Escape from New York | | Cast : | Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef | | Director : | John Carpenter | | Studio : | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby, Special Edition | | Released Date : | July 10, 1981 | | DVD Released Date : | December 16, 2003 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), French (Dubbed), French (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Original Language), French (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | June 19, 2005 | | Summary | I Thought New York Was Already The Place For Criminals!!! | Content
 | This movie is set somewhere in the future where New York has become a Maximum Security Prison. I realize that many New Yorkers already feel this way about their city but I'll let that pass. The President becomes stranded and it is up to our intrepid Hero Snake Plissken to save him.What I want to know is that how come so many Action Heroes speak in a whisper including Kurt Russell, Steven Seagull (!!!) and Clint Eastwood? Perhaps they all need to see a Throat Specialist? I give this movie 5 stars because it is only reedemed by the presence of Ernest Borgnine and Donald Pleasance who have both appeared in much better films than this one. |
| Rating | | | Date | April 20, 2005 | | Summary | Call me snake............... | Content
| This movie spawned one of the greatest movie posters of all time! A classic scene of Snake, the President and the rest of the gang running from the Duke of NY and his thugs with the severed head of the Statue of Liberty in the background. The greatest image in movie poster history!
I remember the image of NYC back in the early 80s was rather scary. It wasnt a place you wanted to be walking around alone at night... and I bet this movie didnt help tourism much for NYC either! Although im my mind, the movie doesnt live up quite to the great image of the poster, it is a great cult classic all the same. The acting was a bit lazy in some spots and the action scenes seemed a little week but the movie as a whole made a big impression on the minds of many people during the Reagan 80's. Dark, Sinister, Comical, Irreverent, this movie made it's mark. If you like this mivie i'd also recommend The Warriors. |
| Rating | | | Date | March 28, 2005 | | Summary | The Future Is...Eight Years Ago | Content
| This is one of the better efforts from director John Carpenter. There is a dynamite premise here and he sets it up well. The sets showing the decay setting in on Manhattan is excellent. Kurt Russell contributes a memorable anti-hero in Snake Plissken, former special-forces commando gone bad. Lee Van Cleef as the hard boiled warden Hauck has not skipped a beat from when he was making spaghetti westerns with Sergio Leone. Ernest Borgnine offers good comic relief as Cabbie. Carpenter even composed a decent score for the film. If I am to find fault with the film is that it is just a little too much style over substance for me to give it an unqualified rave. As the film's nominal heavy, Isaac Hayes may have the look but not the acting heft to pull it off. In conclusion, "Escape from New York" entertained me but didn't overwhelm me. |
| Rating | | | Date | February 26, 2005 | | Summary | amazing from start to end | Content
| poweful and just as funny as its follow up (aka Escape from LA)
Snake Plisskin is: daring, moving, funny. serioues, powerful etc in this slight sci fi action movie
great visuals
great acting
great scenery
great direction
great plot
seen this 8 times already on my dvd player
count on it being seen more
esepecially over the next 90 years
this movie shocks and rocks
the soundtrack theme at the beginning by John Carpenter is quite haunting and rocking at the same time
and it's slight readdition changes in the Escape from LA movie are even more techno like, scary, haunting, and rocking too
awesome job everyone who made, starred and helped with this movie |
| Rating | | | Date | January 28, 2005 | | Summary | STRIPPED VERSION | Content
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This was one of my favorite John Carpenter movies, but as a long-time laserdisc enthusiast, I was saddened by what was left out from this release.
A few years ago, a LBX remastered LD of EFNY was released that had a wonderful commentary track hosted by Carpenter and Russell together.
It was fun listening to them, among other anecodotes, ruefully chuckle about how both their ex-wives were in this film.
Perhaps that commentary was left out since it was done a while back, but if either or both gentlemen were not available to do a new one, a.) MGM should have waited until they were or b.) MGM should have AT LEAST used the old commentary.
This video transfer also shows a print wear line in the scene where Russell happens on Season Hubley in the Nuts shop. Why wasn't this fixed in the transfer?
And why wasn't the great Carpenter/Howarth electronic soundtrack re-mixed for Dolby Digital?
The LD also had a great featurette on the making of the film, which included footage from a deleted opening sequence of the robbery Plissken was eventually captured for.
ALL of this is missing from the DVD! This film really put Russell on the map, and it, and it's fans, deserved better. |
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