Product Description

Kurt Russell (Stargate) stars in a high-velocity sci-fi action-thriller from director John Carpenter (Co-written by Nick Castle) that sets the screen ablaze with heart-stopping suspense outrageous stunts and imaginative special effects. Bristling with riveting chases and hard-hitting fight sequences Escape From New York is your passport to nonstop excitement! In a world ravaged by crime the entire island of Manhattan has been converted into a prison which houses the world s most brutal inmate. And when the President of the United States (Donald Pleasence) crash lands inside only one man can bring him back: Snake Plissken (Russell) a notorious outlaw and former Special Forces war hero who in exchange for a full pardon descends into the decayed city and wages a blistering war against the captors. But time is short: in 24 hours an explosive charge planted inside Snake s body will end the mission and his life unless he succeeds!System Requirements:Starring: Kurt Russell Lee Van Cleef Ernest Borgnine Donald Pleasence Isaac Hayes Season Hubley Harry Dean Stanton and Adrienne Barbeau. Directed By: John Carpenter. Running Time: 99 Min. Color. This film is presented in both "Widescreen" and "Standard" formats. Copyright 2001 MGM Studios.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: R UPC: 027616854773 Manufacturer No: 1001186

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #948 in DVD
• Brand: TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT
• Released on: 2000-11-21
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 99 minutes

Amazon.com
In the future, crime is out of control and New York City is a maximum security prison. Grabbing a bargaining chip right out of the air, convicts bring down the President's plane in bad old Gotham. Gruff Snake Plissken, a one-eyed warrior new to prison life, is coerced into bringing the President, and his cargo, out of this land of undesirables. Kurt Russell put his Disney days behind him as the nicest bad guy in the picture. All comic-book sensibilities and macho posturing, this is one of writer-director John Carpenter's better brainless escapes. There are snappy one-liners and explosive action scenes. However, the film lacks tension and some believability even within the realm of SF fantasy. Even when it fails to gel, though, it always manages to amuse, thanks in great part to a varied and unusual supporting cast (watch for Ernest Borgnine as a cabdriver). Followed in 1996 by Carpenter's overdone and campy Escape from L.A. --Rochelle O'Gorman

Customer Reviews

A GREAT CULT CLASSIC MOVIE!!!
This movie came before Escape from LA, and it's just great. It's not meant to be taken too seriously. There are subtle jokes throughout the movie. A lot of it is tongue in cheek. So enjoy it for what it is. There will be no Oscars, no awards given out for this movie... it's just mindless entertainment. You can tell Kurt Russell is having fun with the character. The whole movie is "over the top" and that's the point. Loads of fun, provided you don't take the movie, or yourself, too seriously. So lighten up, sit back, and enjoy! Check out Escape from LA too.

Ahead of it's time!
John Carpenter's "Escape From New York" movie was way ahead of it's time and is a much better script and story than "Escape From L.A." In the second movie or it's continuum, there was too much repetitive dialogue copied or borrowed from the 1st movie. Snake is always left behind by one of his fellow thieves in both films and same dialogue of threats are made from United States Police Force commanding officers towards Plissken. They broke the mold with "E.F.N.Y." film after it was released into theaters. Do they have a 'special featurettes' with the new dvd version of "Escape From New York"?

Why didn't Hayes also do the music?
The movie held my interest, despite a crazy premise: the answer to out of control crime in the futuristic USA is to contain it in a big city surrounded by water and mines and whatever other disincentive to split. Why Washington, D.C. would choose the financial capital for the experiment is beyond any second-rate science fiction writer and should have been beyond Mr. Carpenter.
So we have the worm-laden Big Apple denizen Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell), a War hero, whom the viewer is left to surmise, became a civilian criminal not long after his patriotic exploits. Anyway, the Police Chief enlists Snake to rescue the President, who has crash landed inside the prison-city and has become a prisoner himself. The viewer is never sure how much sympathy to lend to Snake because the details of his lawlessness are not brought out.
Instead of appealing to his good sense and inate Patriotism, they implant him with an explosive to be detonated if he doesn't accomplish his mission in due time. Interesting logic.
Along the way, he encounters the Brain and his girlfriend, none other than Adrienne Barbeau, who doesn't have alot to do, in fact, seems disintetested in the Brain, who doesn't exactly display the machismo of the Snake. She does come through in the end as a cool kitty wielding a weapon which advances the plot; she's every bit as cool as the cool cat Snake (just to mix metaphors for fun).
There's some "New York" left to New York, at least in one shot of what appears to be Central Park, though the production looks very cardboard. Bizarre lighting effects to create a composite of the Roman Colisseum in ruins and Broadway in decay.
Probably the best acting comes from the *musician* Isaac Hayes, who plays the unofficial inmate representative, the Duke; some of the best over-acting comes from the always dependable Ernest Borgnine, who drives a mean taxi-cab. Barbeau under-acts...good choice. I detected no close-ups for her.
Ultimately, the story has no useful symbolism, and is quite suspect in it's cynical view of Government. Snake shows no interest in rescuing the President, says "get another President", then reluctantly agrees to save him. When Donald Pleasence delivers his reassuring speech to the Nation following the rescue, Snake walks away in disgust.
Russell was two years away from a silly bio.-pic. on his childhood idol, Elvis Presley, and even incorporates some of that style here and there. But it's like when Elvis played a prize fighter and looked about 100 bench presses away from believability. Barbeau as the Brain's "Squeeze", didn't even look twice.