Escape from New York 1981

Part of my 2022 Sci-Fi Tuesdays

Just a rewatch because of a newly acquired 4K Limited Edition set from Studio Canal. These releases are something else…

And… Still like it, and still recommend you watch it. Read the old review for details.

Old review below...

This is one of the best movies Carpenter has ever made. Russel, Van Cleef (with an earring no less) and Borgnine wrapped up in one of the most atmospheric action flicks you'll ever see.

The action in Escape from New York leaves a bit to be desired, and it rarely, if ever, raises the tension up to adrenaline-pumping levels. BUT...there is something with this movie that makes it stand out from the rest of the early 80s action movies. The lighting, the music, the set. It all works so darn well together, and when it is fronted by a total badass like Kurt Russel, it just works.

The story is ok, but not great. It falls a bit short of its potential and manages to actually be a bit tedious when it drags on. The funny thing is that it doesn't actually ruin the experience in any way...

You might compare this movie to the an Eastwood spaghetti western. Lee Van Cleef might have something to do with that, but Russel incorporates a lot of the qualities that Eastwood used in the now-so-famous westerns.

I don't know quite how to explain this, but this movie is a really good watch, even though it lacks both in the excitement and story. Watch it at night with the lights down to get greater detail in the dark set and the full experience.

"Escape From New York" is yet another film from John Carpenter that many call a "cult" classic. It seems like practically all of Carpenter's films are considered cult which bothers me. This is mostly because Carpenter's work is often dismissed using this label. It's probably a way for movie critics to actually retain their street cred and still like Carpenter's movies. Twerps.

I read a review published in TV Guide's Movie Guide calling "Escape From New York", "a percipient satire of a society irreparably split along lines of class and race". What!?! In the movie New York is a huge prison. Class? Race? The President's plane crashes in NY (the prison) and Snake Plissken is sent in to rescue him. I'm missing the class and race commentary here. Stupid critics. Another called it "an intriguing window into the fears and anxieties of the early Reagan years". Is this because "Escape's..." president is attempting to avert a nuclear war before he crashes? Weren't Cold War fears highest during Kennedy's term in office? Can you say Cuban Missile Crisis? Seriously what the Hell are these people talking about? If forced to work at it, I can barely pick up on a general mistrust of the office of the President here. But Pleasance's POTUS does save Snake after all. Sure he dismisses Snake in front of cameras later, but which of the POTUS's actions do you want to focus on? "Escape" is nothing more than a tale about a military vet who's forced to rescue the President for the very government he distrusts.

It's been awhile since I last saw this and it's still a good time. It's got a dark mood and there's moments of humor, but not the normal action movie one-liners that frequent these kinds of flicks. Come to think of it, Carpenter's only Action/Horror spoofs are "Big Trouble In Little China" and maybe "Escape From L.A.". Other than those, his work is always pretty heavy.

I'm pretty biased about Kurt Russell's performance because I generally like everything he does. He doesn't have to do a lot with the Snake Plissken character (whose temperament he'll nearly recreate in 1982's "The Thing"), and Snake is a jerk. However, Russell is so appealing in these kinds of roles that Snake has no trouble in establishing himself as the hero. Snake is totally humorless and the polar opposite of Jack Burton in "Big Trouble...", but he's somehow really fun to pull for anyway. Adrienne Barbeau and Harry Dean Stanton are also appealing as Maggie and the Brain.

There is a lot of good stunt work and some pretty exciting action sequences. The final chase scene isn't nearly as hectic as it should be but the scenes when Snake drives through a mob on Broadway and lands his glider atop the World Trade Center is harrowing stuff.