Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

Escape from New York Blu-ray Movie Review

The Big Apple is rotten.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman April 18, 2015

When one Rudolph Giuliani undertook a major scrubbing of Manhattan during his mayoralty, promising to make formerly (supposedly) nefarious spots like Times Square family friendly, he perhaps helped to erase the last vestiges of a situation which informed the subtext of John Carpenter’s fondly remembered 1981 film Escape from New York. Even during Giuliani’s reign, when typically curmudgeonly New Yorkers may have been perhaps a little surprised at the changes their urban environment was undergoing, there was at least a simmering subcutaneous feeling of incipient chaos that might break out, despite the best efforts of a gentrification that by most accounts did materially improve the look if not the actual feel of the Big Apple’s mean streets. But things were definitely tamped down under Giuliani’s aegis, at least in terms of rampant, in your face, crime, and memories perhaps soon faded as to how things had been before Giuliani and his team took a figurative antiseptic wipe to the burg. That adrenaline fueled, slightly scary ambience which had been part of New York’s stock in trade for untold decades before this turn of events may have provided at least the semblance of “reality” in the admittedly pretty fanciful setup of Carpenter’s film, where the entire island of Manhattan has been sequestered from the decent folks of law abiding society and turned into a prison. In the wild and wooly eighties it wasn’t hard to imagine the already turbulent environment of New York City tipping completely over into lawlessness, and the concept of simply transforming the isle into a fortress filled with criminals may not have seemed that big of a stretch. Carpenter is actually on record as stating it wasn’t New York’s then roiling atmosphere which inspired his original screenplay (written in the 1970s) as much as a post-Watergate feeling of cynicism and perhaps even disgust with government, though Carpenter also has basically stated that it didn’t take a rocket scientist to look at the “jungle” of New York and imagine a scenario where the inmates took control of whatever remained of the asylum. This new Shout! Factory release touts a new 2K scan of the film's interpositive struck from the original negative (more about that in the video section, below), while also porting over both previously released (DVD) supplements and a bevy of new material that were not part of the previous bare bones release from MGM.

In his highly entertaining commentary included on this new Blu-ray as a supplement, even Carpenter laughs at one conceit of Escape from New York, namely the admittedly hilarious “escape pod” that panicked staffers stuff the (late 1990s) President of the United States (Donald Pleasance) into when Air Force One is hijacked by a terrorist, in a scene that eerily presages the horrors of 9/11. That pod of course sets the hapless leader down in the destitute environment of Manhattan, where he is soon taken hostage by the so-called Duke of New York (Isaac Hayes). The Duke has a rather simple ransom demand: the prisoners kept isolated on Manhattan must be allowed access to the mainland or the President will be assassinated.

A hard charging police commissioner named Hauk (Lee Van Cleef) sees a way out of the mess, or perhaps more appropriately, into the mess, when a former black ops expert who has gone over to the “dark side” of robbery shows up. Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) has all of the appropriate skills to mount a rescue mission, and even better, he’s properly motivated to get the job done when Hauk offers to wipe his record clean if he’s able to succeed (in a plot point lifted more or less whole cloth from The Dirty Dozen). Just to motivate Snake a little bit more, Hauk has the erstwhile criminal implanted with a mini-explosive which will take out Snake’s carotid artery after 22 hours if he hasn’t returned by that time. That puts Escape from New York on both a figurative and literal (courtesy of several inserts) countdown, as Snake glides into Manhattan and attempts to find the President before it’s too late either for the Chief Executive or Snake himself.

The rest of the film is a cat and mouse game of sorts as Snake meanders through the scary environs of a Manhattan completely overrun with lawless individuals. Along the way he’s helped by an avuncular tour guide of sorts named Cabbie (Ernest Borgnine), while ultimately teaming up with Duke’s former right hand man Brain (Harry Dean Stanton) and Brain’s pulchritudinous main squeeze Maggie (Adrienne Barbeau). Perhaps surprisingly, and probably at least partially attributable to Escape from New York’s relatively small budget, the film is not a series of big action set pieces, and instead tends to play out in smaller, more intimate, scenes, a choice that may frustrate those wanting a nonstop adrenaline rush.

It’s perhaps difficult to remember that at this stage of his career Kurt Russell was probably thought of as a Disney star as much as anything else. His Snake Plissken is the very definition of laconic coolness, and Russell brings a lanky athleticism to the role that’s extremely appealing (he jokes with Carpenter in their shared commentary about Carpenter having the faith that Russell could drop some pounds and buff himself up for the role, something he obviously managed to do). Escape from New York is filled to the brim with colorful supporting turns, and its general premise is compelling enough to help the film overcome some of its hokier elements. Less of a visceral in your face action flick than its reputation perhaps suggests, Escape from New York is a charming, quasi-retro escapist movie that offers a uniquely dystopian view of Manhattan that may indeed be gone with the wind.

Escape from New York Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: I've attempted to more or less reproduce at least a few of the screencaptures my colleague Casey Broadwater included in his previous Escape from New York Blu-ray review. That way curious videophiles can toggle between windows to do a side by side comparison. My review also includes a variety of screencaptures from other moments in the film so that those interested can have a bit of a broader spectrum to analyze how this transfer looks.

