ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK (1981) One of director John Carpenter’s most popular features is set in 1997, shortly after Manhattan has been transformed into one massive prison for the nation’s entire criminal contingent. After the US President’s (Donald Pleasance) plane goes down behind its walls, it’s up to a growling, snarling anti-hero named Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) to bring him back alive; forced to square off against villain Isaac Hayes, he receives unlikely support from Ernest Borgnine’s talkative cab driver, Harry Dean Stanton’s mumbling mastermind and Adrienne Barbeau’s ample cleavage (Carpenter and Barbeau were married at the time, which probably explains the choice of wardrobe). Carpenter himself contributes the movie’s catchy score, while Russell’s iconic character is so enjoyable to watch that it’s a shame his only other screen appearance was in the dim-witted sequel Escape from L.A. Extras in this two-disc DVD set include a deleted opening sequence that would have killed the film’s pace from the get-go (Carpenter was wise to trim this upon its original release), audio commentary by Carpenter and Russell, a making-of feature, and an enclosed copy of the comic book Snake Plissken Chronicles.
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This article appears in Dec 24-30, 2003.
