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Escape From New York Movie Review
Posted by: MacReady„Escape from New York" is definitely one of the best Sci-Fi movies ever made. Filmed in 1981 with a budget of 8 Mio. Dollars (much more than totalling all John Carpenter movies before). JC wrote the first script back in 74, but because of other projects that could be realised easier, it was locked at the drawer (boy, i want to see what cool scripts are still in there). After the success of "The Fog", he took it out again and the production company "Avco Embassy" didn’t hesitate to equip him with the money, a "normal" budgeted movie would cost.
EFNY was not filmed in New York, besides the scenes at the "Statue of Liberty". Because of the architecture, most parts where filmed in St. Louis (Missouri). Like the "Chain of Rocks" bridge, which was used as "Bridge over 69th street" and the old train station was used for "Madison Square Garden". The city fathers also didn’t mind, JC to transform parts of the city into a waste disposal site. The skyscraper scenes where shot in LA, and with 4 different perspectives they managed to visualize the "World Trade Center".
The story takes place at New York in the year 1997 (Yes ! - At the time the movie was shot this was Sci-Fi !). The US are at a state of war, under a totalitarian regime. The crime rate is higher than an escalator to the moon would be and everyone sentenced to life imprisonment gets deported to Manhattan.
Manhattan ? Yes, it was turned into a modern Alcatraz. All bridges were mined and all tunnels blocked. Once a week, helicopters come flying in, throwing out food and other useful things. Of course the main-land is secured by a gigantic wall, like a stronghold with towers and a special police-force guarding society from the social-scum on the other side. Chief of this police unit is Bob Hauk (Lee van Cleef). And Hauk has a big problem: "Airforce One" crashed, and guess where. Right ! Deep in the heart of Manhattan. Luckily the president (Donald Pleasance) manages to escape with a rescue-pod. This alone is heavy to deal with, but the president has a tiny audiotape with him, and both have to be at a meeting with the other leaders of the world. The tape contains a massage that can stop the forthcoming nuclear war. But only if it reaches them within the next 24 hours. Going in with troops wouldn’t be a good idea, because a gang threatens to kill the president, if someone of the police enters the island. The only choice Hauk has, is to infiltrate Manhattan with a Special Agent, find the president and the tape, and than return them safely to the police-headquarter. But who would do this on free will ? "SNAKE PLISSKEN" (Kurt Russell) ! The highly decorated veteran (now prisoner because of bank robbery – sadly these cool scenes where cut from the original release) is offered a total impunity, if he gets back the president and the tape.
Ok, not only on free will. He gets, covered as immunization, two little bombs implanted in his carotids. The reason for this: Plissken >"Call me Snake."< …Snake uses a glider to get on the island, landing on the top of the World Trade Center (and after fulfilling his mission he should use it for them to return), and they know he will try everything to escape. Taking a radio, submachine gun, a digital watch (that remind how long it is till the implanted capsules explode) and a little locating-device (the president has a transmitter around his wrist) he makes his way to the glider.
After having a not quite gentle landing, Plissken >"Call me Snake."< O.K. …Snake heads for the escape-pod, which he finds empty. Also following the transmitter signal turns out bad, because the man that wears the watch now is an old boozer that found the watch. Having no clue where to search, our hero meets a taxi driver called "Cabbie" (Ernest Borgnine). He knows where to find the president. "The Duke" (Isaac Hayes) captured him. The only way to the goal (of course not even Plissken >"Call me Snake."< …Snake can just walk in and take the president with him) leads them to Brain (Harry Dean Stanton) and his girl Maggie
(Adrienne Barbeau), who was a gift by the Duke. Cabbie knows them and the place where they live. An old library, the criminal mastermind and right hand of Duke, uses as a place for his inspirations and plans. It turns out that Brain and Plissken >"Call me Snake."< …Snake know each other and Brain deceived our Soldier some years ago. But having the same intention (escape from New York) they team up and make their way to a rail station, where the president is supposed held captured.
