Escape from New York (1981)

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nTitle: Escape from Newn York (1981)

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nDirector: John Carpenter

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nCast: Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, DonaldnPleasence, Isaac Hayes, Harry Dean Stanton, Adrienne Barbeau

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nReview:

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nThe first thing you notice about Escape from New York is how veryndark it is. Everything is black on this one, the characters are dressed innblack, the cars are black, the helicopters are black, the entire landscape ofnthis movie is black! The whole film takes place during the course of one nightnin which famous criminal/ex-soldier Snake Plissken is forced to go to ManhattannIsland (which has been turned into a prison island) to rescue the President ofnthe United States. You see, Air Force One was hijacked by a group of terroristsncalled ‘The National Liberation Front of America’. The terrorist say they’venstruck a fatal blow in the name of all of the oppressed by sending thenPresident of the Unitedn States to the inhuman prison he creatednhimself. They mean to let him rot and die down there, in the hands of some ofnthe worst criminals on the planet. and teach him a lesson or two aboutnhumility. But of course, the Unitedn States government isn’t just gonna sit backnand let this happen. They have brought in Snake Plissken, the only man capablenof getting the job done. Like Hauk tells Snake while trying to convince him tondo the job: “You flew the ‘Gulfire’ over Leningrad;nyou know how to go in quiet; you’re all I’ve got!”

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nEscape from Newn York is an interesting film because whenever you talknabout post apocalyptic movies, you really can’t leave this one out even thoughntechnically speaking; it isn’t a post apocalyptic film. There has been nonnuclear holocaust, no deadly virus; the apocalypse in this future exists solelynbehind the walls of the islandn of Manhattan, which hasnbeen transformed into a penitentiary. So the apocalypse in Escape from New York is actually ansocial one. Within the walls of this huge jail cell, there’s no rules, nonregulations, no cops, only “the prisoners and the worlds they’ve created”. Sonit’s not really a post apocalyptic film, but at the same time, its the bestnpost apocalyptic film. Carpenter’s Manhattannis one evil looking place. I think this is what makes this film so fascinating;nthis prison world populated by the lowest of the low. It’s the most evil scum bagsnthat walk through this prison worlds pitch black alleys and streets. When I wasna kid and first saw this movie I was frightened by it, the characters thatnlived with in Manhattannseemed truly evil to me, especially this guy:
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nSnake Plissken’s the ultimate rebel; he hates “the man” orndoing anything for him, in fact if there’s anything that he can take from “thenman”, he will. Case in point: when the film opens up, Plissken is handcuffednand being taken to the Manhattannpenitentiary. What we don’t know is that he is being taken their because he wasnholding up the Federal Reserve Depository, a scene that was later cut out ofnthe film because Carpenter didn’t consider it necessary; I agree, it’s morenintense just to meet Snake, not knowing where he is coming from. Kurt Russell describesnPlissken as a mercenary, a mix between Bruce Lee, The Executioner, Darth Vader and ClintnEastwood. He’s a guy who only cares about the next 60 seconds of his life. Thisnrebellious character goes in accordance with some of Carpenter’s films, whichnhave always had a rebellious streak to them. For example, They Live (1988) whichnis about how the powers that be control our minds through marketing andnsubliminal messages; Escape from New York isnabout an imperialistic fascist America.nEscape from L.A.n(1996) is also anti-establishment, but in a whole other way that I will getninto when I review it soon. So what we got here is a film made by twonrebellious, freedom loving  individuals,nCarpenter and Russell.
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nPlissken is Kurt Russell’s favorite character. To Russell,nthe character represents America,nthe idealisticnfree Americanall true Americans want; that idealistic version of America where people can bentruly free to do as they choose. Through it’s science fiction story, Escapenfrom New Yorkncommented on the status quo of the country during the late 70’s, a time when liberty and freedom of expression were constantly under attack.nSome might label Escape from New Yorknas an anti-government film, and I would have to say that it is. Escape from New York is the kind ofnfilm that warns us of what could come should governments get more oppressive ornfascist. Rule, after rule after rule until you can’t barely move. This film andnit’s sequel is ruled by a government that tells its citizens that they can’t smoke,ncan’t  drink, can’t have premarital sex, can’tntry drugs, can’t speak foul language, can’t, can’t, can’t. Now I ain’t sayingndoing all these things equals liberty, but a person should be able to choosenwhat they want to do, no matter what it is. It’s all about true freedom of thenself. There is a distinct amount of cynicism towards the figure of thenPresident of the Unitedn States  on this film. He is portrayed as a selfish, selfnabsorbed individual. A cold man who doesn’t give a damn about the people who die for him,nhe has this fakeness to him. He says one thing to your face but means another. Butnwe have to understand that Carpenter wrote this film coming out of the wholenNixon era, a time when no American trusted their president, where human rightsnwere constantly being violated in the country. Escape from New York is a reflection of that time when mostnAmericans agreed they had a madman in power.
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nBut Plissken’s all about freeing ourselves from all of that;nabout living the ideal American dream of freedom and doing whatever the hellnyou want with your life, which is probably why this film is such a cultnfavorite; people just love Plisskens ‘take no shit from nobody’ attitude. Thisnfreedom theme goes in accordance to Russell’s own personal Libertarian point ofnview. Yes my friends, Kurt Russell’s neither Democrat nor Republican, he’s anLibertarian, and Libertarians are all about maximizing individual rights and minimizingnthe role of the state in our lives. They believe in free will and freedom ofnexpression and thought. Just like Plissken, Russell’s an outcast because of hisnbeliefs, not everyone agrees with the Libertarians point of view, especiallynnot Hollywood.nStill, this hasn’t stopped Russell and Carpenter from making a distinctivelynrebellious film. It’s obvious that Russell’s put a lot of his own rebelliousnpersona into Snake Plissken. But I felt that he put more of himself into thenway the character was portrayed in the sequel, but more on that in my futurenreview for Escape from L.A. Final words on Escape from New York is that it’s a real cult classic, an extremely influential film and simply put, it’s a film that just won’t die. New generations keep discovering it andnliking it. I believe that the publics long lasting affection with the filmnstems from Snake Plissken and what he represents; our perennial search for personalnfreedom in this world; in the end that’s what we all want and need; and don’tnlet anyone tell you otherwise.

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nRating: 5 out of 5

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