Escape from New York (1981)

Wonderful Movie

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Great Film overall

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Escape from New York is just pure Awesome fun,a late night sci-fi Adventure Thriller with the BRILLIANT Kurt Russell in his most iconic role ever as the tough Snake Plisskin & he's amazing in this simply amazing!!! This is another classic from one of the greatest & most influential directors of all time the king JOHN CARPENTER & once again he drops us into a very atmospheric world of danger & this time it's New York City that's now become a no go zone prison!!! We all know the incredible iconic story so not talking about that. The look of this movie is AMAZING thanks to the great DEAN CUNDY who worked with Carpenter alot & here cundy gives the film a dark menacing shadow filled gloomy look & when you get light it's often some glowing Neon light & it really shines & stands out it's really stunning!!! Kurt Russell is Fantastic as always & really plays his lone tough guy role perfectly,snake is smart,weary & quick. All the cast are great in their roles & make an impressive ensemble cast with kurt. New York City the prison looks Amazing & is now iconic. The music is outstanding throughout thanks to the multi talented CARPENTER. Everything about this night time Adventure is great movie making & the type of exciting movie that you very rarely get anymore,the closest being the excellent PURGE:ANARCHY (2014). A true carpenter classic

Snake Plissken is known as one of the most iconic sci-fi characters in film history, but why? Kurt Russell is a fine actor in just about everything he does, but Escape From New York never gives him anything to do besides hold a gun which he uses maybe once the entire film? It's safe to say I wasn't impressed with this film.Manhattan is now a security prison for criminals of all variety and after the President crash lands in the middle of the city, Plissken is hired to rescue him. Apparently Plissken is like the boogeyman for these Manhattan criminals, since they all know who he is but didn't seem to know he actually existed or where he's been. The weirdest part, however, is we never get to see him to anything of value. Even in criminals past references, they never mentioned anything specifically which would warrant him a spot to save the President.It's one thing if the film embraces its silliness and makes all of the dialogue, action, and performances cheesy, but they don't. The tone is never truly set. On one hand, you have Plissken taking on dozens of criminals who look like they are wearing Mad Max cosplay, but then you have the issue of the President's life being on the line. Those are two opposing tones butting heads, and you never get a grasp on the type of film John Carpenter wants to make. I think Carpenter is a masterful director, but Escape From New York felt kind of like a cheap side project for him. Though, I will say Carpenter's original score made for this film is brilliant.I think a lot of my frustration comes from the fact that this film was made close to 40 years ago, and therefore, there's plenty of dated qualities to it. CGI was young in 1981, and it shows. That and the green screen effects were difficult to watch. Of course, these aren't necessarily the film's fault, but sometimes the reach shouldn't exceed the grasp by that much of a margin. It's not the fault of the film, but I've seen plenty that are better since. Donald Pleasance doesn't get much to do, and neither does anybody in a supporting role. And most of all, I just didn't care for any of the characters or the story they were in.+Great score-Why is Plissken so revered?-Dated4.2/10

A highly entertaining sci-fi action thriller, though a bit dated. It is a Classic in the weakest sense of the term. You cannot put it in the same category as all-time classics like the Terminator, Rambo, or Alien franchises, but it is not far behind. I would put EFNY on the very cusp of being a classic.There are 3 things that make this film great. First, the star of the film is Kurt Russell as the iconic anti-hero "Snake Plissken". Russell really nails the part down as good as any iconic action figure in movie history. He delivers plenty of classic one-liners that moviegoers will quote forever. Second, the musical score by John Carpenter is fantastic. Taking a page from 1978's "Halloween", Carpenter really sets the mood of an apocalyptic NYC overrun by violent criminals. Third, the dark visual city-scape of New York created by Carpenter with abandoned buildings, dumpster fires, and maniacs roaming the streets is very well done.Now this movie is very dated looking, and does not age well. EFNY debuted in 1981, but was made in the late 1970's, and it shows. The special effects are a joke by today's standards. Watching those 70's computers with red and green signals flashing, you feel like you are in a museum. The explosions that take place in the film are laughably fake. Almost like someone lit a firecracker off and a little smoke comes out. Another trademark of this late 70's-early 80's period, is we see a prominence of big American land yacht vehicles such as Cadillac Deville's and Ford LTD's. Somehow, the dated look and primitive special effects actually lend the movie a favor. It wouldn't be the same if we had modern CGI and high def graphics.The secondary characters are mostly forgettable. Donald Pleasance as President is convincing, but is given too little screen time. Isaac Hayes as "The Duke of New York" makes for an interesting foe at first glance, but is given no memorable dialogue. The rest of the cast are used as cannon fodder. This is fine, however, because all we care about is Snake Plissken and his mission. Everyone else is expendable.What holds this movie back is they could have done so much more. By the movie's end you feel like the writers barely scratched the surface on the movie's potential. What could have been. They could have developed the secondary characters more. They could have done a more thorough story on Snake Plissken's background. Instead, the movie rushes to the action and ends rather abruptly. Still, despite its flaws, this is a great sci-fi action flick to watch on a night at home.

This movie could make your head explode, literally. New York City has become a big penal colony where the works of the worst are being watched by machine gunned guards. They build a society of their own based on their own traits, murder and mayhem. All is going smoothly until the President's plane goes down in this mess and he needs to be rescued. A guy named Snake, played by Kurt Russell, is sent in to quickly rescue POTUS. With his eye patch and disheveled look, he fits in right away. He has all the necessary qualities to do the job, but he has a serious time line. He will die if he does not complete his task within a prescribed time. It's a pretty idiotic premise, I guess. Why such a short time? The star of this show is the world created by Carpenter and his people. The nouveau prison is really interesting to look at. There is an overriding blackness to the whole thing. Russell's smirking Snake is also pretty good.