Escape from New York (1981)

Director:

John Carpenter

Writers:

John Carpenter (written by) and
Nick Castle (written by)

Release Date:

10 July 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

The world's greatest leader is a hostage in the most dangerous place on Earth. Now only the deadliest man alive can save him.

Plot:

In 1997, when the US President crashes into Manhattan, now a giant max. security prison, a convicted bank robber is sent in for a rescue.

Plot Keywords:

Snake | Automatic Weapon | Electronic Music Score | Presumed Dead | City Name In Title

Awards:

4 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Wed. Aug. 20	11:00 PM	AMC
Thur. Aug. 21	3:00 PM	AMC
Mon. Sept. 1	3:30 PM	AMC

Cast

Kurt Russell	...	Snake Plissken
Lee Van Cleef	...	Hauk
Ernest Borgnine	...	Cabbie
Donald Pleasence	...	President
Isaac Hayes	...	The Duke
Season Hubley	...	Girl in Chock Full O'Nuts
Harry Dean Stanton	...	Brain
Adrienne Barbeau	...	Maggie
Tom Atkins	...	Rehme
Charles Cyphers	...	Secretary of State
Joe Unger	...	Taylor (scenes deleted)
Frank Doubleday	...	Romero
John Strobel	...	Cronenberg
John Cothran Jr.	...	Gypsy #1
Garrett Bergfeld	...	Gypsy #2

Also Known As:

John Carpenter's Escape from New York (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

UK:AA (original rating) | Germany:16 | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Finland:K-15 (DVD rating) | Brazil:14 | Iceland:16 | Canada:R (Nova Scotia) | Canada:R (Manitoba) (director's cut) | UK:15 (video rating) | Australia:M | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (original rating) | Sweden:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16 (w) | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Chain of Rocks Bridge, St. Louis, Missouri, USA

Company:

AVCO Embassy Pictures

Trivia:

The original German one-sheet poster prominently misspells Snake's last name as "Plessken".

Goofs:

When the Duke is shooting at the handcuffed President, we hear the sound of very loud, echoing gunfire even though he is conspicuously using Snake's submachine gun equipped with a rather large silencer.

Quotes:

Romero: You touch me... he dies. If you're not in the air in thirty seconds... he dies. You come back in... he dies.
Romero: [Romero takes a package out of his shirt and unwraps it to reveal the President's middle finger, complete with ring] Twenty seconds.
Hauk: I'm ready to talk
Romero: Nineteen. Eighteen.
Hauk: What do you want?
Romero: Seventeen. Sixteen.
Hauk: Let's go. Let's go!

Movie Connections:

Featured in "I Love the 80's 3-D" (2005)

Soundtrack:

Engulfed Cathedral

The definition of a good B Movie

Although not as fast-paced or well-lit as its sequel, Escape from LA, this movie works on the level that it is futuristic, without being TOO futuristic, and the main character is likeable, while being tough at the same time. Whether you like Kurt Russell or not, it seems that he was made for the part of Snake Plissken. One of its highest points is its theme song. It really gets your adrenaline going, and that is one of the most important factors of movies. Available on DVD. Sequel, Escape from LA, filmed 15 years after the original also available on DVD.