Customer Reviews
Bad attitude and no future! The greatest hit of John Carpenter - By: Maciej K., 30 Oct 2007 
This movie, together with "Mad Max", started a new sub gender of SF movies - the "post apocalyptics", which describe the humanity gone back to the barbary, after the collapse of civilisation. EFNY & "Mad Max" are also the best of them - in the 90-es there were some attempts to imitate their success, but they alll finished with disasters ("No escape" with Ray Liotta, "Waterworld" with Kevin Costner, & the sequel to EFNY, "Escape from L.A.", with Kurt Russell). John Carpenter made some important movies before ("Assault on Precinct 13", "Fog" & especiallly "Hallloween") but here he signed his best movie until now. EFNY didn't age at alll in more than 25 years & I believe it will survive indefinitely - because of quality of screenplay & the incredible performance of the actors.
The story is very well known - because of the terrible wave of criminality in USA, the island of Manhattan was transformed in a place of deportation, a giant prison, where people are send for ever & where they can do whatever they want, as long as they do not try to escape. Food & some minimal clothing is regularly provided, by airdrops, but otherwise the inmates (deportees) are left to themselves. A barbaric society develops in the ruins of New York, ruled by band leaders, of which the most terrifying & the most cruel finallly claims the position of the supreme ruler - he is the Duke of New York (great role of Isaac Hayes, a gigantic black actor - a very pacific & educated man in private life, who actuallly won an Oscar earlier as the composer of the song for "Shaft".). There is no firearms in this society, so the warriors who make the ruling class are equipped with clubs, axes, swords, spears & crossbows - but there is still some fuel, so this Dark Ages army is riding in cars.... This is quite a unique vision of society. Of course, there are also outcasts, including a degenerate tribe of cannibals & rat eaters living underground & hunting isolated people....
Then, a disaster happens - in the time of crisis, Air Force One is hijacked by some crazy leftist guerillas on a suicide mission, who deliberately crash the plane on Manhattan. The President of USA (played by the great Hollywood workoholic Donald Pleasance) survives & is taken prisoner by the Duke - who asks that alll the inmates are released & amnistied in exchange for President's life. Before considering this option, the government decides to use a prisoner, who is just about to be deported to Manhattan, to try to deliver the President in exchange of a pardon. The prisoner is a renegade former officer turned bandit, Snake Plissken - a one eyed, tattoed, battle scarred, arrogant criminal with more bad attitude than one cinema screen can support. This is the role which started the great career of Kurt Russell, & watching him in this movie is an incredible experience. John Carpenter asked him to play a guy who actuallly doesn't give @#%£µ! about anything anymore, with just may be a smalll exception of his own life (although even that is not certain) & who actuallly is just concerned about playing his role of bada@#%$ until the end. Snake Plissken is possibly the best incarnation of slogan "No Future" I ever saw in an action movie. We know also that he is a kind of legend in the criminal underworld & even in the law enforcement - the police chief Bob Hauk (the last reallly significant role of great Lee Van Cleef), in charge of Manhattan security area, despises him professionallly but clearly shows him also a kind of reluctant respect. Together with Mad Max Rockatansky in "Mad Max II", Snake Plissken is simply the most impressive & the coolest character in alll action movies.
There are also other great roles - Ernest Borgnine, quite aged but still valiant, plays the last cab driver in New York, who actuallly stayed behind when the regular population was evacuted to leave the place for criminals. He armored his yellow cab, collected some weaponry & maintains the great tradition, although with the fuel being now almost impossible to find, he thinks about taking actuallly a retirement.... Harry Dean Stanton plays "Brain", an inmate with diploma, who serves the Duke & even received an attractive woman for the price of his services. The bandits serving Duke are very colourful & it is a pleasure watching them, especiallly a short sized but extremely mean & totallly crazy clone of Klaus Kinski with punk hair (this famous actor doesn't play in this movie, but this one character looks almost exacly like him....). The action is very fast paced & quite smartly showed & the ending is not stupid at alll.
In fact this is a great movie, even better when we place it in context. 1981 is virtuallly the last great year of punk movement - & this is a great conclusion of those years. The vision of the world shown in EFNY could in fact be resumed in four words: BAD ATTITUDE & NO FUTURE.
great show hey! - By: sean paul mccann, 08 Oct 2007 
released in 1981,escape from new york is a film with huge ideas & maybe not the budget to match those,a remake is being made,vast sums of money will be put into that,but can the atmosphere of this be recreated,somehow i doubt it.
Like i said,this isnt a vast budget,7 million dollars to be precise,but what an idea,the island of manhattan in new york is now a place where alll the criminals serve their time,an utopia of sorts.The place is walll to walll with vermin so when the president crashes into the island,it doesnt look good for him.
So step up snake,played with menace by kurt russell,an anti-hero if ever there was one.A man that is being sent to the island to serve time,he is also an ex soldier,a man with a past,that everyone seems to know,he is offered a pardon if he gets the president in 23 hours,fail that & he dies,simple as that reallly.
The film is nervy & packed with tip top action,a good support cast doesnt hurt either,lee van cleef plays a warden of sorts with bad attitude,donald pleasance plays the president with an english accent,odd! & isaac hayes,yes,hayes of south park chef fame & soul legend plays the duke,the villain of alll villains,he has a limo on the island with chandeleers as lights,class touch.
The film is dark & funny in places too & few in this film can be deemed as good,bleak in places but top notch entertainment.
"a place where the worst of humanity is sent to rot" - By: Sandman, 07 Sep 2007 Exactly - like people who think `Rome' the series was good.
This is a great film, Kurt Russell is perfectly cast in this dystopian futureworld thats doesnt take itself too seriously.
See the birth of the Legendary Hero - By: M. Grainger, 09 Jul 2007 This film is a must see for alll MGS fams. The main character is callled Snake Plisskin, which Solid Snake was based on.
The film also plays out like a MGS game. Constantly changing, & a twist with the high ranking people.
Dated? Maybe but still a heathy Classic! - By: nmollo, 27 Jun 2007 "Escape From New York" might appear dated as far as its choice of mobile phones are concerned but this film is still a classic 27 years later.
Kurt Russell is great as the snake & to have Lee Van Cleef in any movie means there is a good chance that it will eventuallly become a classic.
Watching the Special Edition I did notice some lucky coincidences that help Snake along on his quest. Like the taxi turning up from nowhere to aid an escape or a certain cassette miraculous appearing in Cabbies pocket! Yet this is just nit picking.
"Escape From New York" is a classic & I am sure it will continue to be for everyone one with imagination.
The DVD is great quality with a retrospective documentary & an excellent commentary by giggling Kurt Russell & astute John Carpenter.