Escape from New York is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Scream Factory, an imprint of Shout! Factory, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. While there's nothing seriously wrong here (or at least nothing that hasn't been seen before, more or less), there are perhaps unreasonable expectations going to be fostered by ardent videophiles seeing "new 2K scan of the inter-positive, struck from the original negative" emblazoned across the back cover of this release. Anyone thinking there is going to be a wholescale improvement in sharpness, clarity, shadow detail and overall palette will probably be at least slightly disappointed. That said, there is noticeable, if slight, improvement in most of these areas, some of which might be attributable to the fact that this presentation is noticeably brighter than the previous Blu-ray (simply toggle between the first screencaptures in both reviews to see an immediate difference). This increased brightness doesn't really negate Dean Cundey's infamously "dark" cinematography, and indeed blacks are still so profound and omnipresent that the crush that has been in evidence in previous home video presentations is still on display here, albeit perhaps just slightly mitigated at times. It's obvious now that whatever elements have been utilized to strike both previous releases and this iteration have some "baked in" issues including rather abrupt changes in clarity and grain structure as well as anomalies like a thin blue line (hmmm. . .) that appears at various moments, usually just slightly to the left of the center of the frame. Those wanting a good example of clarity and grain variances should pay attention at around the 8:30 mark as Snake is being led through the hallways. All of a sudden, there's a noticeably grainier and less clear presentation toward the end of the sequence. Just a few seconds after that, at around 8:45, is the first real manifestation of that vertical blue slice through the image. It begins in the body of the helicopter but soon enough is affixed over one of the actor's faces. It recurs throughout the presentation, showing up again very noticeably at around 41:45.

While this is still a fairly soft looking presentation, detail is perhaps slightly improved here, especially in the (relatively few) more brightly lit sequences. The palette has been shifted away from the red side of things slightly as well, with a somewhat cooler presentation this time. Again, these are very minor variances, which in and of themselves should point out the need to bring reasonable expectations to viewing this after seeing the verbiage on the back cover touting this "new, improved" transfer. Finally, there's the typical online discussion of perceived compression issues on this release as there tends to be on a lot of Shout!'s product. Some of the splotchy grain issues might be at least partially attributable to compression, but overall I personally tend to think that many of the issues on display here are due to the source material and not necessarily the product of mishandling.

Escape from New York Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Escape from New York features both a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround mix as well as a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mix. Perhaps surprisingly, the 2.0 mix offers close to the same support for the soundtrack's low end, specifically with regard to the synth laden score by John Carpenter and Alan Howarth, as does the 5.1 mix. Otherwise, though, the 5.1 mix is a clear winner in terms of nicely done discrete channelization of effects and even dialogue, creating an encompassing and at times rather involving aural experience. Prioritization is excellent even in the noisier action scenes, and fidelity remains top notch throughout the presentation. Dynamic range is quite wide, and there are no problems of any kind to warrant concern.

Escape from New York Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Disc One offers the feature film along with:

• New Audio Commentary with Actress Adrienne Barbeau and Director of Photographer Dean Cundey


• Audio Commentary with Director John Carpenter and Actor Kurt Russell


• Audio Commentary with Producer Debra Hill and Production Designer Joe Alves

Disc Two:

• Big Challenges in Little Manhattan: The Visual Effects of Escape from New York (1080p; 14:27) includes some really good interviews with both Dennis Skotak, Director of Photography of Special VFX, and Robert Skotak, Unit Supervisor and Matte Artist.


• Scoring the Escape: A Discussion with Composer Alan Howarth offers Howarth offering a tour of his new studio and giving some biographical background before moving on to his collaboration with Carpenter on the score for Escape from New York.


• On Set with John Carpenter: The Images of Escape from New York (1080p; 10:50) features the work of Still Photographer Kim Gottlieb-Walker.


• I Am Taylor: An Interview with Actor Joe Unger (1080p; 8:49)


• My Night on Set: An Interview with Filmmaker David DeCoteau (1080p; 5:02) is a kind of fun reminiscence by DeCoteau.


• Deleted Scene: The Original Opening Bank Robbery Sequence (1080p; 10:46) features optional commentary by John Carpenter and Kurt Russell.


• Return to Escape from New York Featurette (1080i; 23:00) is a vintage EPK with some good interviews.


• Theatrical Trailers (1080p; 2:46)


• Photo Galleries: Movie Stills and Behind the Scenes Photos (1080i; 12:02)


• Photo Galleries: Posters and Lobby Cards (1080i; 4:12)

Escape from New York Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Escape from New York is a fun attempt by Carpenter and his crew to reinvent a sort of proto B-movie ambience in an unexpected context. With an evocative production design and several excellent performances, Escape from New York may not be the roller coaster action ride some fans may have preferred (or at least expected), but it's a consistently entertaining film that cuts to the chase—even if there isn't that much of an actual chase when you get right down to it. This new Blu-ray offers occasionally problematic video, and those who already own the previous MGM Blu-ray are well advised to compare screenshots to decide whether a double dip based solely on that element is warranted. As has been Shout! Factory's modus operandi, there are several excellent new supplements augmenting this release. Recommended.