Escape from New York (1981)

Note des utilisateurs:

7.1/10   

Réalisateur:

John Carpenter

Writers:

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

Release Date:

10 juillet 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Aventure | Crime | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Accroche:

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 | Prison | Rescue | New York City | Manhattan

Awards:

4 nominations

Avis des utilisateurs:

One of the better action movies ever

Ensemble

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

Autre(s) titre(s):

John Carpenter's Escape from New York (USA) (complete title)
New York 1997 (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]

Durée:

99 min

Pays:

UK | USA

Langue:

Anglais

Couleur:

Couleur (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Son:

Dolby

Classification:

Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia) | Canada:R (Manitoba) (director's cut) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Iceland:16 | UK:15 (video rating) | UK:AA (original rating) | Germany:16 | Brazil:14 | Finland:K-15 (DVD rating) | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Australia:M | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (original rating) | Sweden:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16 (w) | Singapore:PG

Emplacements De Pelliculage:

California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, California, USA

Company:

AVCO Embassy Pictures

Anecdotes:

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

Goofs:

Continuity: Baseball bat falls off the head of the gladiator, but is back again in subsequent shots.

Guillemet:

The Duke: They sent in their best man, and when we roll across the 59th Street bridge tomorrow, on our way to freedom, we're going to have their best man leading the way - from the neck up!
[cheering erupts]
The Duke: On the hood of my car!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Wings: Escape from New York (#8.16)" (1997)

Soundtrack:

Engulfed Cathedral

One of the better action movies ever

Normally I'm not too much a fan of action movies and John Carpenter has never been on my list of favorite directors. In my opinion he only made one good movie, except for this one of course, and that's "Halloween". But as I already said before, even though I'm normally not a fan of this kind of movies or of the man's work, I must say that I'm glad to make an exception when it comes to this movie. "Escape from New York" may well be seen as one of the better action movies of all times and even after 25 years it still gives me a good time when watching it.

Due to huge crime rates in 1997, the US government has changed New York into a maximum security prison where the toughest criminals are put away for life. All the bridges have been mined, a huge wall has been built around the city and a large police force army is stationed near the statue of liberty. Inside this prison it's the survival of the fittest. There are no rules or regulations, except for those made up by the prisoners themselves, making this one of the most dangerous places to be in. When Air Force One, with the President on board, is taken over by a terrorist and crashed into a building, the President is able to escape by ejecting in a pod. But he has landed in the middle of New York and someone needs to get him out of there soon. That's where Snake Plissken comes in. He's an ex-soldier and a new prisoner who is asked to save the President and to find a tape with some important information. In return his sentence will be canceled and Plissken will be a free man again. He agrees, but to make sure that he will return on time, they inject him with a small but powerful explosive that will only be destroyed if his mission is successful. So now he does not only have to take care of the President and try to stay alive in between all those criminals, he also has a lot of time pressure...

I must say that this movie reminded me a lot of the Australian "Mad Max"-movies, especially the second one. In case you are wondering if that is a good or a bad thing: I liked those movies and yes I like this one as well. Despite the fact that it was made in 1981, this movie still feels quite futuristic. OK, we know that 1997 wasn't like this, but that doesn't really matter this time. If they had set the date to 2097, this would still have been the same movie and then we wouldn't have know that this was impossible. And the fact that some details show the real age of the movie isn't a bad thing either. Take for instance the computers. They used a lot of flashing lights and stuff like that, but those are only some small details which shouldn't spoil your fun. The acting in this movie is OK as well. This may well have been one of Kurt Russell's best performances and I really loved Ernest Borgnine as Cabbie. I even appreciated Lee Van Cleef in this movie, despite the fact that I'm normally not a fan of the man. I guess I must say that all actors did a good job.

As a conclusion I would like to say that a good and still futuristic looking story, some good acting, several interesting action scenes,... make this movie more than just worth a watch. I really like it and that's why I give it a 7/10.