Lost count of how many times I've seen this brilliant movie. Saw it at the cinema in '81 and saw it again on the big screen in 2018 at a special viewing with the same two friends I saw it with originally. Was a special night.
This is a great breakdown of a true classic in cinema history! This is by far, my favorite film of all time...a dystopian look at an iconic action anti-hero. A great vision of a bleak future and lessons learned...
If you were only old enough, you would know this dystopian future vision seemed none too over-the-top back in 1980. NYC was going straight down the tubes. It was being called the "ungovernable city." It took ol' Rudy and his police commissioner Billy Bratton to turn things around. Now you have the unabashed Marxist Bill DeBlasio in charge, determined to go Back To The Future...enjoy.
pinz2022 Oh, I may not show it, but I am old enough to remember. I actually went to Escape from New York when it opened in theaters in 1981...and it has been my favorite film of all time ever since!
Thank you for this vid. I always enjoyed Escape from New York. But you helped flesh out the philosophical underpinnings of the film's storyline, which when I first saw the film were somewhat lost on me. Now it makes for a more worthwhile revisit to a classic piece of dystopic fiction.
Trevock1 OK brother, please share with me your other 9 top picks. You have great taste in choosing this one so Id like to see if I have your other 9 top choices,. I definitely have this one. PM me on FB if yo like. Thanks a bunch -
+Scott Burry Southern Comfort. Red Dawn. Smokey and the Bandit. Big Trouble Little China. The Good The Bad the Ugly. Fistful of Dollars. Outlaw Josey Whales.
well done there buddy..."I don't give a fuck about your war,or your president" that statement has rained true many times since this film was released...
A Really great channel!!!! I was wondering will you be doing 'In the Mouth Of Madness', which along with The Thing is my favorite Carpenter. It might also be worth looking at some other gem's from the 1980's- Lost Boys, An American Werewolf in London, Bad Taste, Hellraiser,Poltergeist, Re-Animator, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer and a whole heap of unsung movies. To my mind the 70's and 80's was the Golden Age of sci-fi and modern horror
Hey BRB3K you actually sound like a Narrator when your breaking down this movie, I actually think that is a good thing, it helps me reflect on the film when I watch it, due to the fact you make it sound you are John Carpenter, and well I think it sucks he still isnt making films anymore, I think he needs to make a 3rd Escape From film
Thank you for your insightful comments. This is an older review I made, but It's been getting a lot of comments lately regarding its politics. Strictly from a viewing experience, it's a bit of a Rorschach test, and whatever preconceived notions one might have will certainly influence their perceptions of this film, as well as LA. But Carpenter has clearly stated that his script for NY is his reaction to the Watergate scandal, and his film is an artistic reflection of his beliefs.
@lampyman101 glad you liked it! Escape From LA is even more overtly political, to the point of satire; the villain looks like Che Guevara and the President is like Ronald Reagan. Escape From New York's political themes were more understated, and it made the film seem a bit more grounded in reality. I'm still a fan of both, though.
great review, nice companion piece to The Thing review, which I've just watched too. Were you thinking about doing They Live at any point? It's one of his I've been meaning to rewatch, I remember it being a neat little satire on consumarism and would be interested to see your thoughts on it too.
FD:.. i was so bored .. on 9/10/01. as in the night before.. that i watched the .. Escape from New York.. not knowing ? that the next day there would be Not a glider landing on the WTC.. but two planes . and three WTC buildings would fall.. great movie.. note most of the folks snake meets inside NYC are from NYC.. lolol.. no body left.. st louis looks great .. as a NYC from the future.. Thanks for the upload.. and .. although the next version will one day come. I wish they made the escape from KCity.. I watched the escape from cleveland in 2016.. the convention..
Awesome review man! Snake is one cinema's greatest badasses! I've never seen L.A tho may get around to it soon. Oh on another not do you only do disccusions of past releases as i was hoping you would do one for A serbian film, I know it's a fairly recent release and i have seen a few reviews on this but not the same quality i have come to expect from you and your counterparts like lampyman101 plus the chances of seeing it uncut are dwindling... well in the UK anyway! Keep up the good work! C
My previous job was seasonal, so I had more free time to write reviews and edit them into videos. But I made a career transition a couple years ago, and along with a couple other life-changes, and a few frustrations with TH-cam, I just kinda let this little hobby of mine slip away. Will I ever do reviews again? Hey I never say never. Before my hiatus, a DePalma playlist was certainly on my mind, I assure you.
