grid pattern and filmed it from above.

The night scenes from the movie were shot in East St. Louis, Illinois, which kinda looks like Escape from New York (1981) all the time.

World-Famous Short Summary – Boy takes a trip to the big city

Beware the moors.

[1] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082340/ [2] Escape From New York – Rotten Tomatoes [3] ‘ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK’ – The New York Times [4] Escape from New York – Wikipedia [5] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082340/trivia/

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Escape from New York Parent Guide

Manhattan makes for a great federal prison..

Release date July 10, 1981

In the near-future of 1997, a terrifying crime wave has forced the United States to turn the island of Manhattan into a maximum-security prison where convicts run wild in the streets. But when Air Force One is hijacked by terrorists who crash it into the island, there is only one man who can save the President- Snake Plissken, a former spec-ops soldier, who has since been convicted of trying to rob the Federal Reserve. If Snake can get the president out of Manhattan in 24 hours, he will be pardoned. If he fails, the government has injected him with micro-explosives which will detonate once the time runs out...

Run Time: 99 minutes

Watch the trailer for Escape from New York

Escape from New York Rating & Content Info

Why is Escape from New York rated R? Escape from New York is rated R by the MPAA

Page last updated April 30, 2020

News About "Escape from New York"

Cast and crew.

Escape from New York is directed by John Carpenter and stars Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, and Ernest Borgnine.

How Cate Blanchett's Love for Escape from New York Landed Her Role in Borderlands

Cate Blanchett brings a unique blend of grace and grit to her role in Borderlands , influenced by her love for the cult classic Escape From New York .
Director Eli Roth praises Blanchett's versatility in physically demanding scenes, including wielding flamethrowers and twirling guns with finesse.
The ensemble cast of Borderlands , led by Blanchett and including Jack Black and Kevin Hart, promises a high-energy space adventure narrative.

Cate Blanchett , better known for her intricate roles in films such as Blue Jasmine and Carol , will show a drastically different side of her acting prowess in Eli Roth’s adaptation of the sci-fi action video game Borderlands . Blanchett's venture into the action genre is not just a career pivot but a nod to her personal love for cinematic thrillers, specifically the cult classic Escape From New York . In an interview with Empire , Roth shared:

“ She loves Escape From New York. It’s her favourite movie. But nobody would know that because why would you ask her about Escape From New York when you’re interviewing her about Lydia Tár?”

Borderlands

Release Date August 9, 2024

Director Eli Roth

Cast Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Hart, Edgar Ramirez, Cate Blanchett, Ariana Greenblatt, Florian Munteanu, Gina Gershon, Jack Black, Haley Bennett

Runtime 102 min

Genres Sci-Fi, Action, Adventure

Writers Joe Crombie, Eli Roth

Studio Lionsgate

Characters By The Video Game Borderlands created by Gearbox Software and published by 2K

Cinematographer Rogier Stoffers, ASC, NSC

Producer Ari Arad, p.g.a., Avi Arad, Erik Feig

Production Company In association with Media Capital Technologies, an Arad / Picturestart Production, a Gearbox Studios / 2K Production.

In Borderlands , Blanchett steps into the shoes of Lilith, a character whose abilities demand a blend of grace and grit reminiscent of the most iconic action heroes. Her affinity for Escape From New York influenced her character portrayal, blending her known depth with newfound dynamism.

Roth's enthusiasm for the project is evident. He focuses on Blanchett’s capabilities not just in dramatic roles but in physically demanding scenes that have her wielding flamethrowers and twirling guns with the finesse of a seasoned action star. He hinted at the spectacle of seeing Blanchett in such an uncharacteristically rugged avatar. Read Roth's comment below:

“You’ve seen [her] twirling the baton [in Tár], but you haven’t seen her twirling guns behind her back. She’s a master at it. A big part of the fun of the movie is watching it and thinking, ‘I can’t believe they all did this crazy stuff.’ Cate with a flame-thrower — a real flame-thrower — come on! That’s pretty badass.”

Watch Borderlands Movie - Official Trailer below:

Borderlands' ensemble cast goes for a galactic treasure hunt.

Director Eli Roth, excited about reuniting Blanchett with Jack Black (who voices the anarchic android Claptrap), sees this film as an opportunity to combine familiar chemistry with unexpected roles. Their previous collaboration in the 2018 family film The House With A Clock In Its Walls proved their dynamic range, and Borderlands promises to push this to new heights.

