Can't get enough of movies and TV shows that scare up a good fright? Check out Scary Good, IMDb's Horror Entertainment Guide.
Related lists from IMDb users
Title: Escape from New York (1981)
Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Kurt Russell | ... | ||
| Lee Van Cleef | ... | ||
| Ernest Borgnine | ... | ||
| Donald Pleasence | ... | ||
| Isaac Hayes | ... | ||
| Season Hubley | ... | ||
| Harry Dean Stanton | ... | ||
| Adrienne Barbeau | ... | ||
| Tom Atkins | ... | ||
| Charles Cyphers | ... | ||
| Joe Unger | ... |
Taylor
(scenes deleted)
|
|
| Frank Doubleday | ... | ||
 |
John Strobel | ... | |
| John Cothran | ... |
Gypsy #1
(as John Cothran Jr.)
|
|
|
|
Garrett Bergfeld | ... |
Gypsy #2
|
In the future, crime is out of control and New York City's Manhattan 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 lone warrior new to prison life, is coerced into bringing the President, and his cargo, out of this land of undesirables. Written by Anthony Pereyra {hypersonic91@yahoo.com}
Spoilers Ahead:
Watch the documentary that comes with the blu ray. Carpenter had a very tiny budget; slightly more than he had with HALLOWEEN. Look what he did with it? The sets and the script are the stars here along with a great cast. Van Cleef, Borgnine, Harry Dean Stanton and the Carpenter regular Donald Plescence who steals the movie. The scene where he machine guns the Duke, reciting back the slogan Duke made him memorize is why Carpenter used him so much in his movies. The film is dark, depressing and creepy. Russell gives a great performance not even pretending to be partly heroic with nothing but contempt for all of 'the establishment.' The scenes in the city are cleverly shot to conceal the fact that they were in a lousy part of St. Louis.
Snake is not depicted as a kung fu expert like he would be today. He makes plenty of mistakes, like going down Broadway, and barely escapes. He often has to be bailed out by other people like Maggie, Brain's squeeze and Carpenter's real life girlfriend. She is much better here than in THE FOG where she is on screen too much. Her acting was always a bit shaky. The tyrannical, lying government does not seem too far off from where we are today. Ironically, while made in the late 70s this movie has aged very well and seems more prescient today then when it was released.
The film itself is well acted, moves quickly, and is dark, depressing and brooding. Snake is no hero nor does he want to be. Snake was really the template that Riddick was based on. He is not invincible like Riddick yet this is an improvement. Snake is much more realistic less of a cartoon figure. Watch for Ernest Borgnine in a very small role; he was always such a great actor and he captures every scene he is in. If you really want to appreciate what a gem this is watch the big budget overblown awful sequel ESCAPE FROM LA. It shows that money is no guarantor of quality; ironically, Carpenter's smallest movies were the best: HALLOWEEN, ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK and THEY LIVE. It is a great film; one of his very best.