Very good review. I love the Escape films, La does have a better ending and lousy fx, but is very enjoyable and criminally underated. However for me New York is still the best, Great look, great cast, gritty and a seriously funky score. Thank you for your hard work, i love JC's films, i see u have done a series of reviews, will subscribe and check out the others { latter, having comp problems!} Will you be reviewing Escape From La at some point?
I know you probably get this asked a lot, but, why don't you put out any new reviews? I'd love to see you do a De Palma playlist like you've done with Carpenter. Two of my personal heroes.
You make a point about the film. Its an American film. Its like Kurt Russel said. About a EFNY remake with Gerard Butler as a possible actor to portray the new Snake. Kurt said if Snake is one thing, hes definitely an American.
Great review, a caveat to that, I would say this and "They Live" as being Carpenter's true dystopian, antithetical feel of a society, one fucked by its own and the other from outside-leading characters in Snake and Jon (TL)arrive to take on a broken world of corruption and vice. There is a lot of allegory in JC films, at first they are straight up pop corn action, however dig a little deeper and it's full of social commentary-such a pity there are no filmmakers like him today-it's all shite, sanitized and dirivitive...I guess Carpenter was right...that future is now!
No I wasn't intentionally trying to annoy. If I was trolling I would certainly have put more effort into it, I try to at least be entertaining when I do that. This was literally just my opinion, I'm allowed to have one & say it out loud, aren't I? It doesn't mean I don't like you as a person or anything. It just kinda bored me. It would have been better if it was 50% shorter, or a written-out review rather than a video, maybe. Just my 2 cents, take it or leave it.
Turning manhattan into a giant prison is a incredible idea. They should do this. If your sent there, you never get out. Definitely one of my top ten fav films of the 80's John carpenter is a god!
@themetalhead667 I liked Escape From LA a lot. I agree, the special effects are horrible, and I think that killed it for a lot of people. As far as the story goes, I guess it depends on how you look at it. The tone of the two films are much different: LA is more of a satire and NY is more gritty and grim. However, I'd say that the ending to LA is much more powerful than NY. If you think about the ramifications of what Snake did at the end of LA... it's pretty stunning.
This and the thing are what made Carpenter one of my favorite directors. The only ones that are with him is Stephen Spielberg, James Cameron and Quintin Tarantino.
@davidscribe Although I have my next two videos planned, I certainly was thinking about doing They Live, especially while putting the "Escape" video together. I'm a fan of the film, and like "Escape," it has a very angry political undercurrent. I don't think John Carpenter was too happy with the political and cultural climate of the U.S. during the 80's, to say the least.
@thebrb30000 Excellent i've just dug out Escape to watch lol! I am fan of carpenter too. Will admit that ghost of mars is pretty shocking in a bad way tho. Good luck with A Serbian Film if you do get it, i had to watch in parts due to shock! Keep the sick bucket it near you and don't watch it hungover like i did :) C
@colin654 I'll definitely do reviews of newer films, but lately I've been kinda focused on doing Carpenter videos. I've received very positive feedback about them, and I just really have fun making them, because I'm such a huge Carpenter fan. As far as A Serbian Film, I haven't really been going out of my way to try to see it, but now it's starting to become rather notorious, so I should try to track it down. If I do, I most certainly will do a video discussion.
Loved this movie. Escape from LA was a joke. The acting, special effects, and soundtrack were just horrible. I really liked the soundtrack that they made with this movie. It's in my top 5 for sure. It really fit this movie, almost chilling and futuristic. One of the best elements of the film imo.
