Escape From New York

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Escape From New York

R

1981

1h 39m

Action

Adventure

Sci-Fi

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

85%

Tomatometer

72 Reviews

77%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

In 1997, a major war between the United States and the Soviet Union is concluding, and the entire island of Manhattan has been converted into a giant maximum security prison. When Air Force One is hijacked and crashes into the island, the president is taken hostage by a group of inmates. Snake Plissken, a former Special Forces soldier turned criminal, is recruited to retrieve the president in exchange for his own freedom.

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Critics Consensus

Featuring an atmospherically grimy futuristic metropolis, Escape from New York is a strange, entertaining jumble of thrilling action and oddball weirdness.

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Anton Bitel

Little White Lies

11/19/2018

1997 is the year in which the film's events are set, but far from being a bright, progressive future, it is a hyperbolic deterioration of 1981's here and now

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Phil Hoad

Guardian

10/25/2018

4/5

The film plays its social satire broad but strings it along a rail of self-awareness.

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Arthur Knight

The Hollywood Reporter

07/10/2017

It has got an intriguing premise, an effective cast, and it has been expertly mounted.

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

Apr 15

4/5

‘…John Carpenter’s still rocking 1981 action movie did an accurate job predicting a dystopian future…successfully borrows from The Omega Man and Planet of the Apes by positioning a New York where civilisation is just a memory…’

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Richard Freedman

Newark Star-Ledger

Jan 7

The film suffers from its almost unrelieved gloom.

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Alan Jones

Radio Times

09/13/2024

3/5

Despite a marvellous night-time opening sequence, this slice of escapism never really delivers on the ingenuity of its premise.

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Jason

02/08/2024

They don't make movies like these anymore. Thank you for bringing it back to the big screen.

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Joby

02/05/2024

What a great way to see a classic Carpenter/Russell collaboration. I never saw it in the theater, but this limited released allowed me to take my son to see it on the big screen. Movie still hold up today. Amazing

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S. Thomas

02/05/2024

Kurt Russell's most iconic role ever

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03Cobra

02/05/2024

An all-time classic. Never gets old. Carpenter in his prime ('76-'94).

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Edward G

@RT51238404 4d

Hadn't seen it in years, decided to try it again. Nope, just as bad as I remembered it. Bad acting, bad script, bad directing. Give me a dystopia movie like Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome over this drivel any day.

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Russell H

@RT85733992 Apr 13

This is what was good about 80s movies. Classic vibes. Love Kurt Russell. I had never seen it before

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John Carpenter

Director

Kurt Russell

Snake Plissken

Ernest Borgnine

Cabbie

Adrienne Barbeau

Maggie

Lee Van Cleef

Bob Hauk

Donald Pleasence

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Synopsis

In 1997, a major war between the United States and the Soviet Union is concluding, and the entire island of Manhattan has been converted into a giant maximum security prison. When Air Force One is hijacked and crashes into the island, the president is taken hostage by a group of inmates. Snake Plissken, a former Special Forces soldier turned criminal, is recruited to retrieve the president in exchange for his own freedom.

Director: John Carpenter
Producer: Larry J. Franco, Debra Hill
Screenwriter: Nick Castle, John Carpenter
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Embassy Pictures, AVCO Embassy Pictures, MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc.
Production Co: AVCO Embassy Pictures, Goldcrest Films International, International Film Investors
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 10, 1981, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): May 23, 2016
Runtime: 1h 39m
Sound Mix: Surround