New York, nineteen ninety seven. The entire city is a walled maximum security
prisoner. The bridges are mine and the rivers are patrolled, and the United
States Police Force has everything under control. Now if I'm going in John Carpenters
Escape from New York, the high adventure of the future. One man must
go in where no man has ever gotten out. John Carpenters Escape from New
York, the greatest escape of them all, is about to blow the future
apart. For us in twenty twenty three, to view nineteen ninety seven as
a post apocalyptic wasteland is quite absurd. However, in the seventies and eighties,
films that took place in the future showed this ruined society where crime and
scoundrels ruled destitute areas. This week's film does this and brought us one of
the most underrated action heroes or anti heroes, depending on your view in cinema
history. Released in nineteen eighty one and directed by horror slash action film maestro
John Carpenter, Escape from New York introduces us to criminal Snake Pliskin played by
Kurt Russell, a prisoner that receives an offer to have his record washed away
by police Commissioner Ouk Western film veteran leaving Cleef. The task is a suicide
mission to go into the secured state of New York to rescue the kidnapped President
of the United States from a group a violent anti government insurgents and a tape
the president has that can bring world peace. The catches Snake only has twenty
four hours to do it or he dies. Our introduction was the trailer that
sets the stage for this film. Our next clip is how in Snake meeting
for the first time, when Howe gives Snake his proposal, even though we
have no evidence to lead us to this assumption. As viewers, the roles
are clearly defined in this interaction. Snake is the ultra cool anti hero and
how is this utolitarian man in a law that just has this sneaky and swarmy
vibe to him. This is essentially because of the brilliant performance of Van Cleave.
All Right, he's dangerous, sir, I know I'll be okay,
I'm not a full Blisken. Go my Snake. S D. Blisken American
Lieutenant Special Forces Unit black Light two Purple Hearts, Lenning Red and Siberia youngest
men to be decorated by the President. He robbed the Federal Reserve Depository,
Life Sentence, New York Maximum Security Penitentiary. Ready to kick your ass out
of the World War Hero? Who are you? Houk Police Commissioner Bob Hawk,
Special Forces Unit Texas Thunder We heard of YouTube, Plisken, Why are
we talking? Have a deal for you? He received full pardon for every
criminal action you've committed in the United States. There was an accident about an
hour ago. A small jet went down inside New York City. The president
was on board, President of one. That's not funny, Plisken. You
go in, find the president, bring him out in twenty four hours,
and you're a freeman twenty four hours. I'm making you an offer straight,
just like I said. I'll think about it no time. Give me an
answer, get a new president. We're still at war, a Plisken,
you need him alive. I don't give out your war or your president.
Is that your answer? I'm thinking about it. Think hard. Why me
You flew the Gulfire over Lenning Grid. You know how to get in quiet?
You're olipt gah. I guess they go in one way or the other
you give me the paper when you come out before I told you it wasn't
a fool comy Snake. No action film would be complete without sidekicks, and
this film delivers those in every way. First you have Brain played by the
late Harry Dean Stanton, a man that betrade Snake in his past. Brain's
assistant Maggie played by Adrian Barbow, and the lovable Cabby comedy legend Ernest Borgnine.
Our next two clips are the introduction two Snake sidekicks. First we meet
Cabby. What is great about him is he is so upbeating, jovial despite
society crumbled around him in everything being in disarray. And then Cabby takes Snake
to Brain and Maggie. What is great is how Snake just remains calm and
cool despite wanting to end Brain's life for his past betrayal. Where are you
going, buddy, that neighborhood snake. You don't want to be walking from
the barery at forty second Street at night. I've been driving a cabin for
thirty years and I'm telling you you don't walk around here at night. Hi,
yes, kill a kill you, strip you and ten seconds Usually I'm
not done around him myself. But I wanted to catch that show. This
stuff is like gold around here. You know, Hey, Snake, when'd
you get in? I didn't even know they caught you. Oh, Snake,
let's get in my cab. You way to like tell Annie, Hey,
hang on, Snake, Hey, what were you doing back there?