Quite a bit of Escape From LA was inside jokes that you had to have seen Escape From NY to get. I like it for that reason, a lot of self aggrandizing humor in it
Really interesting insight. I'm a huge Carpenter fan and actually watched this film last night. I think you were really spot on in a lot of the areas in the movie and your dissection of his characters are pretty accurate as well (i'm a die hard MGS fan and Big Boss is a blatant ripoff of Plissken). I do believe you are wrong in one aspect of Snake's character as an individual though. As he does embody a lot of the american spirit i never thought of himself as so extremely nihilistic as you portray him. He does have his own personal code of honor somewhat (In a deleted scene during the bank robbery he goes back for his friend after he knows hes been caught). Also, when he encounters the first "president" he refers to his title with a strange sense of respect that seems almost out of place. At the end of the movie when he has the tape he could have just as easily given it back to the USPF or tampered with it some other way. But, he makes the choice to destroy when he should be indifferent. Just some thoughts, great review!
Great, you "liked" my video. Awesome! Guess I can scratch that one off the ol' "Bucket List," eh? Now all I have to do is buy a convertible, go skydiving, and climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, and my life will be complete.
"Libertarians are a third party and are not conservatives" --There is a Libertarian Party, but you don't have to belong to be a Libertarian. One DOES have to belong to the Rep/Dem parties to be one of those. And I didn't say Libertarians were a party, nor that Libertarians were Conservatives. How about addressing what a write instead of what I don't write? "Democrat and Republicans are two sides of the same coin" --In a way, yes, for the most part. "No Child Left Behind" --I was against it.
You make fair points, but with all due respect, the notion of, "Hey, let's take all of the criminals in America and stick 'em on an island and let 'em rot," well, sorry, but that sounds pretty far-right to me, right or wrong.
Actually, Sarah Palin would have a lot to say about this film. She'd use it as an example of what can happen when Socialism and the Left are allowed to pursue their goals without challenge.
Kurt Russell was a leading character long before Escape from New York (See Elvis, 1978). This is what happens when millennials are given access to laptops.
Escape from La is a damn abominaton of sequels. I waited as a huge fan of this movie for years for a sequel, and this is what we get, one of John Carpenters worst movies ever.
SuperLonewolf1970 I liked your comment and I agree. I thought you might like ESCAPE FROM LAS VEGAS, new Snake Plissken short film th-cam.com/video/vHDsy-bqQg8/w-d-xo.html
I dont care to hear the personal views of the commentator, he sounds like he listens to npr and wear a rainbow flag t shirt, just critique the damn movie and keep it in the closet
Loved this film
It still holds up
And the music is memorable
Lost count of how many times I've seen this brilliant movie.
Saw it at the cinema in '81 and saw it again on the big screen in 2018 at a special viewing with the same two friends I saw it with originally. Was a special night.
This is a great breakdown of a true classic in cinema history! This is by far, my favorite film of all time...a dystopian look at an iconic action anti-hero. A great vision of a bleak future and lessons learned...
If you were only old enough, you would know this dystopian future vision seemed none too over-the-top back in 1980. NYC was going straight down the tubes. It was being called the "ungovernable city."
It took ol' Rudy and his police commissioner Billy Bratton to turn things around.
Now you have the unabashed Marxist Bill DeBlasio in charge, determined to go Back To The Future...enjoy.
pinz2022 Oh, I may not show it, but I am old enough to remember. I actually went to Escape from New York when it opened in theaters in 1981...and it has been my favorite film of all time ever since!
pinz2022 Trump help rebuild it also. He saved it as much as Rudy.
Isaac Hayes must never be forgotten.
Thank you for this vid. I always enjoyed Escape from New York. But you helped flesh out the philosophical underpinnings of the film's storyline, which when I first saw the film were somewhat lost on me. Now it makes for a more worthwhile revisit to a classic piece of dystopic fiction.
fascinating critique. I really gotta get hold of this again and watch it again.
This film is one of my favorites, in fact it's in my top 10. A true masterpiece.
Trevock1 OK brother, please share with me your other 9 top picks. You have great taste in choosing this one so Id like to see if I have your other 9 top choices,. I definitely have this one. PM me on FB if yo like. Thanks a bunch -
+Scott Burry Southern Comfort. Red Dawn. Smokey and the Bandit. Big Trouble Little China. The Good The Bad the Ugly. Fistful of Dollars. Outlaw Josey Whales.
ty
Great Summary without giving to much away....
