Escape from New York 1981
7.1 / 10
Escape from New York
In a world ravaged by crime, the entire island of Manhattan has been converted into a walled prison where brutal prisoners roam free. After the US president crash-lands inside, war hero Snake Plissken has 24 hours to bring him back.
In a world ravaged by crime, the entire island of Manhattan has been converted into a walled prison where brutal prisoners roam free. After the US president crash-lands inside, war hero Snake Plissken has 24 hours to bring him back.
Videos & Photos
All 3 Videos & 93 Photos
cast
Full Cast & Crew
... Snake Plissken
... Police Commissioner Bob Hauk
... Cabbie
... President of the United States
... The Duke of New York
... Girl in Chock Full O'Nuts
User reviews
See All 3 Reviews23 Jun 2021 by Graviteer
"Too little of too much" would describe this movie well, which presented us a dystopian New York with development potential and characters whose background is shared, exposed with brief moments of characterization that made me feel like I was missing this movie's predecessor. It didn't exist, and so the end result was of an expanded universe of unknown circumstances - except for the brief introduction we got in the opening credits - where the events barely told the story during the time it was running. But where this movie failed in terms of script, it almost made up with atmosphere and music. It sounds great throughout, but the credit goes to the opening theme that is as minimal as the presentation is grounded, in that humble approach of whom ambition wasn't unheard. Sadly, it's not the case of a classic whose production values challenge the computer generated visuals of today (and ironically this movie's novelty was the wireframe view), but if you're interested in history and want to make a contextual analysis, you may find something worth treasuring. __________________ When authors create they sign. When editors hack they design.
Genres:
Release Date:
May 23, 1981 (Germany,United Kingdom,United States)
Run Time:
1hr 39`
MMPA Rating:
R
Original Language:
English
Production Countries:
Germany,United Kingdom,United States
Status:
Released
Plot Keywords:
Related Movies To
Escape from New York
"Too little of too much" would describe this movie well, which presented us a dystopian New York with development potential and characters whose background is shared, exposed with brief moments of characterization that made me feel like I was missing this movie's predecessor. It didn't exist, and so the end result was of an expanded universe of unknown circumstances - except for the brief introduction we got in the opening credits - where the events barely told the story during the time it was running. But where this movie failed in terms of script, it almost made up with atmosphere and music. It sounds great throughout, but the credit goes to the opening theme that is as minimal as the presentation is grounded, in that humble approach of whom ambition wasn't unheard. Sadly, it's not the case of a classic whose production values challenge the computer generated visuals of today (and ironically this movie's novelty was the wireframe view), but if you're interested in history and want to make a contextual analysis, you may find something worth treasuring. __________________ When authors create they sign. When editors hack they design.
A Snake, a Brain, a Cabbie, a Duke and the President Of The USA. It's 1997 and Manhattan Island is a walled off prison, during the flight of Air Force One the president's plane is taken over by a terrorist and the president ejects out in the safety pod. Sadly for him he lands right in the middle of Manhattan Island. When an armed unit lands inside the walls they are told that the president has been taken hostage and they must get out of their prison ASAP. At a loss what to do, the authorities decide to send one man in alone, ex war hero turned criminal, Snake Plissken, not only does he have to contend with surviving the incredibly hostile prison, he also has a time bomb implanted in his body that, should he not get the president out safely within 24 hours, will explode and mean no more Snake Plissken! Made in 1981 and set in 1997, it's safe to say John Carpenter is not the best predictor of the future around. However, his vision of a future where America has thrown all its criminals on one island, where they create their own society out of harms way, has to rank as an incredibly adroit piece of work. This place is grim and deadly, the flotsam and jetsam of society thrust