1997: fuga da New York

Many fans of Kurt Russell were extremely surprised he emerged from his years as a child actor to evolve into a believable, hard hitting, action hero. True, he was traditionally recognized to many for his whimsical, good-looks and high school persona. Thus when movie-goers saw him in this film, many stood aghast at his mature tenor. This futuristic story begins with the President's plane being high-jacked by rebel extremists and flown into the island city of New York which has been transformed into a maximum prison. The plane with the president (Donald Pleasence) on board crashes into the prison and it falls to the warden/Police Commissioner, one, Bob Hauk, (Lee Van Cleef) to rescue the chief executive. His plan? To send in a new convict, an experienced ex-soldier and special ops veteran, named, Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) with the promise of a presidential pardon if he can return him alive. To insure the clever criminal does not take the opportunity to escape, he is given a lethal injection which can only be removed by the commissioner's medical staff. Thus, begins a timely drama which means life or death for the hero, the president and ultimately the world. The success of this film owes much to the film's other characters like the talkative Cabbie (Ernest Borgnine, terrific acting), Harold ' Brain' Helman (Harry Dean Stanton), his 'squeeze' Maggie (Adrienne Barbeau) and Isaac Hayes, who plays the heavy, The Duke of New York. This a groundbreaking film for Russell and as expected, he carries it to it's rave conclusion with action to spare. ****

In the far-flung future, Manhattan Island is a prison surrounded by a fifty-foot wall. Said prison is guarded from outside the wall, while inside, the prisoners create their own lawless society. When the US President (Donald Pleasence) inadvertently lands in this hell, it's up to bada$$ criminal, Snake Plisskin (Kurt Russell) to retrieve him.

ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK is Director John Carpenter's foray into post-apocalyptic sci-fi / action. In his vision, it's an out of control crime rate, rather than nuclear holocaust that's to blame. Packed with oddball characters, and loaded with classic scenes, EFNY became a trendsetter.

In spite of some clunky, "futuristic" technology, and the unavoidable poignancy of having Plisskin land atop the World Trade Center, it all works somehow. For its budget, this movie looks impressive. Russell is perfect in his eye patch-wearing, anti-hero role, riding high before his next big stint in THE THING. Great use is also made of older stars like Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, and the inimitable music legend, Isaac Hayes. Carpenter regulars Tom Atkins, Charles Cyphers, and Adrienne Barbeau make appearances, with Ms. Barbeau having some heavenly running sequences! One of the truly great Carpenter films...

First things first, Kurt Russel is just plain cool. That said, on to the review. Escape From New York is a classic action movie with a great horror cast, including Donald Pleasence, Tom Atkins, Charles Cyphers, and who could forget Buck Flower. Buck, who has one of the best scenes in the movie ("Sure, I'm the president!"), is hilarious. John Carpenter proves that he is a versatile director and can make a hell of a film outside the horror genre. In Carpenter's classic, Kurt Russell plays the immortal Snake Plissken, New York has become a prison state, and the president has just crash landed there. Enter Snake Plissken. Freshly captured and about to be incarcerated in New York, he must save the President (Pleasence, who isn't even American but pulls it off well) from the clutches of Isaac Hayes in order to regain his freedom. It's all great stuff and you can't stop watching as Snake fights his way from one famous landmark to another (he even has to wrestle Ox Baker). But it leaves me with one unanswered question: What did happen to Fresno Bob?

Note: A couple of the Duke's cronies are credited as Romero and Cronenberg. Also, Jamie Lee Curtis does the opening computer dialogue.

I saw this movie in 2018. But in past i used to listen to its background theme. Had always heard about this movie, But never saw it before. And i really enjoyed it. Even after 37 years, this movie seems as fresh as it was when it released. This movie have aged well with the time. First time saw Kurt Russell and Lee Van Cleef face to face in one on the big screen. But mind me Lee van cleef is not the Antagonist in this movie. But the person who sends snake plissken to new york on the rescue mission. looking both of them i remembered John Rambo & Col. Trautman. In all a nice & watchable movie. In this movie John Carpenter shows he can make movies in this genre also. And he succeeded also.

Escape From New York which was released in 1981 is a very entertaining science fiction action movie which still holds up today. Kurt Russell's Snake Plissken would be renowned as one of the most memorable anti heroes on screen. Director John Carpenter directed, co-wrote and co-scored Escape From New York and this would also be one of a number of collaborations with Kurt Russell who would later reunite with The Thing (1982) and Big Trouble In Little China (1986).

Escape From New York takes place in a dystopian 1997 where Manhattan has been converted into a heavily fortified maximum security prison after the crime rate has skyrocketed 400% and the US Government has ordered New York to be cut off from the rest of the USA.

Former special forces soldier turned convicted criminal Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) has been offered a full presidential pardon in exchange for accepting a top secret mission by Police Commissioner Bob Hauk (Lee Van Cleef) to rescue the US President (Donald Pleasance) after his escape pod lands in New York after Air Force One crashes following a hijacking. The US President is found and taken hostage by a group of criminals led by crime boss The Duke (Isaac Hayes). Plissken successfully enters New York via a stealthy glider. While he is there, he meets a friendly taxi driver named Cabbie (Ernest Borgnine) who drives an armoured taxi who agrees to helps him navigate his way around the island. Fellow inhabitants/inmates Brain (Harry Dean Stanton) and Maggie (Adrienne Barbeau) also help Plissken find the whereabouts of The Duke's hideout where the President is being held prisoner.

Kurt Russell has always been a quality and very versatile actor. His role as Snake Plissken is definitely one of his best roles, and he has stated himself that it is one of his favorite roles.

Director John Carpenter, well known for the horror slasher Halloween (1978), creates an atmosphere of suspenseful action, dark humour, memorable one liners, and great characters. After mixed success with low budget movies, Escape From New York would turn out to be a critical and commercial success for him which would lead on to bigger projects with a bigger budget.

I don't rate the sequel Escape From L. A. (1996), I thought they just tried to recycle the plot from the first movie albeit in Los Angeles. No surprise that it was a box office flop and not well received by critics.

I still enjoy Escape From New York. It's also a favourite amongst many Kurt Russell fans who agree that Snake Plissken is one of the best characters.

Escape From New York still holds up today and is still a classic 40 years on.

7/10.