FemaleFirst.co.uk: DVD: Escape From New York [DVD] [1981]

Escape From New York [DVD] [1981]
enlarge	Director: John Carpenter Actors: Isaac Hayes, Harry Dean Stanton, Donald Pleasence, Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef Studio: Optimum Home Entertainment Category: DVD List Price: ~~£12.99~~ Buy New: £3.44 as of 22/11/2009 18:29 GMT details You Save: £9.55 (74%) New (14) from £3.44 Seller: direct_offers_uk Rating: 2 reviews Sales Rank: 6410 Format: PAL Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over Region: 2 Number Of Discs: 1 Running Time: 95 Minutes Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2 Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6 EAN: 5055201803818 ASIN: B0019GJ4EW Theatrical Release Date: 1981 Release Date: August 4, 2008 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days


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Customer Reviews: CULT TREND SETTING FILM IN IT'S TIME July 28, 2009 JESSICA'S DAD (Trichur East, Kerala State, India) 2 out of 2 found this review helpful Escape From New York [DVD] [1981] br /When the film was actually released in India, there were only a very meagre number of people owning television sets or for that matter even VCRs in the entire city of Mangalore. I saw it on the big screen and was immeadiately hooked to the film. The popularity spread through word of mouth and it ran for not less than thirty days. That was a record for any hollywood movie including Star Wars. Eventhough, when viewed today, in 2009, youngsters might complain that the theme feels rather ludicrous (the concept of Manhattan island becoming a maximum security penetentiary in the year 1997, seperated from the rest of the United States and patrolled by highly trained cops.) Kurt Russell plays 'Snake Plisken' a decorated Vet, gone renegade, who is sent on a mission into Manhattan island to rescue the President of the United States, when Airforce One crashes into New York.Donald Pleasence plays the President, held hostage by a criminal named 'the Duke' of New York (Issac Hayes).John Carpenter's crisp direction,the gripping score and the low-light cinematography will surely have you at the edge of your seat. Each and every character is well written and portrayed. Ernest Borgnine as a cabby, Harry Dean Stanton as 'Brain', Adrienne Barbeau, another Carpenter regular, portrays Brain's girl-friend, Maggie. All give terrific performances. Many of my friends have critisized the film as a mere two dimentional pulp. But probably they are comparing it to modern day special effects wizardry in films like The Terminator etc..But I still maintain that in the 1980s there was no other film in the futuristic category which earned it such a mass hysteric CULT following that has not waned even to this day. Even John Carpenter could not come up with a good follow-up movie. 'Escape from L.A', is nothing even remotely near 'Escape from New York'. The film even created a whole new generation of Kurt Russel fans, which significantly benifitted Mr.Russell's career graph. I strongly recommend the film to all die-hard fans of John Carpenter or Kurt Russell. Even if you are not a fan, every time you see this DVD from Amazon, you will get the urge to watch it again and again. The images in the restored version are really good. The sound quality also has been re-masterd, from the original print. If you have a good home-theater with either Dolby 5.1 or DTS, then this film is a treat to watch. You will wonder,"Gosh, the film ended so quickly." That is the magic of this film. 'The Duke of New York", Issac Hayes travels in a special Cadillac fitted with Chandeliars in the front. Plus he has his own theme, which plays ever time the car rolls into frame.Out-Right, Top-Class Entertainment that can be viewed any number of times. Take my word for it. You won't regret buying the DVD. 100% POSITIVE. A word of caution to other buyers from India: A cheaper DVD marketed by an Indian company is available in India, from any retail outfit. But folks, you ARE going to be highly dissapointed because the DVD has been made from an Indian Censored print of the 1980s. The length is way short and all the good scenes are missing. So my advice to Indian buyers is, if you access, buy the Amazon DVD. It is in a class of its own. When Bad Attitude Became Cool November 7, 2009 J. Severidt (Rovaniemi, Finland) Never was this movie more badly needed than it is today! Confronted with an uninterrupted stream of movies consisting of little besides astronomically expensive computer generated visuals, it is ever so comforting to remember that three extremely cheap movies form the late 70s and early 80s defined what movie-goers what come to expect from the genre. These movies were, of course, Mad Max (1979), Escape from New York (1981) and The Terminator (1984). (Naturally, Max 2: Road Warrior (1982) belongs in there, too.) br / br /Mad Max introduced the dystopia as the background to an action film, reducing the Happy Ending to a caricature. EfNY introduced the Anti-Hero and made bad-ass attitudes hip, and Terminator taught us that it is more important to be cool than realistic, and that punch lines are more important than dialogue. Though Mad Max set the course, EfNY holds a key position: br / br /Everyone knows the storyline: In the near future (turned past already), Manhattan Island is a high security prison, existing on its own rules. There are no guards inside, just a paramilitary force surrounding it, killing everyone who tries to get out. it is into this nest of adders that Air Force One crashes, leaving the president of the USA at the mercy of the mob. Anti-hero Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) is an American nightmare (and embarrassment) of the first order, a highly decorated war hero turned plain robber, who lives without any sort of moral ("It is about the survival of the human race. I know you don't give a damn.") br / br /Spoiler alert! br / br /During the course of the film, Plissken will enter the pit, and rescue the president. He will look on the mankind at its most vile - and be sincerely underwhelmed. And in one of the most memorable endings in the history of the movie, he will exchange the tape recording of a speech meant to ensure the survival of the human race for a tape of Dixieland jazz. br / br /No more spoilers ahead. br / br /The movie was shot on a miniscule budget in the nastier parts of New Orleans, with crew members carrying tons of junk around and setting it on fire for a dystopian, almost surreal background. In 2009 I found it just as enjoyable to watch as in the 80s, in fact, more so: The underlying current of irony and sarcasm are more readily appreciated now I am grown up. The punks surrounding the "Duke of New York", the ugly, cowardly and shallow president, and Snake's kiss-my-butt attitude haven't lost any of their appeal. br / br /The movie proved unfathomably influential: The Road Warrior is not just Max a few years down the road, he is a mixture of Max and Snake Plissken. The Terminator took both the biceps and the punch lines to a new level, neither the Lethal Weapon nor the Die Hard films would be conceivable, nor could Quentin Tarantino have created a cult based on bad attitude. br / br /This is the rarest thing: A must-have both for fans of action flicks and for fans of subversive independent films. br /

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