together in this bleak and desolate place of class separation. What Carpenter has achieved with his usual minimal budget allowance is a smouldering sci-fi classic that may be as daft as they come, but it pulses with cool and cheekily slaps you around the face with its cheeky satirical edginess. Kudos is given to the great production design from Joe Alves, who along with Carpenter has crafted this brilliantly dirty netherworld of crime. Our anti-hero of the piece, Snake Plissken, is superbly played by Kurt Russell, the original choice interestingly was Tommy Lee Jones, but Russell fuels Plissken's mantra to make him one of the eighties coolest grumpy bastards, and his work here is first class in terms of the films' apocalyptic structure. Surroundning Russell is a wealth of quality performers each adding their personal bits to this tick-tock stew, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasance, Harry Dean Stanton, Adrienne Barbeau and Isaac Hayes all earn their money and flesh out the story to the end. Calling Escape From New York an action picture would be setting first time viewers up for a real let down, what action there is is minimal but highly effective, the machismo flourishes acting more as a point of reference to the picture's time bomb urgency. I like to think of the film as being more a sci-fi adventure yarn laced with darkly comic humour, with of course machismo thrown in as a side salad to accentuate the bleakness of it all. A wonderful concoction indeed. 9/10
Nails the "post-apocalyptic except the world didn't end" vibe. _Final rating:★★★★ - Very strong appeal. A personal favourite._
Cast & Crew of
Escape from New York
Directors & Credit Writers
... Director
... Second Assistant Director
... First Assistant Director
Cast
... Snake Plissken
... Police Commissioner Bob Hauk
... Cabbie
... President of the United States
... The Duke of New York
... Girl in Chock Full O'Nuts
... Harold 'Brain' Helman
... Maggie
... Rehme
... Secretary of State
... Romero
JS
John Strobel... Cronenberg
... Drunk
... Gypsy #1
... Stewardess
... Secret Service #2
... Secret Service #2 / Helicopter Pilot / Violin Player
... Narrator / Prison Recording Voice (uncredited)
... Pianist
... Computer (voice)
Produced By
Videos & Photos of
Escape from New York
Videos ( 3)
Official Trailer #2
YouTube
Official Trailer #1
YouTube
Photos ( 93 )
Related Movies To
Escape from New York
Lilo & Stitch (2025)
0 /10
The wildly funny and touching story of a lonely Hawaiian girl and the fugitive alien who helps to mend her broken family.
Run Time: 1hr 48` . MMPA: PG . Release: 17 May 2025
Director: Richard Oswald , Brian Avery Galligan , Aldric La'Auli Porter
Producer: Tom C. Peitzman , Thomas Schumacher , Ryan Halprin
Stars: Chris Sanders , Maia Kealoha , Zach Galifianakis , Billy Magnussen , Sydney Agudong , Courtney B. Vance
Sinners (2025)
0 /10
Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.
Run Time: 2hr 18` . MMPA: R . Release: 16 Apr 2025
Director: Gio Paredes-Utforskare , Steve Gehrke , Marvin Williams
Producer: Anthony Tittanegro , Sev Ohanian , Pete Chiappetta
Stars: Michael B. Jordan , Jack O'Connell , Delroy Lindo , Jayme Lawson , Wunmi Mosaku , Hailee Steinfeld
House of Ga'a (2024)
0 /10
At the height of the Oyo Empire, the ferocious Bashorun Ga'a became more powerful than the kings he enthroned, only to be undone by his own blood.
Run Time: 2hr . MMPA: R . Release: 26 Jul 2024
Director: Bolanle Austen-Peters
Producer: Bolanle Austen-Peters
Stars: Femi Branch , Mike Afolarin , Funke Akindele , Toyin Abraham , Ibrahim Chatta , Femi Adebayo
Shadow Force (2025)
0 /10
Kyrah and Isaac were once the leaders of a multinational special forces group called Shadow Force. They broke the rules by falling in love, and in order to protect their son, they go underground. With a large bounty on their heads, and the vengeful Shadow Force hot on their trail, one family's fight becomes all-out war.
Run Time: 1hr 43` . MMPA: R . Release: 01 May 2025
Director: Paulo Orellana , Jayson Merrill , Tim Trella
Producer: Juliana Muñoz , Carlos Rey del Castillo , Gustavo Borbon
Stars: Mark Strong , Kerry Washington , Omar Sy , Da'Vine Joy Randolph , Method Man , Ed Quinn
A Working Man (2025)
0 /10
Levon Cade left behind a decorated military career in the black ops to live a simple life working construction. But when his boss's daughter, who is like family to him, is taken by human traffickers, his search to bring her home uncovers a world of corruption far greater than he ever could have imagined.