I just started watching these videos you made and I really have been enjoying them. Hope to see more. I like how you compared this to a Western
Thank you for posting this vídeo from the staff of Bahia Brazil Coffee.
Obrigado por postar este vídeo do pessoal da Bahia Brasil Coffee
Great vids. Keep it up.
Nice analysis of the movie! There's a little bit of Snake Plissken that lives in the hearts of every true American Patriot.
This like every Carpenter movie is sent to another level thanks to its soundtrack
RIP Ernest Borgnine.
Good breakdown of the film.
well done there buddy..."I don't give a fuck about your war,or your president" that statement has rained true many times since this film was released...
President of what?
Excellent review.
A Really great channel!!!!
I was wondering will you be doing 'In the Mouth Of Madness', which along with The Thing is my favorite Carpenter.
It might also be worth looking at some other gem's from the 1980's- Lost Boys, An American Werewolf in London, Bad Taste, Hellraiser,Poltergeist, Re-Animator, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer and a whole heap of unsung movies.
To my mind the 70's and 80's was the Golden Age of sci-fi and modern horror
You, my friend, are doing precisely what you are supposed to be doing. Very good review.
Hey BRB3K you actually sound like a Narrator when your breaking down this movie, I actually think that is a good thing, it helps me reflect on the film when I watch it, due to the fact you make it sound you are John Carpenter, and well I think it sucks he still isnt making films anymore, I think he needs to make a 3rd Escape From film
Thank you for your insightful comments. This is an older review I made, but It's been getting a lot of comments lately regarding its politics. Strictly from a viewing experience, it's a bit of a Rorschach test, and whatever preconceived notions one might have will certainly influence their perceptions of this film, as well as LA. But Carpenter has clearly stated that his script for NY is his reaction to the Watergate scandal, and his film is an artistic reflection of his beliefs.
awesome review, great job man
I like your commentary. Keep doing these videos.
Hi thebrb, missing your reviews! Your conversations are always engaging.
Nice analysis classic 80's film Ahh the good old days
Thanks for the comment. If the goal was to annoy me by trolling on my shit, you failed. Have a nice day :D
great video…well done
@lampyman101 glad you liked it! Escape From LA is even more overtly political, to the point of satire; the villain looks like Che Guevara and the President is like Ronald Reagan. Escape From New York's political themes were more understated, and it made the film seem a bit more grounded in reality. I'm still a fan of both, though.
Very good. I pretty much am a sucker for discussions on the sub-text of any film, especially dark action films.
great review, nice companion piece to The Thing review, which I've just watched too. Were you thinking about doing They Live at any point? It's one of his I've been meaning to rewatch, I remember it being a neat little satire on consumarism and would be interested to see your thoughts on it too.
FD:.. i was so bored .. on 9/10/01. as in the night before.. that i watched the .. Escape from New York.. not knowing ? that the next day there would be Not a glider landing on the WTC.. but two planes . and three WTC buildings would fall.. great movie.. note most of the folks snake meets inside NYC are from NYC.. lolol.. no body left.. st louis looks great .. as a NYC from the future.. Thanks for the upload.. and .. although the next version will one day come. I wish they made the escape from KCity.. I watched the escape from cleveland in 2016.. the convention..
Awesome review man! Snake is one cinema's greatest badasses! I've never seen L.A tho may get around to it soon. Oh on another not do you only do disccusions of past releases as i was hoping you would do one for A serbian film, I know it's a fairly recent release and i have seen a few reviews on this but not the same quality i have come to expect from you and your counterparts like lampyman101 plus the chances of seeing it uncut are dwindling... well in the UK anyway! Keep up the good work! C
Good review.
My previous job was seasonal, so I had more free time to write reviews and edit them into videos. But I made a career transition a couple years ago, and along with a couple other life-changes, and a few frustrations with TH-cam, I just kinda let this little hobby of mine slip away. Will I ever do reviews again? Hey I never say never. Before my hiatus, a DePalma playlist was certainly on my mind, I assure you.
Hey really liked the video and your thoughts on the movie.
