| Escape From New York (1981) Cast:Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef,Donald Pleasance, Issac Hayes, Ernest Borgnine, Adrienne Barbeau,Season Hubney, Harry Dean Stanton Kurt Russell stars as Snake Plissken a rogue criminal who is forced to rescue the president, seems the president (Pleasance) has accidently launched his escape pod into New York (The world's biggest prison) and so Russell's prize is freedom if he can save the president before an important meeting, if unable to accomplish his task he will die from a bomb injected in his neck which has the time limit, also aiding our hero is some random prisoners such as a cab driver (Ernest Borgnine), An old friend of Plissken's (Stanton) and an old girlfriend (Barbeau) of Plissken, while Van Cleef is the high ranking offical who ensures that Plissken will accomplish his task in this classic post apoclypse. I remember always this as being good instead of great, but on last viewing I noted the ideas and was surprised how much better this is then the genre it inspired. The characters are all entertaining and Kurt Russell is excellent in the role of the anti hero. Indeed the anti-hero he personifies was really in many ways a template for the anti-hero of the time. Indeed Escape From New York is also interestingly anti-establishment in that the protagonists are all criminals who are brave, unprentious and gritty. The president however is a complete wuss as he is tortured by bad guy Issac Hayes and not once does he do anything heroic, even the ending where he saves Russell, it's clear he's out to save his skin rather than out of heroic qualities. Another interesting aspect of the film is the setting of a burned out future that became the most ripped off in the 80s and this movie is indeed groundbreaking and quite enjoyable.D.John Carpenter***1/2 |