Borderlands sees Blanchett's Lilith leading a band of outlaws through interstellar escapades to uncover hidden treasures on a distant planet. Aside from Jack Black's android Claptrap, the ensemble cast also includes Kevin Hart as Roland and Jamie Lee Curtis as Tannis. With additional performances by Florian Munteanu, Haley Bennett, and Édgar Ramírez, the film is gearing up to deliver a high-energy narrative reminiscent of ensemble-driven, space adventure films.

20 Strongest Vault Hunters in the Borderlands Franchise

The hype around Borderlands has been building , fueled by a trailer released in February that hinted at a tone similar to that of Guardians of the Galaxy , mixing humor with action-packed sequences set against a cosmic backdrop. The development of the film has been a subject of considerable interest, especially after it underwent reshoots led by Tim Miller, known for his work on Deadpool . This change in direction came as Eli Roth departed to work on his horror project, Thanksgiving .

Borderlands is set to premiere on August 9, 2024.

How Cate Blanchett's Love for Escape from New York Landed Her Role in Borderlands

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New T.C. Christensen movie climbs to No. 11 at the domestic box office

‘escape from germany’ tells the tale of latter-day saint missionaries escaping germany right before wwii.

By Tyler Nelson

Utah filmmaker T.C. Christensen’s new movie, “Escape from Germany,” has climbed to No. 11 at the domestic box office.

Despite only playing in 40 theaters nationwide, the movie has brought in a total of $257,643 since its release, including $49,924 in one day on April 15, per Box Office Mojo . “Escape from Germany” currently sits on the list between “Arthur the King” and “Imaginary,” both from film studio powerhouse Lionsgate Films.

What is ‘Escape from Germany?’

Based on the book “Mine Angels Round About” by Terry Bohle Montague , “Escape from Germany” is the latest film from Christensen.

According to the film’s website, “‘Escape from Germany,’ is the true recounting of a miraculous yet unsung WWII event.” It tells the story of how more than 80 missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints escaped a rapidly closing Germany just before the start of World War II.

The movie stars Paul Wuthrich as Elder Seibold, Sebastian Barr as Elder Anderson, Deveney Reber as Erma Rosenhan and David McConnell as President Wood. There are also a few cameos from famous Utah faces like Joel Bishop and The Piano Guys’ Steven Sharp Nelson.

“Escape from Germany” released on April 11 and is only playing in select theaters throughout Utah. Those who are interested can see the list and get tickets here. Fans can also request for the movie to come to their city here.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Escape from Germany Film (@escapefromgermanyfilm)

Who is T.C. Christensen?

Christensen is a Utah filmmaker and cinematographer. He was born in Salt Lake City and raised in Layton . He started making movies when he was young, making comedies and short films. But an experience in high school, when a film he made called “Count Your Blessings” drew an emotional response , made him think he wanted to tell deeper stories.

“It turned heads more. I thought maybe there is something more to these kinds of stories,” Christensen told the Deseret News in 2013. He said he wanted to make stories that made a difference in people’s lives.

“I think story is everything. ... That’s been my big effort — trying to find stories that are strong and have a meaning so that people come out of the theater with something to chew on and think about, something to talk about with their families.”

Since then, Christensen has gone on to make and work on dozens of movies. He is best known for his films “ 17 Miracles, ” “ The Fighting Preacher ,” “ The Cokeville Miracle ” and “ Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration .”

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‘The Stranger’ Review: Somewhere Over the Freeway

In this tense thriller on Hulu, Maika Monroe plays Clare, a Kansas transplant in Los Angeles who parallels Dorothy in Oz.

Share full article

A woman in a light blue shirt with two white stripes on the sleeves stands in a convenience store, looking over her shoulder.

By Natalia Winkelman

“The Stranger” is a tense if tidy thriller that chronicles a ride-hail driver’s journey to surveillance hell and back. Her survival against all odds mirrors that of the movie itself: The film’s footage originally premiered in 13 short-form episodes in 2020 on the streaming service Quibi, several months before it shut down .

The recut version (on Hulu) bears little trace of its earlier form, although its life span across algorithm-driven streaming companies does cast the villain’s tech preoccupations — “whoever figures out the mathematical formula determining the losers and the winners in life will rule” the world, he declares — in a new, meta light.

