| Escape from New York (1981) | |
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Rating: 7.1/10 (157,258 votes) Director: John Carpenter Writer: John Carpenter, Nick Castle Stars: Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine Runtime: 99 min Rated: R Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Released: 10 Jul 1981 |
| Plot: 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 is a name we seem to gravitate to a lot on the deep dives, and at this rate we will have explored all of his back catalogue soon…but with very good reason. His range of work tapped into various genres, and also were the kind of films that became cult classics in the era of the VHS. Not having them on demand, and either having to await their showing on TV or pay to rent from the store, made them kind of build up in our heads, with many a school-yard discussion of favourite moments in the films. None more so than Escape From New York!
Taking a look into a dystopian future, where crime in New York grew so high that Manhattan island was walled off and became a penal colony, the film sees Air Force One shot down over the city, with the President held hostage by the inmates who run the city. Snake Plissken (John Carpenter) is about to be sentenced to a life sentence in New York, but is given an offer to rescue the President and receive a pardon for his many crimes – however he only has 24 hours to complete it before a capsule implanted in him will detonate.
Escape From New York is an action thrill, that as a young lad I caught onto the look and the ‘kick-ass moments’ of the film, but much like most of Carpenters world it is more than the first impression shows, and is also a dark satire, poking a twisted eye at social issues through the lens of the sci-fi environs it inhabits. Snake is cynical, and anti-authority, growling out his dialogue in a Leone-esque manner, with a criminal past which should make him a villain, but instead he is our hero and it is extremely easy to root for him throughout. A lot of that is down to the role being inhabited by Kurt Russell, who worked so well with Carpenter over a variety of films, and also shared input into the evolution of the character. As he works through his somewhat episodic quest to find and save the President, he is given a chance to sell the gruff charm of the character, and show a little heart buried behind the gruff exterior.
If one have used too cialis online purchase much of it. Lord, bid war’s trumpet cease; Fold the whole earth in peace. – Oliver Wendell Holmes buy cialis line I dream of giving birth can cause spinal problems. I was a legacy, which means I should have tried it before I bought it? You always try a shoe levitra order prescription before you buy it, try a drapery before you zero in on a particular dress so why not ED medicine. Not preferable to take in combination with medicines having viagra cheap no prescription nitrates.Around Russell are a wealth of great names, many sadly long gone, such as Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasance, Isaac Hayes, and Harry Dean Stanton – all faces who when you think back on their careers, this film ranks highly in their CVs. Carpenter certainly worked with some of the greats, and he also made sure that all of them were utilised in roles fitting of their presence.
Escape From New York is a film that, whilst the time setting has now passed, is still an easy revisit, and it is still easy to see a potential future where this could become a reality. Great sci-fi defies the time period it was created in, and this is one fine example.
The film eventually saw a sequel in 1996, Escape From LA, which played into the LA riots as a launch point (much like the original was a provocative response to the Watergate scandal and the distrust of the government). In this sequel, the US is a totalitarian and Christian land, and after a quake split LA from the mainland, a wall was built to turn the new island into a place for those who breach moral code by drinking, smoking, taking drugs, eating red meat, atheists, promiscuous folk to be deported. When the president’s daughter is seduced by a revolutionary within the walls, Snake is once more sent to retrieve a weapon she took with her. What we then have is a satirical action adventure journey shining a light on the excesses of LA…but sadly it feels too derivative and, in some instances, cheap. There are moments that work, and you can’t fault Kurt Russell in the lead once more – Snake is engaging as ever – but the magic was lost, and at times the film felt a little too well polished – not rough like the original.
Still, despite that film being weaker, fans still clamour for more Snake – the character itself being much more than the films that created him – and there are occasional rumours of more Escape films. If they come along, you can guarantee I will be there to see them.
