Escape from New York [Blu-ray]

Escape From New York is one of those films that seems to improve each decade it survives, not merely because of nostalgia, though nostalgia is certainly lifting a little weight here, but because it’s stripped-down confidence stands in sharp contrast to the bloated, lore-obsessed action franchises of today. It is a B-movie executed with A-movie personality, anchored by a performance from Kurt Russell that should be studied in a class titled “How to Be Cool Without Trying.” Despite a few underpowered moments and the occasional questionable prop design, the film remains a lean, evocative, wonderfully unpretentious piece of science-fiction pulp, and for all these reasons, and of course because it does not, under any circumstances, overstay its welcome. Escape From New York earns a solid 9 out of 10, with a hearty recommendation for anyone who misses the days when an action movie could be quick, dirty, and utterly memorable.

4k video and audio is amazing. Best version to watch for fans.

Great movie and a claassic packaging.

Awesome movie, a classic. Sturdy case

This is far from Carpenter's best. The reason is clear when the movie is watched with commentary. Most demanding special effects were deemed too expensive, so animation was used to bridge the gap. The movie comes off like a Tron wannabe interspersed with scenes from The Walking Dead. For mindless violence, it isn't bad.

Great movie classic Russel classic carpenter

Back in 1981, John Carpenter released a film, set in 1997, that depicted a somewhat bleak future for the United States in that the crime rate had risen to the point where it was necessary to turn New York City into a maximum security prison by enclosing the island in giant, concrete walls, installing landmines on the access bridges, and providing constant surveillance with the threat of death for any that try to escape. Felons convicted and sent to this prison are given the option of execution rather than being forced to try and survive in this hellish, nightmare environment. Truly only the strongest and most ruthless survive behind these walls. The female narration, done by Carpenter favorite Jamie Lee Curtis, at the beginning ends with the ominous line, "Once you go in, you never come out." After this is set up, we learn that, while en route to an extremely important conference, the president's plane has been hijacked, and is crashed inside the prison. The inmates recover the president, and threatening to kill him if any attempt is made to release him. A plan is formulated, one including the recently captured, ex-military, now convicted, criminal Snake Plisskin (Kurt Russell) to send him in, alone, and try to bring the president out alive, offering him a full pardon should he succeed. Only problem is, due to time constraints, of the conference, Snake only has 24 hours to complete this mission, if he accepts it. Another minor glitch...without his knowing it, microscopic implants are inserted into Snake's neck in case he decided to skip out, and are set to go off unless Snake can recover the president and return him safely within the time allotted. This has always been one of my favorite movies. It brings to life the perfect anti-hero, the outlaw. We've seen and loved this type of character before, like in the Clint Eastwood western movies of the 60's. America loves an outlaw, and John Carpenter has brought the character into the future. Escape From New York is an excellent example of a low budget movie that is really well made, from the realistic sets and scenery, characters, casting, scripting, direction, and music, all of which was composed by John Carpenter himself. Kurt Russell plays Snake so perfectly that you'll never picture anyone else in the role. Other actors that provide wonderful performances, many of which Carpenter uses in his later films, are Harry Dean Stanton, Donald Pleasance, Adrienne Barbeau, Ernest Borgnine, Lee Van Cleef, and Tom Atkins. And let's not forget Isaac Hayes as The Duke of New York, leader of the most powerful gang within the prison, and the one holding the president in hopes of using him to escape. Another thing is that this movie moves. There is no plodding, the plot is clearly defined and drives the movie to its' satisfying conclusion. The special features included in this special edition DVD are many, and listed thoroughly on the product page. Included is the eleven-minute sequence involving Snake, a bank robbery, and subsequent capture that led him to be sentenced to the prison. This was only available before on the laserdisc version, so I am really glad it made it here. After watching it and listening to the commentary, you'll understand why it was cut from the movie, but the gist is that it humanized the character of Snake too much. Also included from the laserdisc version is a full-length commentary by John Carpenter and Kurt Russell. Many commentaries I watch tend to be dry and boring, but it was wonderful listening to these two talk about scenes and reminisce. They go into great detail, all while keeping it interesting. Some of the other extras are nice, but probably not for everyone, like the mini comic book and the additional commentary by producer Deborah Hill and production designer Joe Alves. It's a bit dry and boring, and probably only would appeal to the more hardcore fans. And last but not least is the quality of the picture. It looks beautiful and crisp, better than I have ever seen it. All in all, this release is truly befitting of the title 'Special Edition'. This movie was followed up in 1996 by a somewhat disappointing sequel called Escape From LA. The elements were pretty much there for that one, but the gritty edginess that made Escape From New York so wonderful just wasn't. Maybe too much time had passed between the movies. Cookieman108