Written and directed by Veena Sud (“The Killing”), the film follows Clare (Maika Monroe), a recent transplant to Los Angeles who falls into a freeway nightmare after her ride-hail passenger, Carl (Dane DeHaan), identifies himself as a serial killer. He claims he will murder her unless she tells him a good story.

If this opening sounds cliché, the film at least seems aware of the pitfalls. Sud creates parallels between Clare in Hollywood and Dorothy in Oz, assigning Clare a Kansan back story, a yapping terrier and a guileless attitude. And DeHaan embodies the tech-savvy Carl as a pasty, smirking male chauvinist who is sillier than he is scary.

It follows as something of a surprise, when, over the course of the second act, the film builds to a deeply agitated mood. Sud pulls off the tonal shift by keeping Carl largely offscreen; his looming absence, alongside Monroe’s knack for portraying paranoia, simmers with menace.

The Stranger Not Rated. Running time: 1 hour 37 minutes. Watch on Hulu.

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Escape From New York
Jul 8, 2023. Rated: 4/5 • Mar 1, 2023. In 1997, a major war between the United States and the Soviet Union is concluding, and the entire island of Manhattan has been converted into a giant ...
Escape from New York Movie Review
Kids say ( 9 ): This movie is summed up by the word "dystopia," the opposite of "utopia," but in fairness, filmmaker John Carpenter, never meant this as an uplifter. Filmed in the purposeful, plain style of the old-school (pre-MTV, pre-video game) movie directors he professed to admire most, Escape from New York is a compelling but relentlessly ...
Escape From New York
Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 1, 2023. Escape From New York is an iconic action thriller of the 80's that is arguably Carpenter's coolest film. Snake Plissken is a unique antihero played ...
'Escape From New York' Review: 1981 Movie
July 10, 2017 9:07am. Photofest. On July 10, 1981, John Carpenter unveiled his R-rated dystopian thriller Escape From New York in theaters. The Hollywood Reporter's original review is below: The ...
Escape from New York
1981. R. AVCO Embassy Pictures. 1 h 39 m. Summary In 1997, when the U.S. president crashes into Manhattan, now a giant maximum security prison, a convicted bank robber (Kurt Russell) is sent in to rescue him. Action. Adventure. Sci-Fi. Directed By: John Carpenter.
Escape from New York
Escape from New York is a 1981 American science fiction action film co-written, co-scored and directed by John Carpenter, and starring Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasence, Isaac Hayes, Adrienne Barbeau and Harry Dean Stanton.. The film's storyline, set in the near-future world of 1997, concerns a crime-ridden United States, which has converted Manhattan Island in New ...
Escape from New York (1981)
Escape from New York: Directed by John Carpenter. With Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasence. In 1997, when the U.S. president crashes into Manhattan, now a giant maximum security prison, a convicted bank robber is sent in to rescue him.
Escape From New York Review
15. Original Title: Escape From New York. John Carpenter's taut slab of low-budget sci-fi has Airforce One crash-landing in New York - now one big jail - and the president (Donald Pleasence) held ...
Escape from New York
Unfortunately, too much of the film's promise goes unfulfilled. Escape from New York isn't really science fiction -- it's an action flick set in a futuristic setting. Epic potential for a masterful, gripping tale is abandoned in favor of cheap thrills. Action films have certainly come along way in the last fifteen years.
Escape from New York critic reviews
Carpenter's grittily convincing New York-in-decay remains the film's best element. Never particularly suspenseful and hampered by a finale that almost literally steers the plot toward a dead end, Escape only intermittently finds Carpenter flexing his directorial muscles. But it may be his most visionary film: Escape allowed him to build a ...
Review: Escape from New York
Unlike its spoofy, punch-drunk sequel, Escape from New York is one of Carpenter's more subdued films—a close relative to the still-extraordinary Assault on Precinct 13, which similarly exploited the possibilities of shaking the audience up with carefully planted, obtrusive noise in a sea of uneasy silence.Most of the images are elaborate confections of urban blight, etched against a nearly ...
Escape From New York 4K review: atmospheric and immersive
Now a 4K restoration of Escape From New York (1981) limited theatrical run and new Blu-ray release - a treatment also bestowed on The Fog, Prince Of Darkness (1987) and They Live (1988) - is ...
