Escape from New York is a 1981 science fiction movie directed by John Carpenter and starring Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasence, Isaac Hayes, Harry Dean Stanton and Adrienne Barbeau (who has a Star Trek connection). The World Trade Center towers figure prominently in the film. This was The Younger Son's first time to see this movie. It had been years (decades?) since I last saw it. We enjoyed it.
trailer:
It's online at youtube in 10 parts with embedding disabled. Part 1 is here.
Moria praises the casting and special effects and says it's "one of the first science fiction/action hybrids" and "one of the most witty and stylish of these sf/action films". The New York Times calls it "by far Mr. Carpenter's most ambitious, most riveting film to date". Slant Magazine has a review describing it as "timeless activist cinema".
4/20/2009: Cinematical has a favorite scene.
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Escape from New York (EFNY) is one of Carpenter's better films, sadly. It seems that Carpenter just couldn't escape the 1980s intact, though. Maybe he just can't handle big budgets. I dunno. EFNY felt more like the pilot of a TV series, though, then an actual movie. It just left too many concepts dangling. In one way, that's a good thing because you're "filling the screen," as they might say in the biz. In another way, though, from a movie making perspective... Why distract the viewer when you don't have to? That's ultimately less budget for story, for FX, for... Well, Things That Matter.
ReplyDeleteGhosts of Mars was... ugh. The less said, the better.
Escape from L.A. (EFLA) had a few good moments but it was far too juvenile when compared to EFNY & WAY WAY WAY inferior to some of the supposed earlier EFLA scripts that have been floating around for some years.
The whole "Escape from" franchise is just begging for a video game (probably a first-person shooter)... Why haven't they made one yet?
I appreciate your reflections. Thanks for commenting.
ReplyDeleteAnd I hadn't thought about a video game, but you're absolutely right!