Run Time: 1hr 56` . MMPA: R . Release: 26 Mar 2025
Director: Kaya Frances Moore , Eddie J. Fernandez , Jack Fontaine
Producer: Chris Long , Sylvester Stallone , Kevin King Templeton
Stars: Jason Statham , David Harbour , Michael Peña , Jason Flemyng , Arianna Rivas , Noemi Gonzalez
Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning (2025)
0 /10
Ethan Hunt and team continue their search for the terrifying AI known as the Entity — which has infiltrated intelligence networks all over the globe — with the world's governments and a mysterious ghost from Hunt's past on their trail. Joined by new allies and armed with the means to shut the Entity down for good, Hunt is in a race against time to prevent the world as we know it from changing forever.
Run Time: 2hr 50` . MMPA: PG-13 . Release: 17 May 2025
Director: Tommy Gormley , Rebecca Sheridan , Wade Eastwood
Producer: Matt Craufurd , David Ellison , Jake Myers
Stars: Tom Cruise , Hayley Atwell , Ving Rhames , Simon Pegg , Vanessa Kirby , Henry Czerny
The Last Stand of Ellen Cole (2024)
0 /10
When an evil contractor goes to extreme measures to evict a testy tenant who is standing in the way of his new project, he fails to take into account that this seemingly harmless old woman is a trained killer and will do anything to protect her beloved home.
Run Time: 1hr 32` . MMPA: . Release: 18 Oct 2024
Director: Clif Prowse , Derek Lee
Producer: Michele Zarate , Yariv Milchan , Marlaina Mah
Stars: Lin Shaye , Liz Caribel Sierra , Craig Tate , Ty Olsson , Karan Gill , Hart Bochner
Out of Exile (2023)
0 /10
Recently paroled thief Gabriel Russell tries to balance his life and mend a troubled family as an FBI agent hunts him down, along with his crew after a botched armored car robbery.
Run Time: 1hr 47` . MMPA: R . Release: 20 Jan 2023
Director: Kyle Kauwika Harris
Producer: Kelley Gann , Marcus Cox , Jacob Snovel
Stars: Adam Hampton , Karrie Cox , Kyle Jacob Henry , Ryan Merriman , Peter Greene , Hayley McFarland
Crypto Legacy (2020)
2.5 /10
Troy Morgan doesn't like his family's farm. The place creeps him out. After spotting some strange lights one evening, Troy and his little sister Carrie go to investigate the creepy barn.
Run Time: 1hr 11` . MMPA: . Release: 01 Oct 2020
Director: Charles Townsend
Producer: Charles Townsend
Stars: Sheri Gill Dixon , Brian Kunz , Brandon Young , Nathaniel Barton , Linzi Gray , Thalia Reynolds
The Suicide Squad (2021)
7.2 /10
Supervillains Harley Quinn, Bloodsport, Peacemaker and a collection of nutty cons at Belle Reve prison join the super-secret, super-shady Task Force X as they are dropped off at the remote, enemy-infused island of Corto Maltese.
Run Time: 2hr 12` . MMPA: R . Release: 28 Jul 2021
Director: James McGrady , Guy Norris , Katy Galow
Producer: Matteo Veglia , Walter Hamada , Simon Hatt
Stars: Margot Robbie , Idris Elba , John Cena , Joel Kinnaman , Sylvester Stallone , Viola Davis
Warfare (2025)
0 /10
A platoon of Navy SEALs embarks on a dangerous mission in Ramadi, Iraq, with the chaos and brotherhood of war retold through their memories of the event.
Run Time: 1hr 35` . MMPA: R . Release: 09 Apr 2025
Director: Ray Mendoza , Emily Thomas , Alex Garland
Producer: Matthew Penry-Davey , Allon Reich , Rose Powell
Stars: Charles Melton , Joseph Quinn , Will Poulter , Kit Connor , Cosmo Jarvis , Finn Bennett
Remnant (2024)
0 /10
Grace is a young woman whose life has been turned upside down by tragedy. When she returns home to the family farm to rebuild her shattered life, her world begins to unravel as a series of strange events haunt her, pushing Grace to the edge of madness. A mysterious figure lurks in the shadows and a ghostly woman appears in the darkness of night. Is Grace imagining these apparitions, or are they a warning of a nightmare still to come?
Run Time: 1hr 52` . MMPA: . Release: 30 Jun 2024
Director: Mike Horan
Producer:
Stars: Nicole Pritchard , Shaun Robert Foley , Tsu Shan Chambers , Remi Webster , Megan Bell , Martin Ashley Jones