"Call me Snake." ;-I
@donovan1971 I appreciate it, thanks. There's a lot to like about Escape From New York.
Snake Plissken.....I heard of you......I heard you were dead.
Great film and very nice review. I think that EFNY is prevalent as ever with the way things are in todays time.
why this reeminds me metal gear solid
To think that 20 years after the release of this movie the Twin Towers would tumble due to a terrorist attack.
Much much better than today's Hollywood money only total piece of crap productions :(
Very good review. I love the Escape films, La does have a better ending and lousy fx, but is very enjoyable and criminally underated.
However for me New York is still the best, Great look, great cast, gritty and a seriously funky score.
Thank you for your hard work, i love JC's films, i see u have done a series of reviews, will subscribe and check out the others { latter, having comp problems!}
Will you be reviewing Escape From La at some point?
Some really great points here but I think Plissken's eye patch was more than likely influenced by the John Wayne Rooster character from True Grit.
I know you probably get this asked a lot, but, why don't you put out any new reviews? I'd love to see you do a De Palma playlist like you've done with Carpenter. Two of my personal heroes.
what do you think of escape from la?
I thought it had the worst special effects of all times but the story is an improvement on the first
You make a point about the film. Its an American film. Its like Kurt Russel said. About a EFNY remake with Gerard Butler as a possible actor to portray the new Snake. Kurt said if Snake is one thing, hes definitely an American.
What was the name of the plane? David One
David 14.
You should totally review Strange Brew, it's absolutely in the same wheelhouse of movies you reviewed. Great reviews by the way.
Great review, a caveat to that, I would say this and "They Live" as being Carpenter's true dystopian, antithetical feel of a society, one fucked by its own and the other from outside-leading characters in Snake and Jon (TL)arrive to take on a broken world of corruption and vice. There is a lot of allegory in JC films, at first they are straight up pop corn action, however dig a little deeper and it's full of social commentary-such a pity there are no filmmakers like him today-it's all shite, sanitized and dirivitive...I guess Carpenter was right...that future is now!
Isn't that ICP music in the video? :)
Hey Robert Rodriguez, John Carpenter called and wants those shots from Machete back lol
Nice !!!!!
No I wasn't intentionally trying to annoy. If I was trolling I would certainly have put more effort into it, I try to at least be entertaining when I do that. This was literally just my opinion, I'm allowed to have one & say it out loud, aren't I? It doesn't mean I don't like you as a person or anything. It just kinda bored me. It would have been better if it was 50% shorter, or a written-out review rather than a video, maybe. Just my 2 cents, take it or leave it.
Turning manhattan into a giant prison is a incredible idea. They should do this. If your sent there, you never get out. Definitely one of my top ten fav films of the 80's John carpenter is a god!
@themetalhead667 I liked Escape From LA a lot. I agree, the special effects are horrible, and I think that killed it for a lot of people. As far as the story goes, I guess it depends on how you look at it. The tone of the two films are much different: LA is more of a satire and NY is more gritty and grim. However, I'd say that the ending to LA is much more powerful than NY. If you think about the ramifications of what Snake did at the end of LA... it's pretty stunning.
This and the thing are what made Carpenter one of my favorite directors. The only ones that are with him is Stephen Spielberg, James Cameron and Quintin Tarantino.
Carpenter has only made a few good films. Most of his films are trash.
@davidscribe Although I have my next two videos planned, I certainly was thinking about doing They Live, especially while putting the "Escape" video together. I'm a fan of the film, and like "Escape," it has a very angry political undercurrent. I don't think John Carpenter was too happy with the political and cultural climate of the U.S. during the 80's, to say the least.
@thebrb30000 Excellent i've just dug out Escape to watch lol! I am fan of carpenter too. Will admit that ghost of mars is pretty shocking in a bad way tho. Good luck with A Serbian Film if you do get it, i had to watch in parts due to shock! Keep the sick bucket it near you and don't watch it hungover like i did :) C
@colin654 I'll definitely do reviews of newer films, but lately I've been kinda focused on doing Carpenter videos. I've received very positive feedback about them, and I just really have fun making them, because I'm such a huge Carpenter fan. As far as A Serbian Film, I haven't really been going out of my way to try to see it, but now it's starting to become rather notorious, so I should try to track it down. If I do, I most certainly will do a video discussion.