Will they make it ? Will they save the president and their lives ? Are the capsules going to explode in our hero’s carotids ?
I won’t tell you know, but i’m cheering for this Soldier:
SNAKE ! SNAKE ! SNAKE ! …….>"CALL ME PLISSKEN."<
WOW ! What a movie. I can watch this movie again and again. It never gets boring. Also one of the best movies starring Kurt Russell, who just before filming EFNY rejected the role of "Flash Gordon" in Dino de Laurentis’ Mega production. He still owns the original Outfit (the only he ever kept), and used it at the beginning of "Escape from LA". Besides all the other stars (all of them did a great job, so it would take to long to mention them all), there was also a little cameo by Jamie Lee Curtis as the computer voice and narrating the opening scene.
What was very impressive, were the settings. The wall that is separating New York (or at least the wall we see at the movie) was real. It was 87.552 feet long, 32.81 feet high and 9.843 feet thick ! A real Monster, that took six weeks to built. Also they made a 10 feet long model of Manhattan, including the East- and the Hudson River along with the barricaded bridges. All the set designers did a phantastic job. Especially the difference between the raw, dirty all come down and dark world from Manhattan and the clean, proper almost sterile, brightly lit deportation center. It questions, where in this two worlds is being human still being human. JC likes to play with those kinds of things (For example: Have you ever noticed, that except for the fluid there is no noticeable green colour in "Prince of darkness"?).
Like most of JC’s films, EFNY did not do too well at the US box-office. Maybe the audience was appalled by the vision JC had for their country or maybe they just didn’t like it. Fact is, that the movie didn’t even bring in the production costs in the US. This brought "Avco Embassy" (along with other flopped movies) in great trouble. In Europe, where JC’s status as director was undisputed, the movie got the acceptance it deserved. Millions rushed into the theatres, and Millions of dollars were earned.
Now "Escape from New York" has fans around the world, it definitely reached a cult status for all movie fans and like I wrote at the beginning it is definitely one of the best Sci-Fi movies ever made
At a scale 1-10 (10 best) this movie gets 9 points.
Runtime: approx. 100 min
Rated: R in the US, 15-16 (min. age) in most other countries
EFNY was not filmed in New York, besides the scenes at the "Statue of Liberty". Because of the architecture, most parts where filmed in St. Louis (Missouri). Like the "Chain of Rocks" bridge, which was used as "Bridge over 69th street" and the old train station was used for "Madison Square Garden". The city fathers also didn’t mind, JC to transform parts of the city into a waste disposal site. The skyscraper scenes where shot in LA, and with 4 different perspectives they managed to visualize the "World Trade Center".
The story takes place at New York in the year 1997 (Yes ! - At the time the movie was shot this was Sci-Fi !). The US are at a state of war, under a totalitarian regime. The crime rate is higher than an escalator to the moon would be and everyone sentenced to life imprisonment gets deported to Manhattan.
Manhattan ? Yes, it was turned into a modern Alcatraz. All bridges were mined and all tunnels blocked. Once a week, helicopters come flying in, throwing out food and other useful things. Of course the main-land is secured by a gigantic wall, like a stronghold with towers and a special police-force guarding society from the social-scum on the other side. Chief of this police unit is Bob Hauk (Lee van Cleef). And Hauk has a big problem: "Airforce One" crashed, and guess where. Right ! Deep in the heart of Manhattan. Luckily the president (Donald Pleasance) manages to escape with a rescue-pod. This alone is heavy to deal with, but the president has a tiny audiotape with him, and both have to be at a meeting with the other leaders of the world. The tape contains a massage that can stop the forthcoming nuclear war. But only if it reaches them within the next 24 hours. Going in with troops wouldn’t be a good idea, because a gang threatens to kill the president, if someone of the police enters the island. The only choice Hauk has, is to infiltrate Manhattan with a Special Agent, find the president and the tape, and than return them safely to the police-headquarter. But who would do this on free will ? "SNAKE PLISSKEN" (Kurt Russell) ! The highly decorated veteran (now prisoner because of bank robbery – sadly these cool scenes where cut from the original release) is offered a total impunity, if he gets back the president and the tape.
