Rating:  -
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.
Action there is plenty. You get running gun fights, arena death matches, exploding land mines, and a race against the clock. Kind of like a street gang movie with more props. They do get into that tired cliché of killing off as many good guys as you can so the hero can be left alone. Such a shame when considering alternatives to that predictable formula. Plissken is a relatively one dimensional character, but in a way that's the beauty of him. Just keep in mind you won't see much character growth in him.
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.
Rating:  -
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.
Rating:  -
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.
Rating:  -
Escape from New York / B00004Y87O
*Spoilers*
It isn't easy being covert agent Snake Plissken. To start with, your name and face is instantly known to everyone on earth - even people who have been in maximum security prison and cut off from the outside world for years. That's got to get old fast - imagine how annoying grocery trips must be. And it's difficult to be a covert agent when you're as instantly recognizable as Paris Hilton - how do you sneak around covertly when people are always clamoring for your autograph? I'm not even going to ask WHY a covert agent is so widely known in this universe - maybe he was an American Idol contestant before he was selected to be a special agent.
Then there's the fact that, despite having earned a cool nickname like 'Snake' and despite having everyone on earth acknowledge that nickname as valid - everyone still keeps insisting on tagging 'Plissken' to the end of your name or (and this is worse!) omitting the 'Snake' entirely. I mean, what is the point of having a cool nickname, when all you're stuck with is 'Plissken'? It's no wonder he's in a bad mood.
Seriously, I came to this a little late in the game, so there's no nostalgia factor for me. I'm not certain how well this holds up to the test of time - there's a good concept in here, if unrealistic, since if we needed a maximum security island, it seems like Hawaii would be a more secure choice than New York, but whatever. Unfortunately, the execution is a little hokey - it's deeply annoying that our covert agent is a universally recognized celebrity, and we wonder why our prison run by inmates is so sedate, all things considered. Judged by today's standards, it's a three-star movie, in my opinion, but there's probably enough nostalgia value here to bump it up to four-stars, if you saw it back in the day.
This version provides a closed caption option for the hard of hearing. I do not own this movie - I rented this through my Blockbuster Online account.
Rating: -
Ah' yes! Some of you right now are rolling your eye's in your heads at the prospect my review title boasts. The idea of someone calling ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK the "greatest movie ever made", just rubs some people the wrong way. After all, who in their right mind would have the guts to claim such a ridiculous opinion? Especially on a site such as Amazon, where all the "hardcore" movie fans could easily see? Well, I happen to know a person who thinks that. ME! THAT'S RIGHT! ME, AND I DON'T CARE WHO THINKS OTHERWISE!
Why do I consider ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK to be so great? Simple really. In my opinion, it's one of the most fun and enjoyable "Grindhouse" type of movie's ever made. I'm sure there is someone sitting at their home computer right now, groaning at the prospect of me calling ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK a "Grindhouse" movie. I say get over it! Yes everybody! It's a Grindhouse type of Science Fiction / Action / Horror movie. It's excess in the form of stealth and gun bullets. ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK is a "tough guy" movie for those of us with a darker side. It's kinda' like if you compared BATMAN to SUPERMAN.
ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK is one of John Carpenter's oldest and best movies from his wide career. The entire film is shot with a dark and grainy sense of cinematography. Almost as if the film was dipped in stagnant water, covered in grime and then aged a couple of years just for good measure. With such a small budget, it's simply amazing what Carpenter is capable of pulling off in this movie. City streets look desolate and empty, huge skyscrapers appear to be crumbling and old, everything looks terrific considering what everybody was working with here.
To make the movie even better, we're treated to the wonderful stage presence of Kurt Russell and his character "Snake" Plissken. Add actors Lee Van Cleef, Donald Pleasence and Isaac Hayes into the mix and what you've got is the perfect cast to make ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK work. "Snake" is such a joy to watch that I'm even willing to compare him to other popular 1980's Action movie characters, such as Martin Riggs from the LETHAL WEAPON movies, John McClane from the DIE HARD series and anything Sylvester Stallone has done for the RAMBO films. "Snake" ranks right up there with them, no doubt about it!
Plot wise, it's real simple. New York has been turned into a maximum security Prison for the criminally insane. The entire island is blocked off with giant concrete walls, a large body of water separating it from the main land and enough Prison guards to blow any escapee to kingdom come! Suddenly, the Country is thrown into crisis when the President Of The United States airplane is taken over by rebels and crash landed in the dead New York. That's when the Government decides to send in ex U.S. Army Lieutenant "Snake" Plissken to do what he does best. Sneak in, find the President, secure the information he carries with him and some how escape from New York! (Thus the movie title.)
All of this makes for a fun, enjoyable, "weekend movie." It's mindless fun. ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK doesn't pretend to be anything else and if people watch this movie expecting something "amazing" like CITIZEN KANE, they need to check their brains at the door. This is Grindhouse. Nothing more.
That's why I think this is "THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER MADE." It's not "high art", it's not "underground" to the point of obscurity, it's not revolutionary like most wanna-be Art films. It's just an interesting idea, made during a time when movies didn't need all the bells and whistles of today's cinema in order to be enjoyable.
Sorry coffee house "hipsters" and Indie Club rockers! This is a long way from Napoleon Dynamite and Garden State. You won't hear any "Emo" Rock here! Just John Carpenter's amazing synthesizer score, pulsing in the background.
Gore hounds, you may want to skip this one too. Very little gore and only a little bit of blood is to be seen here. ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK is more about espionage and stealth, rather than shooting bad guys in the face with a million bullets and blowing stuff up. Fans of films from the early 1980's and John Carpenter's older movies have much to enjoy here! Now that I think about it, fans of good cinema have much to enjoy here! Period.
So in the end, ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK is a simple and fun movie. To those of you who are interested in this movie, here is what should be done. Organize a party, call your friends up, dim the lights, crack the beers, pop in the movie and check your brains at the door! Nothing more is needed.
Peace out!
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