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ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK
Blu-ray Edition

Film review by Gordon Justesen
Technical specs by Michael Jacobson

Stars: Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasance, Isaac Hayes, Season Hubley, Harry Dean Stanton, Adrienne Barbeau
Director: John Carpenter
Audio: DTS HD 5.1
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1
Studio: MGM
Features: See Review
Length: 99 Minutes
Release Date: August 3, 2010

"There was an accident. About an hour ago, a small jet went down inside New York City. The president was on board.”

“President of what?”

“That’s not funny, Plissken.”

Film ***1/2

By 1980, John Carpenter had already established himself as the master of cinematic horror. In the wake of two consecutive horror hits, Halloween and The Fog, Carpenter took sort of brief turn into the realm of the action genre, which wasn’t entirely new to the director if you consider his much underrated 1976 cult classic, Assault on Precinct 13. His break from horror not only consisted of making an action movie, but a then startling account of an apocalyptic future.

Escape From New York is easily considered among Carpenter fans as one of the director’s all time best. Many feel it remains a classic because of subliminal satire of government and politics, not to mention the role of the President, who is portrayed in the story as a cowardly wimp. The future depicted in the movie is one I’m sure nobody would be crazy enough to consider. The island of New York City has become the lone maximum-security prison for the entire country. New York is purely inescapable, since the entire island is surrounded by a 50-foot containment wall, and the water routes are thoroughly mined.

Enter Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell), a former soldier, and a highly decorated one, too. Snake has been incarcerated following a failed robbery, and faces life imprisonment, that is, unless he agrees to participate in the ultimate suicide mission. Summoned by police commissioner Hauk (Lee Van Cleef), Plissken is recruited for a rescue operation, one involving the President of the United States (Donald Pleasence), whose escape pod has landed somewhere in the Big Apple following an attempt on his life aboard Air Force One. In exchange for completing the operation, Snake will receive a full pardon for each crime he’s ever committed.

Snake’s assignment, and not a simple one, is to go in and locate the President so that he can make it to an important press conference. With only 17 hours at his disposal, in addition to a slow-dissolving poison that has been secretly injected into his arteries, Snake wastes no time in looking for the Commander in chief once he goes into the island, even though he comes across as the kind of guy who couldn’t care less if the world was going to end. Once he’s entered New York, he gets word that the President may be held captive by the notorious gang leader known as The Duke (Isaac Hayes).

One thing John Carpenter does so terrifically is immerse you into the darkest of atmospheres, and the setting in Escape From New York is one of the best examples of this technique. Not too long after landing in New York, he comes face to face with an assortment of bizarre characters. Among Snake’s encounters is that of a zombie-like gang known as The Crazies, who can’t really be seen because of the dark, but their maneuvering in the night suggests a creepy enemy. Snake soon finds some unexpected assistance in Brain (Harry Dean Stanton) and Maggie (Adrienne Barbeau) who sort of work under The Duke, but are willing to join Snake’s side when he promises them a safe escape from the island.

As far as futuristic action movies go, Escape From New York remains one of the bests, and one that manages to hold much interest when watching it twenty three years after its initial release. Carpenter’s uncompromising vision, along with a monumental performance from Russell, in his first theatrical collaboration with Carpenter following the television movie, Elvis, help in making this the ultimate apocalyptic cult classic that it is.

Video ***1/2

Although the 80s represent a problem decade, even for Blu-ray, this MGM release fares better than most.  There are a lot of low lit scenes, but the clarity and contrast comes through very nicely.  There's some noticeable grain here and there from the film stock, but overall, this represents a vast improvement over some incarnations the film has endured over the years.  Nicely done.

Audio ***1/2

Some of the action sequences really show what DTS HD sound is all about.  The dynamic range is strong and the use of both front and rear stages is tasteful.  Some of the quieter scenes didn't seem to get much remastering, as dialogue and the inescapable 80s score sound a bit thin from time to time, but the overall experience is quite good.

Features 1/2

Only a trailer on the DVD, but who will even put that in when you have the Blu-ray disc?

Summary:

Escape From New York is everything a good cult classic should be, and now that it's gotten the Blu carpet treatment from MGM, fans can really remember what this take-no-prisoners 80s action epic was all about.