Ok, not only on free will. He gets, covered as immunization, two little bombs implanted in his carotids. The reason for this: Plissken >"Call me Snake."< …Snake uses a glider to get on the island, landing on the top of the World Trade Center (and after fulfilling his mission he should use it for them to return), and they know he will try everything to escape. Taking a radio, submachine gun, a digital watch (that remind how long it is till the implanted capsules explode) and a little locating-device (the president has a transmitter around his wrist) he makes his way to the glider.
After having a not quite gentle landing, Plissken >"Call me Snake."< O.K. …Snake heads for the escape-pod, which he finds empty. Also following the transmitter signal turns out bad, because the man that wears the watch now is an old boozer that found the watch. Having no clue where to search, our hero meets a taxi driver called "Cabbie" (Ernest Borgnine). He knows where to find the president. "The Duke" (Isaac Hayes) captured him. The only way to the goal (of course not even Plissken >"Call me Snake."< …Snake can just walk in and take the president with him) leads them to Brain (Harry Dean Stanton) and his girl Maggie
(Adrienne Barbeau), who was a gift by the Duke. Cabbie knows them and the place where they live. An old library, the criminal mastermind and right hand of Duke, uses as a place for his inspirations and plans. It turns out that Brain and Plissken >"Call me Snake."< …Snake know each other and Brain deceived our Soldier some years ago. But having the same intention (escape from New York) they team up and make their way to a rail station, where the president is supposed held captured.
Will they make it ? Will they save the president and their lives ? Are the capsules going to explode in our hero’s carotids ?
I won’t tell you know, but i’m cheering for this Soldier:
SNAKE ! SNAKE ! SNAKE ! …….>"CALL ME PLISSKEN."<
WOW ! What a movie. I can watch this movie again and again. It never gets boring. Also one of the best movies starring Kurt Russell, who just before filming EFNY rejected the role of "Flash Gordon" in Dino de Laurentis’ Mega production. He still owns the original Outfit (the only he ever kept), and used it at the beginning of "Escape from LA". Besides all the other stars (all of them did a great job, so it would take to long to mention them all), there was also a little cameo by Jamie Lee Curtis as the computer voice and narrating the opening scene.
What was very impressive, were the settings. The wall that is separating New York (or at least the wall we see at the movie) was real. It was 87.552 feet long, 32.81 feet high and 9.843 feet thick ! A real Monster, that took six weeks to built. Also they made a 10 feet long model of Manhattan, including the East- and the Hudson River along with the barricaded bridges. All the set designers did a phantastic job. Especially the difference between the raw, dirty all come down and dark world from Manhattan and the clean, proper almost sterile, brightly lit deportation center. It questions, where in this two worlds is being human still being human. JC likes to play with those kinds of things (For example: Have you ever noticed, that except for the fluid there is no noticeable green colour in "Prince of darkness"?).
Like most of JC’s films, EFNY did not do too well at the US box-office. Maybe the audience was appalled by the vision JC had for their country or maybe they just didn’t like it. Fact is, that the movie didn’t even bring in the production costs in the US. This brought "Avco Embassy" (along with other flopped movies) in great trouble. In Europe, where JC’s status as director was undisputed, the movie got the acceptance it deserved. Millions rushed into the theatres, and Millions of dollars were earned.
Now "Escape from New York" has fans around the world, it definitely reached a cult status for all movie fans and like I wrote at the beginning it is definitely one of the best Sci-Fi movies ever made
At a scale 1-10 (10 best) this movie gets 9 points.
Runtime: approx. 100 min
Rated: R in the US, 15-16 (min. age) in most other countries
Review by MacReady!
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