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Escape From New York - Blu-ray (1981) Certificate 15

Escape From New York - Blu-ray
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Rated 3.5 stars
Average rating
(68%)
 
Starring: Isaac Hayes | Harry Dean Stanton | Donald Pleasence | Kurt Russell | Lee Van Cleef | Ernest Borgnine | Adrienne Barbeau | Season Hubley
Director: John Carpenter
Studio: OPTIMUM HOME ENTERTAINMENT
Run time: 95 mins
Collections: Blu-ray
Genres: Action/Adventure | Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Languages: English
Released: August 04, 2008

Another John Carpenter cult classic, 'Escape From New York' was one of the best entries in the once popular post-apocalyptic genre which included 'Road Warrior' and 'The Terminator'. In 1997, the island of Manhattan has been turned into the world's largest maximum-security prison, a place where the worst of humanity is sent to rot. The U.S. Government finds itself in a major crisis when the president's plane crash-lands in New York only days before a vital peace summit between major warring nations is to take place. The president survives the crash, but is taken hostage by the denizens of Manhattan and held for ransom. Only war hero turned felon Snake Plissken can save the day, and he is offered a simple deal for his work: save the president and live, fail to save him and die. The one-eyed bandit sets to work, cutting a path of destruction to the president that has to be seen to be believed. Kurt Russell creates the indelible character of Snake Plissken as no other actor could have. Wisecracking and cool under the very worst of pressures, Snake is the ultimate bad good guy. Often copied, but never duplicated, 'Escape From New York' is full of the wit, energy and action that mark a John Carpenter picture.

Highest rated reviews

2 out of 2 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 1.0 stars
Not quite good enough

Atlantic from , 7th October, 2008

Just watched the Blu-ray version. The film is now looking really old and dated. What I remember having enjoyed all those years ago is now quite awful. Russell is actually a supremely lousy (over) actor (oh how I hate that whispering voice he seemed to think was appropriate for this work of art), as is that just awful awful Barbeau woman, but even more so, and the perpetually confused-looking Lee Van Cleef should have called a halt after his cowboy movies with Clint et al. The whole story is a confused contrived mish-mash. I actually dozed off for a while and then gave up half an hour before the end. Additionally, it's a barely worthwhile conversion to Blu-ray, looking not much better than the best SD DVDs. I really wouldn't bother.

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2 out of 2 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 3.0 stars
80s classic gone Blu

RJNeb2 from , 6th September, 2008

This is an odd choice film to make it onto Blu-ray. Although at the time it represented John Carpenter's biggest budgeted film, it now looks quite tatty and cheap. Some very obvious modelwork and wobbly sets make it all too clear that the film's ambition didn't match its budget. And the cinematography is another element to suffer from the low budget. It's not the best transfer you're likely to see, though the sound effects come over quite well, including Carpenter's own rather dated electronic score. Still, it's a lot of fun and Kurt Russell's Snake Plissken is now the stuff of legend.

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Rated 3.0 stars
!!

bignatt from from Nottingham, 20th June, 2009

a one of a kind a must watch for any film fan

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Rated 5.0 stars
good blue ray disk

smcglade from , 8th May, 2009

this film has good pictue and sound and is worth burying.

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Most recent reviews

Rated 4.0 stars
escape from new york

A Customer from Bootle, 26th January, 2009

abit cheesy in places,but well worth a watch,quite enjoyed it

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Rated 5.0 stars
Escape From New York

A Customer from Bathgate, 26th November, 2008

Fab classic - great to see it on Blu-Ray

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