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AVCO Embassy Pictures
Goldcrest
Taurus Film
Escape From ... Collection
1997. New York City is a walled, maximum security prison. Breaking out is impossible. Breaking in is insane.
In a world ravaged by crime, the entire island of Manhattan has been converted into a walled prison where brutal prisoners roam free. After the US president crash-lands inside, war hero Snake Plissken has 24 hours to bring him back.
Gimly
Jun 8, 2020 · via TMDB
Nails the "post-apocalyptic except the world didn't end" vibe. _Final rating:★★★★ - Very strong appeal. A personal favourite._
John Chard
Feb 10, 2019 · via TMDB
A Snake, a Brain, a Cabbie, a Duke and the President Of The USA. It's 1997 and Manhattan Island is a walled off prison, during the flight of Air Force One the president's plane is taken over by a terrorist and the president ejects out in the safety pod. Sadly for him he lands right in the middle of Manhattan Island. When an armed unit lands inside the walls they are told that the president has been taken hostage and they must get out of their prison ASAP. At a loss what to do, the authorities decide to send one man in alone, ex war hero turned criminal, Snake Plissken, not only does he have to contend with surviving the incredibly hostile prison, he also has a time bomb implanted in his body that, should he not get the president out safely within 24 hours, will explode and mean no more Snake Plissken! Made in 1981 and set in 1997, it's safe to say John Carpenter is not the best predictor of the future around. However, his vision of a future where America has thrown all its criminals on one island, where they create their own society out of harms way, has to rank as an incredibly adroit piece of work. This place is grim and deadly, the flotsam and jetsam of society thrust together in this bleak and desolate place of class separation. What Carpenter has achieved with his usual minimal budget allowance is a smouldering sci-fi classic that may be as daft as they come, but it pulses with cool and cheekily slaps you around the face with its cheeky satirical edginess. Kudos is given to the great production design from Joe Alves, who along with Carpenter has crafted this brilliantly dirty netherworld of crime. Our anti-hero of the piece, Snake Plissken, is superbly played by Kurt Russell, the original choice interestingly was Tommy Lee Jones, but Russell fuels Plissken's mantra to make him one of the eighties coolest grumpy bastards, and his work here is first class in terms of the films' apocalyptic structure. Surroundning Russell is a wealth of quality performers each adding their personal bits to this tick-tock stew, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasance, Harry Dean Stanton, Adrienne Barbeau and Isaac Hayes all earn their money and flesh out the story to the end. Calling Escape From New York an action picture would be setting first time viewers up for a real let down, what action there is is minimal but highly effective, the machismo flourishes acting more as a point of reference to the picture's time bomb urgency. I like to think of the film as being more a sci-fi adventure yarn laced with darkly comic humour, with of course machismo thrown in as a side salad to accentuate the bleakness of it all. A wonderful concoction indeed. 9/10
Graviteer
Dec 6, 2014 · via TMDB
"Too little of too much" would describe this movie well, which presented us a dystopian New York with development potential and characters whose background is shared, exposed with brief moments of characterization that made me feel like I was missing this movie's predecessor. It didn't exist, and so the end result was of an expanded universe of unknown circumstances - except for the brief introduction we got in the opening credits - where the events barely told the story during the time it was running. But where this movie failed in terms of script, it almost made up with atmosphere and music. It sounds great throughout, but the credit goes to the opening theme that is as minimal as the presentation is grounded, in that humble approach of whom ambition wasn't unheard. Sadly, it's not the case of a classic whose production values challenge the computer generated visuals of today (and ironically this movie's novelty was the wireframe view), but if you're interested in history and want to make a contextual analysis, you may find something worth treasuring. __________________ When authors create they sign. When editors hack they design.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Kurt Russell
Snake Plissken
Lee Van Cleef
Police Commissioner Bob Hauk
Ernest Borgnine
Cabbie
Donald Pleasence
President of the United States
Isaac Hayes
The Duke of New York
Season Hubley
Girl in Chock Full O'Nuts
Harry Dean Stanton
Harold 'Brain' Helman
Adrienne Barbeau
Maggie
Tom Atkins
Rehme
Charles Cyphers
Secretary of State
Frank Doubleday
Romero
George Buck Flower
Drunk
John Cothran
Gypsy #1
Nancy Stephens
Stewardess
Steven Ford
Secret Service #2
John Carpenter
Secret Service #2 / Helicopter Pilot / Violin Player
Jamie Lee Curtis
Narrator / Prison Recording Voice (uncredited)
Nick Castle
Pianist
Debra Hill
Computer (voice)
Ox Baker
Slag
Joe Unger
Taylor
Garrett Bergfeld
Gypsy #2
Wally Taylor
Controller
Rodger Bumpass
Dancer
John Diehl
Punk
Joel Bennett
Gypsy #4
Bob Minor
Duty Sergeant
Tony Papenfuss
Theatre Assistant
Carmen Filpi
Bum
Al Cerullo
Helicopter Pilot #4
Alan Shearman
Dancer
Joe Alves
Production Design
Dean Cundey
Director of Photography
Tony Randel
Special Effects Coordinator
Dick Warlock
Stunt Coordinator
Bill Hart
Stunts
Bob Minor
Stunts
Dick Warlock
Stunts
Eddie Hice
Stunts
Fred Lerner
Stunts
George P. Wilbur
Stunts
George Sawaya
Stunts
Harvey Parry
Stunts
Jack Verbois
Stunts
James Winburn
Stunts
Loren Janes
Stunts
Sandra Lee Gimpel
Stunts
Ted White
Stunts
Tony Brubaker
Stunts
David Cronenberg
Thanks
James Cameron
Visual Effects Art Director
John Carpenter
Director
Larry Franco
First Assistant Director
Todd C. Ramsay
Editor
Debra Hill
Producer
Larry Franco
Producer
Mark Mangini
Dialogue Editor
Alan Howarth
Original Music Composer
John Carpenter
Original Music Composer
Alan Howarth
Sound Effects
James Cameron
Matte Painter
John Carpenter
Screenplay
Nick Castle
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2020
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1965
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Evil Dead II
1987 · 14 wins
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1978 · 13 wins
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2000 · 12 wins
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1981 · 11 wins
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