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A- |
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| Story: |
A+ |
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| Acting: |
A |
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| Direction: |
A |
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| Visuals: |
B |
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"Escape" finally arrives in special edition dvd
by Yahoo! Movies User (movies profile)
Apr 21, 2007
5
of
7 people found this review helpful
At last MGM has released the anticipated dvd special edition of John Carpenter's 1981 sci-fi action thriller "Escape From New York". This is an amazing film that has a lot of awesome action and performances. The story is often imitated but never equalled. In 1988 crime is out of control and the government has sealed off New York City and turned it into a maximum security prison. The country's worst criminals are sent into this hell hole and must fight for survival where it's every man for himself. The prisoners make thier own rules and laws and one man rules New York with a bloody fist, "The Duke Of New York" (a splendid Isaac Hayes).In The meantime, Air Force One is hijacked by crazed terrorists and crashes into New York. The President (Donald Pleasence) is then taken hostage by The Duke and the police are warned that if they come back in, he dies. Police Comissioner Bob Hauk (Lee Van Cleef) gets permission to try a one man rescue mission to save The President. Enter Snake Plissken (AWESOME Kurt Russell doing Clint Eastwood) a former Special Forces soldier turned renegade. On his way To New York for bank robbery, Hauk, himself ex-Special Forces, offers Snake a full pardon if he goes in and rescues The President in 24 hours. To make Snake cooperate, Hauk has two capsules injected in his neck and if the 24 hour deadline ends, his neck will explode. With only hours to complete his mission, Snake must save the President and save himself in the process. This film was made in 1981 and it does sometimes looks a little dated. The special effects looked dated too but the film was made for $7 million and the limits of tecnology but does not in anyway take away from the film's impact. The movie forever destroyed Kurt Russell's image as a Disney kid and showed a lot of people that he can act in serious roles too. Snake Plissken is one of cinema's most memorable heroes and Russell gives his all in that role. The rest of the cast is good from Harry Dean Stanton as Brain (An old war buddy Snake has a vendetta against) Adrienne Barbeau as Maggie (Gun Moll) Donald Pleasence as The Pres and the great Lee Van Cleef as Hauk. (Oh did i mention Isaac Hayes as "The Duke" A No1) Finally a special edition dvd arrives that is loaded with extra goodies. Here's a list
1.Commentary by John Carpenter and Kurt Russell
2.Commentary by Debra Hill and Joe Alves
3."Return To Escape From New York" featurette featuring all new interviews
4.The Making Of "Snake Plissken" comic book
5.Photo Gallery
6.Theatrical Trailers
7.A letter by John Carpenter
8.Snake Plissken Comic Book
9.The original, deleted "bank robbery" sequence in it's entiry with optional commentary by Carpenter and Russell.
10.Production Notes
This is a must have DVD with lots of goodies and a comic book to match.
GO GET THIS SOON ON DECEMBER 16 TIME TO ESCAPE AGAIN |
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