Rating: 
Summary: Great film...but wait for the serious DVD release TBA soon.
Review: The transfer here is great. Carpenter's movies are often copied, but nobody can make a low budget movie look as good as Carpenter and usual co-horts Tommy Lee Wallace and Dean Cundy.
If you just want the film, get this, but if you want the film, a commentary track with Carpenter and Russell, and a whole bunch of extras, wait for the special edition to be released later this month. This film deserves a special edition release.
Rating:
Summary: The president of what?
Review: I didn't see this film when it came out and it seemed like I would always turn on the tv and see a few minutes somewhere in the middle of it. Well, I finally bought the dvd and realized that this is certainly a strong film. The plot is okay, but a strong cast and great action make it worth seeing. They did a great job with making the city look like a ruined city that had been left to fall apart. This dvd is in a series from MGM where they only have the trailer as an extra, but these dvds do have a good price.
Rating:
Summary: New York a Prison?
Review: Why is it that John Carpenter only makes decent movies when he has a small budget and foils up big time when he's given a Hollywood budget? ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK is one of Carpenter's better movies. Sure, it's mindless entertainment. But it's good mindless entertainment without too much gore, sex, or profanity. This was the film that started Kurt Russell down the path to bigger box office dollars. It's also worth checking out for the opening scene where a hijacked plane crashes into a tall New York skyscraper. It's so eerily similar to September 11th, 2001 that it makes you wonder how much art really does imitate life, or is life now imitating art?
Rating:
Summary: The Greatest Escape
Review: If you've never seen this movie before, let me remind you that it was made in 1982, so forgive the bad guys for wearing Village People clothing. It's another great vision from John Carpenter, with Kurt Russell taking the excellent lead role as "Snake Pliskin".When this movie hit the theatres, it was probably one of the best futuristic movies ever made. Set in 1997, it imagines the City of New York transformed into a maximum-security prison. Ordinary criminals shunned by a weary society are left to fend for themselves behind the massive walls of the city. The inmate characters portrayed in this movie are unique in style and behavior. A few are just down-right weird (The Duke's #2 man is my favorite). Snake Pliskin is given a chance for freedom in exchange for saving the president (a self-interested and thankless character play by Donald Pleasance), who's plane has been hijacked and crashed into the city. Pliskin must fight off numerous gangs and thugs to reach the president and free him from his captors. But time is his biggest enemy, as you will see. If you can get past the Control Room set, with thousands of useless flashing lights, ugly limo's, giant face-shields, super-sized watches (heck, I had a digital watch back in '82, and it was nowhere near the size of Pliskins) and bad guys wearing Sally Jessy Rafael glasses, you'll still enjoy this movie. The excellent settings of the city and the musical score (Carpenter's specialty) intensify his vision of a bleak and hopeless future for a once-great city overrun by crime. There's a hole in the storyline, though. When Pliskin first gets injected with those micro-size charges, the doctor reassures him that they can burn out those charges with x-rays 15 minutes before his time is up. But he only has seconds left when they finally get to him, according to his huge watch. So, should Snake have died? Hell, no! The name's Pliskin! Isn't it weird that Carpenter's best movies were made when he didn't have a big budget to play with. THE FOG is a good example of that. With that said, do yourself a favor and don't watch (or buy) the sequel, Escape from L.A. It is one of the worst sequels I've ever seen. What was he thinking? It's full of ridiculous scenes (the surfing comes immediately to mind) and fails to follow up on the previous film's effect. A big disappointment. Mr. Carpenter, if your going to make a sequel to one of your other great early films, please try to keep the storyline and atmosphere in check with the prior film. We dont need the million dollar explosions or outrageous plots to enjoy the film. Stick to the basics that made you so successful early on.
Rating: 
Summary: Another John Carpenter Gem!
Review: Snake Plisken, one of the definitive choatic heroes of the action drama. Once again, John Carpener surpassed himself with this dark classic! From begiinning to end this film is one wild ride! Regretably, the sequel Escape From LA, was a disappointing follow-up to this 80's masterpiece. I highly recommend this DVD, and give it a five star rating.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining Movie!