You could make this movie now in the modern age but it would be called " Escape from Portland Oregon "
Loved this movie. Escape from LA was a joke. The acting, special effects, and soundtrack were just horrible. I really liked the soundtrack that they made with this movie. It's in my top 5 for sure. It really fit this movie, almost chilling and futuristic. One of the best elements of the film imo.
Quite a bit of Escape From LA was inside jokes that you had to have seen Escape From NY to get. I like it for that reason, a lot of self aggrandizing humor in it
Right la was shit
Really interesting insight. I'm a huge Carpenter fan and actually watched this film last night. I think you were really spot on in a lot of the areas in the movie and your dissection of his characters are pretty accurate as well (i'm a die hard MGS fan and Big Boss is a blatant ripoff of Plissken). I do believe you are wrong in one aspect of Snake's character as an individual though. As he does embody a lot of the american spirit i never thought of himself as so extremely nihilistic as you portray him. He does have his own personal code of honor somewhat (In a deleted scene during the bank robbery he goes back for his friend after he knows hes been caught). Also, when he encounters the first "president" he refers to his title with a strange sense of respect that seems almost out of place. At the end of the movie when he has the tape he could have just as easily given it back to the USPF or tampered with it some other way. But, he makes the choice to destroy when he should be indifferent. Just some thoughts, great review!
Wow. Did your 5 year old kid post that response?
Great, you "liked" my video. Awesome! Guess I can scratch that one off the ol' "Bucket List," eh? Now all I have to do is buy a convertible, go skydiving, and climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, and my life will be complete.
snake got betrayed in leningrad
Read the novel version of the movie. Amazing hardcore stuff.
Thers's a novel out there! Wow I didn't know that.
Tony King Yes there is. Check it out. www.theefnylapage.com/pressefnymovietieinnovel.htm
call him snake, but remember: "the name's plissken!" comprende?
"Libertarians are a third party and are not conservatives"
--There is a Libertarian Party, but you don't have to belong to be a Libertarian. One DOES have to belong to the Rep/Dem parties to be one of those. And I didn't say Libertarians were a party, nor that Libertarians were Conservatives. How about addressing what a write instead of what I don't write?
"Democrat and Republicans are two sides of the same coin"
--In a way, yes, for the most part.
"No Child Left Behind"
--I was against it.
I actually did click "like" for it anyway, though, just for the record.
You make fair points, but with all due respect, the notion of, "Hey, let's take all of the criminals in America and stick 'em on an island and let 'em rot," well, sorry, but that sounds pretty far-right to me, right or wrong.
When you legitimately use something under the Fair Use Act, you don't have to post disclaimers.
I'm not anti-government, I'm just anti-authority in general. And yes, I know that is somewhat self-contradictory.
Actually, Sarah Palin would have a lot to say about this film. She'd use it as an example of what can happen when Socialism and the Left are allowed to pursue their goals without challenge.
Kurt Russell was a leading character long before Escape from New York (See Elvis, 1978). This is what happens when millennials are given access to laptops.
The point being, if you knew what you were talking about you'd see that you're wrong.
If the goal was to make this movie boring as all-get-out by putting your monotone voiceover to it, you succeeded. =__=
We're almost there in society people are saying this left and right all we need is one good incident and we're down that road
call me snake
not plisken
Jim Morrison would of done this roll well
SNAKE!!
Escape from La is a damn abominaton of sequels. I waited as a huge fan of this movie for years for a sequel, and this is what we get, one of John Carpenters worst movies ever.
SuperLonewolf1970 I liked your comment and I agree. I thought you might like ESCAPE FROM LAS VEGAS, new Snake Plissken short film
th-cam.com/video/vHDsy-bqQg8/w-d-xo.html
Right a fucking joke of a movie waste of money and talent
I dont care to hear the personal views of the commentator, he sounds like he listens to npr and wear a rainbow flag t shirt, just critique the damn movie and keep it in the closet
Fascism is far left.
Fascist.
Good breakdown of the film.