Snake looking for somebody? Well, we didn't ask me. Hell I know
everybody in this town. Yes, sir, I've been driving his cap for
thirty years, this very same cab. I'm gonna ask you, now,
where's the president? The Duke got him? Everybody knows that Duke's got him?
Or you don't have to put a gun to my head. I'll tell
you who's the Duke? The Duke, the Duke of New York, A
number one, the big man. That's who I want to meet, this
duke. You can't meet the Duke, are you crazy? Nobody gets to
meet the Duke. You meet him much and then you're dead. And now
Snake meets Brain and Maggie. I brought somebody to see it. Harold Hellman,
Snake, Harold, how you've been Harold? It's been a long time.
You never told me you knew Snake flisk and brain is nuds. Great,
Hey, Brad, I can do some guess we can express him.
Glad. You remember me? Yeah, man should remember past Kansas City four
years ago. You ran out on me. You left me sitting there.
You were late. We were buddies there, Ald You, me and Fresno
Bob. You know what they did to Bob. You want to see him
sprayed all over that map? Baby, where's the President? I swear to
God, snake, I don't know. Why do you want to know?
I want him working for the man now, and I'll just beat it out
of your squeeze. He doesn't know exactly where he is, and unless you
know exactly precisely where he is, you'll never find him. Listen, I'll
take you out of here, Yeah, Jed Glidder, just a couple of
blocks down the street, and all you gotta do is get me to him,
No kidding on the Hey, will you take me too? We gotta
deal somewhere else, No, Glider, We've got the president and the Duke's
taken everybody out of here. Never happened, baby, You see I know
something you and the Duke don't know. Only God. So long before mister
President, doesn't mean a whole lot. You're lying. Maybe he's not.
I know him looking at his base. He's lying, right, Harold,
I'm lying, so I might as well have some fun and keep looking by
myself. Brain. Talk to him, baby, Brain, you'll kill us
both. You always were smart, Harold. Just one thing right now,
don't call me Harold. So far in this review, we have introduced the
hero Orienti hero his sidekicks, and although we have heard him referenced previously,
we haven't talked about him. The villain, The Duke, played by music
legend Isaac Hayes, is a man that oversees New York and has masterminded the
kidnapping of the President. He also wants to get a diagram that Brain has
drawn up that will secure the escape from this city, with the President being
used as a bartering chip. Our final clip for this week's episode shows what
makes him a villain. Here, he calmly and coldly shoots an assault weapon
at and around the President while the President is chained to the wall. All
they hear him recite that the Duke is a one and runs New York.
Mm hmm, don't move, snake, M I want that DIAGRAMD brain.
Um, it's at my place, Duke, Duke that Pliskin said something about
a time limit or time limit on him. That's a lot of crap.
What did I teach you? You are do New New York. You're hey
number one. I can't hear you. You the Duke of New York.
You're a number one. Give me the diagram, Duke, don't kill Pliskin.
We need him. Get moving brain. Our previous John Carpenter film,
We Looked At Big Trouble in Little China, became a cult cli classic.
It wasn't successful upon release, but garnered love and appreciation as the years went
on, and much like many of his films, John Carpenter is the quintessential
independent filmmaker. He makes films that he wants to make without constraints of a
major studio. For the most part. Because of this, this film was
made on only a budget of six million dollars and was mainly financed off the
success of Carpenter's horror classic Halloween. It ended up raking in twenty five million
and spawned a sequel in nineteen ninety six, Escape from La It is very
hard to put this film into one specific genre. Is it noir, Is
it sci fi? Is it action? Is it adventure? Is it drama?
My answer is simple, who cares? It is a film that meets
aspects of so many genres that it's unfair to pigeonhole it into just one.
With great performances, stellar action scenes in a vibrant electronic based soundtrack composed by
Carpenter himself, this film is a great way for anyone to spend one hundred
minutes with a bowl of popcorn, or to just escape from our world in
view Carpenter's world and his post apocalyptic vision. I hope you join me next
week when we will dive into one of my favorite genres of film, film
noir, with the nineteen forty four noir crime thriller Double Indemnity for WMNH in
Matt Connort Unleashed. This has been a classic film review with Eric Culture the