Escape From New York
Apr 18, 2021 - Escape from New York is a step too far for Wyatt Russell. Mar 31, 2018 - Lamenting an unfinished masterpiece that probably won't ever be finished, or given a proper sequel. Oct 5 ...
Classic Movie Review : Escape from New York (1981)
Prehistorical Empowerment. This is a simple movie: Snake Plissken is tricked into a dangerous mission, he begrudingly accepts, runs into a moderate amount of trouble and makes it work. The beauty of Escape from New Yorklies in the style and self-confidence Plissken gets shit done. He's not as much a character as he is a set of values and behavior.
Escape From New York 4K Blu-ray Review
Escape From New York was shot using Panavision Panaflex Gold cameras on 35mm film. This 2018 release was made using the original camera negative which was scanned at 4K resolution, in 16bit, with the application of ACES (Academy Color Encoding System) to the restoration process which resulted in the creation of a 4K DCP (Digital Cinema Package) utilised for the creation of this Ultra HD Blu ...
Someone Remake "Escape from New York," Please
Curiously the movie was released around the same time as "Blade Runner," a prime example of a futuristic, apocalyptic feature and although "Escape from New York" doesn't belong at the same level, it has some terrific ideas and passes the following three tests that suggest it might just make a worthwhile remake: #1 There's plenty of room for ...
EMPIRE ESSAY: Escape From New York Review
Release Date: 31 Dec 1980. Running Time: 99 minutes. Certificate: 15. Original Title: EMPIRE ESSAY: Escape From New York. Far-fetched if not plain daft, there is still something enjoyably ...
John Carpenter's 'Escape From New York' Is an A-Grade B-Movie
Factory's 2015 Blu-ray release of Escape From New York is just that "deluxe package" for which fans of the film have been clamoring. The two-disc "Collector's Edition" truly lives up ...
Escape from New York (1981) Classic Movie Review 266
New York Times film critic Vincent Canby said in a July 10, 1981 review: "Mr. Russell, who played the title role in Mr. Carpenter's television film "Elvis," is malevolently good as the fallen hero, a man who seems to have had a look into hell even before he lands in the remains of Manhattan. Mr.
Escape from New York: Collector's Edition (4K UHD Review)
Review. By 1981, John Carpenter was known as one of modern horror's masters after Halloween and The Fog, but when Escape from New York premiered, he re-established himself as a filmmaker willing to tackle different genres, approaching them in his own unique way. This time around, however, his political leanings were more openly expressed than ever before, but within an action package of sorts.
Escape From New York (1981)
John Carpenter delivered his 2nd action thriller, Escape From New York, and gave birth to one of the most iconic antiheroes in movie history.#EscapeFromNewYo...
Escape From New York at an AMC Theatre near you
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 the mind-blowing vision of lone warrior Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell, "Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 2") battling his way out of a post-apocalyptic Manhattan! In a world ravaged by crime, the entire island of Manhattan has been ...
Escape from New York Parents Guide
Why is Escape from New York rated R? Escape from New York is rated R by the MPAA - Infrequent use of the sexual expletive in a non-sexual context; infrequent use of scatological slang, cursing, profanity, and vulgar expressions - Infrequent portrayals of hand-to-hand, weapons, and gun violence - some blood and detail - Brief portrayal of sexual assault - breast nudity, little detail - Frequent ...
How Cate Blanchett's Love for Escape from New York Landed Her ...
Cate Blanchett brings a unique blend of grace and grit to her role in Borderlands, influenced by her love for the cult classic Escape From New York. Director Eli Roth praises Blanchett's ...
What is T.C. Christensen's new movie?
Utah filmmaker T.C. Christensen's new movie, "Escape from Germany," has climbed to No. 11 at the domestic box office. Despite only playing in 40 theaters nationwide, the movie has brought in a total of $257,643 since its release, including $49,924 in one day on April 15, per Box Office Mojo.. "Escape from Germany" currently sits on the list between "Arthur the King" and ...
'The Stranger' Review: Somewhere Over the Freeway
It follows as something of a surprise, when, over the course of the second act, the film builds to a deeply agitated mood. Sud pulls off the tonal shift by keeping Carl largely offscreen; his ...