DVD REVIEW
"Escape from New York"
(New Line Cinema)

Entertainment
Art

By JUSTIN GRANZIN

Kurt Russell could act as Julia Roberts’ stunt double for the rest of his career. I won’t care. As far as I’m concerned, he’s done more great work than ninety percent of the acting world. Sure he’s had misfires like "3000 Miles to Graceland," but he’s also responsible for some of the greatest pop icons of the eighties. There are three films of his that stand out more than most: "The Thing," "Big Trouble in Little China" and "Escape From New York." They are the films he will best be remembered by, and they all have something in common—they all came from the creative mind of John Carpenter.

"The Thing" still holds up as one of the greatest modern horror classics. "Big Trouble in Little China" featured Russell as truck driver Jack Burton of the Pork Chop Express battling a martial arts master that could shoot lightning from his fingertips long before Raiden made it cool in "Mortal Kombat." Before those, though, he played the neo-pirate Snake Plissken in "Escape from New York," the only guy who could kick Jack Burton’s ass—unless Wang Chi was there to fight, of course.

While I believe "The Thing" is Carpenter’s greatest achievement, I also believe that, after "Halloween," he will be most remembered for "Escape from New York." Thankfully, the long awaited special edition of which has finally come to fruition. Fans of the film may already have the original release of it on DVD; but if you do, you know that the non-anamorphic transfer, the picture quality, sound quality and lack of extra features leave something to be desired. Well, desire no more. This long-rumored, ever-delayed two-disc set gives this cult flick the treatment it deserves.

If you haven’t seen it (shame on you) here’s a rundown of the plot: It’s 1997 and the crime rate of America has sky rocketed. Because of this, Manhattan Island has been turned into a prison compound. Criminals move there after sentencing, and they can never leave. If they try to leave, they are killed on the spot. There are no guards in the city and mayhem rules the streets. In the skies above, radicals have hijacked the President of the United States’ plane, Airforce One. The radicals then proceed to crash the plane into the New York skyline. Fortunately, for the film’s sake, the President is able to escape in a small pod that resembles a Pac-Man power pellet. He manages to evade certain death in the crash, but lands in the heart of Manhattan Island and is taken captive until certain demands are met.

Enter Snake Plissken.

The anti-hero with an eye patch had recently been captured after a failed bank robbery attempt and sentenced to life in Manhattan. But when it surfaces that he knows the Manhattan underground and was trained by the military to be a killer, he becomes the U.S.’s last hope to rescue the President, and is offered his freedom if he succeeds. Snake reluctantly agrees.

So what makes this a cult classic?

"Escape from New York" is the ultimate cynical, dark future film with a dash of black comedy. The most major metropolitan city, the center of America’s news and money, has been turned into a prison compound. The streets and buildings are run down, the military shoots first and asks questions later and the main character wears an eye patch. Isaac Hayes plays the film’s main villain, and two spaghetti western legends, Ernest Borgnine and Lee Van Cleef, play an informant and the law, in that order.

For years, people have identified with Snake’s loner and rebel persona. Not because people want to go out and rob banks, but because he taps into everyone’s loner mantra. He is the ultimate island of a man that balks at authority and doesn’t care about anything or anyone. Snake is the anti-hero of a generation. His influence is far-reaching enough to inspire the main character’s name in "Metal Gear," one of the most successful video games—ever.

The film is bleak, and it ends bleak. There’s nothing wrong with that either. "Escape from New York" isn’t for everyone, and that’s why it has achieved cult status. It knows its audience, and it is executed exactly as you would expect it to. There are faults to the film, however. Some points are hurt immensely by budget and technology. For instance, the plane crashing into the building is done with animation meant to look like a computer screen. There’s no explosion or toppling building to be found. We know what happens, but there was no way an early eighties film could have convincingly pulled off an effect like that. Other shortcomings of the film come in the form of viewer preferences. Some may find the dialog over-the-top cheesy, while others eat it up. Kurt Russell does a great Clint Eastwood impression throughout.

As mentioned before, the DVD boasts some pretty good stuff. First and foremost, the picture quality is stunning. The first edition of this DVD did nothing to instill confidence in the medium, but it is rectified here. The transfer is anamorphic, so the lucky ones with widescreen televisions can shout with glee. The black is definitely black, and rarely are any particles or flecks found on your screen.

The sound got an update, too. A new 5.1 Digital Surround Sound track makes the channels crisp and clear. Most don’t know that John Carpenter scores many of his own films, and "Escape from New York" was no exception. Your ears will either love or kill you when they get to hear eighties synthesizer music blasted from all fronts.

Still on disc one, there are two commentary tracks. The best one is a track with John Carpenter and Kurt Russell. If you’ve heard them on any other commentaries before you know what I’m talking about. Not only do they give you a ton of great inside information on the cast and crew, they also give great insight on what makes "Escape from New York" the cult film that it is. The other commentary is by Producer Debra Hill and Production Designer Joe Alves. This commentary is much more dry and humorless than the Russell/Carpenter track, but you may get some interesting tidbits out of it. They talk about the design of the film and the special effects more than anything else. Unfortunately, much of what is spoken about is already covered in the other commentary.

Disc two has a few noteworthy items in it. The best of which is the alternate opening sequence. Originally, we were going to be introduced to Snake much earlier in the film. This deleted scene has Snake robbing a bank and getting captured. It’s nice to have on the disc, but, ultimately, I’m glad it didn’t make the final cut. Russell doesn’t seem to have his full-blown Snake persona down yet, and it doesn’t fit the tone of the rest of the film.

One documentary resides on the disc as well. "Return to Escape from New York" is a nostalgic look at the cast and crew of the film. You’ll get to see the actors that are still alive revisit the film and discuss why they enjoyed working on it. It’s short and doesn’t show any of the behind the scenes stuff that so many documentaries on DVDs now have. It’s a quick look that focuses on the actors, but I would have preferred more on the making of the flick.

The popularity of Snake Plissken also spawned a series of comic books, "The Snake Plissken Chronicles," and this package includes an exclusive issue. Along with it, there is a photo gallery with captions that shows the creation of the comic book—truly for the diehard Snake fan. Carpenter filled the DVD with some linear notes in the inside cover, and the whole thing is nicely put together in a folding cardboard cover. It’s a sweet package, and I imagine this will be the best version of this film that we will ever see. Highly recommended.