Escape from New York

Escape from New York is one of those movies I'll watch anytime. The last time I saw it was a little over a year ago while I was at Mother's. She wasn't doing well, so I stayed. I found this movie on one of her cable channels, so I watched it while she was abed. This time, The Younger Son put it in to watch while he ate lunch.

It's a 1981 John Carpenter science fiction film, starring Kurt Russell as Snake Plisskin, Lee Van Cleef (one of my favorite actors), Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasence, Isaac Hayes, Harry Dean Stanton and Adrienne Barbeau. A remake is being contemplated, but as long as this one is so watchable I don't know why they'd bother.

trailer:

Moria praises the cast, especially Kurt Russell, saying of him that "his best work was always with John Carpenter and the finest of all his performances was here as Snake Plissken." Slant Magazine gives it 3 1/2 out of 4 stars. Empire Online says, "Boasting one of the most iconic characters ever in Plissken, and an effective sci-fi set-up, this is entertainment of the highest order." Time Out gives it 4 out of 5 stars. DVD Talk says,

there's something about Escape From New York now, even after the many "guy movies" that have been released since, which keeps it head and shoulders above the rest. ... whatever the reason, it has a devoted core audience that puts it at the top of a short list of cult films to watch on a Saturday night.

Roger Ebert doesn't appreciate this gem, and says, "Everything is here, and it all works fairly well, but it never quite comes together into an involving story or an overpowering adventure." Rotten Tomatoes has a critics score of 83%.