I'll keep this short since this movie is roughly 30 years old and anything that there is to be said about it has been said already. This new release was barebones, I knew that going in, so I'm not going to take away a star for that because I just want the movie to look and sound as good as possible right now. I know that there will be a re-release at some point in the near future - either for the 30'th anniversary or for a "first look" at the upcoming remake. I'm sure this is going to happen. I'll worry about that when it happens, and decide what to do with this release when the time comes (if I decide that I *need* to have the extras on Blu-ray). Anyway... The transfer is great. Easily the best this film has ever looked outside of the theater. This release wasn't a DNR nightmare and lacks the edge enhancement and contrast boost mess that took place in the UK release. The picture here is nice (it looks a little dark, but it seems natural) - probably the best it will ever look on Blu-ray. The audio was amazing as well. Amazing DTS-HD MA track! There was only one line that was difficult to hear due to the sound effects/music, but it was like that on the DVD too - so whatever - I guess that's just how it is (for anyone interested, it's whatever Brain says after he says something about redskins). A DVD was included with this release, which was unnecessary but infinitely better than a 'digital copy.' The DVD is a flipper disc that features the widescreen version on one side, and the pan-and-scan version (EWWWW) version on the other side. Now, I know what you're thinking. Is this the same disc as the 2000 DVD release (since that was a flipper disc, too)? That's what I thought at first, but I distinctly remember that disc not having a 5.1 audio track (it only had 2.0). This one has a 5.1 track. So, is it the 2003 Special Edition DVD version, but instead of it being on a regular disc, it's on a flipper disc? This one is missing the Carpenter/Russell commentary track! I don't know what MGM did, but it's like they merged the two releases or something. The picture quality on the DVD wasn't bad, and the 5.1 track was nice, so I'm *guessing* that it was the 2003 version, stripped of the commentary, and pressed on a flipper disc. Why would they do this? I have no idea. If anyone knows what exactly went on with the DVD, since it is clearly SOME kind of mixture of the two discs, feel free to comment me on it! All in all, if you just want the best looking/sounding version of 'Escape from New York' that you could possibly buy right now, this is it. If you're worried about special features, maybe you could hold off for a year or two and see if the product gets re-released (I'm betting it will be since this one is barebones and the anniversary AND remake are coming up). I didn't want to wait, so I scooped this up. I care more about outstanding picture quality than special features, so this was a good buy for me, especially with the included DVD for those times where I'll want to get my Snake Plissken on and I'm not near my only Blu-ray player (or if I want to let somebody borrow the DVD).

Solo viene en inglés audio y subtitulos. La imagen en 4 k y bluray se miran muy bien. Me hubiera gustado que llegara con slipcover pero aún asi es una excelente edición. Aún no la reproduzco pero trae 3 discos. El 4k y 2 bluray con la película y otro de características especiales. En geberal muy bonita edición y dificil para mi de encontrar.

Received region 1 DVD - it even says not for resale outside or Canada or USA (should not be sold in Europe)

Un chef-d'œuvre très respectable ! Révolutionnaire dans son concept, ses idées, sa cinématographie à son époque. John Carpenter est décidemment un très grand cinéaste de la débrouille.

Kurt russell est extra en snake plissken

Yes