Review: This is a futuristic movie. The city of New York is a maximum security prison. The President's plane is downed over New York
and he is taken hostage. The forces in charge call upon Snake
Pliskin(Kurt Russell)to save the President.Russell sports an eye patch and makes a very menacing figure.You have nonstop action as Snake battles the forces of evil to save the President. You
will never see a lineup of villains like they have in this movie.
This is a very exciting movie that you will enjoy watching.It has
action,godd acting and excellent special effects. Buy this movie.
Rating:
Summary: Best Movie Ever
Review: This is the best movie ever made in my oppinion. I am 32 years old and have been an avid John Carpenter fan since I saw Escape From New York when it was released in 1982. Kurt Russell is the ULTIMATE Anti-Hero! Although he does his best "Clint Eastwood", he is the coolest. Movies that are made now, do not even hold a candle to this movie. There is not the typical, generation X, action sequence one after the other. It is a spectacular movie about a man named Snake Plisken who is a decorated war veteran, who has lost all of his faith in society after the entire country has become a hard core police state. It takes place in 2002, which was the future in 1982 and the Whole Island of Manhattan is a prison. Snake has to go in and rescue the President in 24hrs, before the mini exploseves that were secretly logged in his arteries explode. You will LOVE this movie and if you are like me, will see it over 200 times.
Rating:
Summary: The best escape...EVER!
Review: I remember seeing thi smovie over 20 years ago, and i had my doubts at first. (the idea of kurt"disney" russel playiong an anti-hero, and what's with soul legend issac hayes as the main baddie? would it be a musical or somethin? lol) But under carpenter's direction, kurt managed to pull it off and made a beliver outta me, the movie was very ambitous especially coming from a b-movie company (avco embassay)
the specail effects,the chessy dialoug" call me snake" "i heard you were dead" and not to mention the cool casioesque synthersizer music. composed by the multi-talented carpenter. The ending is one of the best parts about this classic flick
where anti-hero snake plissken finds some kinda redemption and does a "f**k you" to the president and the other high ranking athourities. I think it was this movie (not elvis) that helped
to push russel further into the spotlight,and made people aware of his potentual. after escape, came the thing which was an even bigger hit. and so on. my only gripe with this DVD was that the sound was still kinda mono and there were no special features other than the trailer,
i would have loved to see the deleted scenes like the bank robbery, or the fight with the indians on world trade center.
oh well what do u expect from MGM? another movie co like warner home video wouldv'e bought out all the bonuses. Now here's a sad irony of how life imitates art, in the begining of the movie u see a terrorist hijacking a passenger plane (air force one) then crashing it into a building, in new york nontheless.. that scene mirrors the tradgic 911 attack.what may seem like science fiction, may turn out to be fact.
Rating:
Summary: Some say that he is dead
Review: But whatever he is Kurt Russell proves that he can kick some major tail. When New York has been turned into a prison this guy is the only one you can count on. Everything is great about this movie. Great sound track
Great villian
Great action
Great...big 80s hair an instant cult classic if you enjoyed MAD MAX you will enjoy this one
Rating:
Summary: "John Carpenter's Escape from New York"
Review: Escape from New York (R) *****/5
Kurt Russell, Ernest Borgnine, Isaac Hayes, Harry Dean Stanton, Adrienne Barbeau.
Directed by: John Carpenter.
Synopsis: A former war hero turned criminal must save the president, and recover his briefcase to save his own life when he is dropped in the criminal penitentiary of N.Y. City.
Special Features: Trailer
Review: One of the greatest films ever made, and the greatest vision of the future ever. John Carpenter's widely acclaimed success of a film. It follows Kurt Russell as Snake Plissken who has two bombs planted in him. He is given a chance for his freedom if he can rescue the president and his briefcase from the clutches of The Duke in the prison city of N.Y. Plissken the former war hero turned criminal goes in, and he must survive the terror town, complete his mission, and get back before the bombs go off. Kurt Russell forever shed his Disney image for this film. He is on the ball, with the performance of a lifetime, and he creates one of the greatest characters in cinema history. Borgnine is lovable as the cabbie, Hayes is a fantastic bad guy, Stanton is cool as usual, and the supporting cast gives it their best effort. Carpenter shines with his tiny budget. He introduces us to a world where anything can happen, and he unveils his world to us in spectacular form. He even filmed it in Saint Louis and made me think it was New York. As for the DVD? ...
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