Editing Escape from New York

{{short description|1981 science fiction action film by John Carpenter}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2018}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Escape from New York
| image          = EscapefromNYposter.jpg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[John Carpenter]]
| producer       = {{plainlist|
* [[Larry J. Franco|Larry Franco]]
* [[Debra Hill]]
}}
| writer         = {{plainlist|
* John Carpenter
* [[Nick Castle]]
}}
| starring       = {{plainlist|
* [[Kurt Russell]]
* [[Lee Van Cleef]]
* [[Ernest Borgnine]]
* [[Donald Pleasence]]
* [[Isaac Hayes]]
* [[Harry Dean Stanton]]
* [[Adrienne Barbeau]]
}}
| music          = {{plainlist|
* John Carpenter
* [[Alan Howarth (composer)|Alan Howarth]]
}}
| cinematography = [[Dean Cundey]]
| editing        = Todd Ramsay
| studio         = {{plainlist|
* [[Embassy Pictures|AVCO Embassy Pictures]]
* International Film Investors
* [[Goldcrest Films|Goldcrest Films International]]
* City Films
}}
| distributor    = AVCO Embassy Pictures<ref name="afi" />
| released       = {{Film date|1981|07|10|United States}}
| runtime        = 99 minutes
| country        = United States<ref name="afi">{{cite web|url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=67411|publisher=[[American Film Institute]]|title=Escape from New York|access-date=November 12, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|page=174|title=Escape From New York|magazine=[[Monthly Film Bulletin]]|volume=48|issue=564|year=1981|issn=0027-0407}}</ref>
| language       = English
| budget         = $6 million<ref name="thenumbers">{{cite news |title=''Escape from New York'' |website=[[The Numbers (website)|The Numbers]] |date=May 4, 2007 |url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/1981/0ENY1.php |access-date=May 4, 2007}}</ref>
| gross          = $50 million<ref name="Muir">{{cite book|title=The Films of John Carpenter|last=Muir|first=John Kenneth|author-link=John Kenneth Muir|publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]|year=2005|isbn=9780786422692|page=22|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CCqSCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA30}}</ref>
}}

'''''Escape from New York''''' is a 1981 American [[Independent film|independent]] [[science fiction film|science fiction]] [[action film]] co-written, co-scored and directed by [[John Carpenter]], and starring [[Kurt Russell]], [[Lee Van Cleef]], [[Ernest Borgnine]], [[Donald Pleasence]], [[Isaac Hayes]], [[Adrienne Barbeau]] and [[Harry Dean Stanton]].

The film, set in the near-future world of 1997, concerns a crime-ridden [[United States]], which has converted [[Manhattan Island]] in [[New York City]] into the country's sole [[maximum security prison]]. [[Air Force One]] is hijacked by anti-government insurgents who deliberately crash it into the walled borough. Former [[Special Forces]] and current federal prisoner [[Snake Plissken]] (Russell)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mubi.com/en/us/collections/john-carpenter-80s|title=John Carpenter's 1980s: A Double Bill|website=MUBI}}</ref> is given just 24 hours to go in and rescue the [[President of the United States]], after which, if successful, he will be pardoned.

Carpenter wrote the film in the mid-1970s in reaction to the [[Watergate scandal]]. After the success of ''[[Halloween (1978 film)|Halloween]]'' (1978), he had enough influence to begin production and filmed it mainly in [[St. Louis, Missouri]], on an estimated budget of $6 million.<ref name="thenumbers"/><ref name="Phantom">{{cite news | author=Phantom of the Movies | title=''Escape From New York'' rushes into a DVD world | pages=M24 | newspaper=[[The Washington Times]] | date=December 11, 2003}}</ref> [[Debra Hill]] and [[Larry J. Franco]] served as the producers. The film was co-written by [[Nick Castle]], who played [[Michael Myers (Halloween)|Michael Myers]] in ''Halloween''.

Released in the United States on July 10, 1981, the film received positive reviews from critics and was a commercial success, grossing more than $50 million at the [[box office]].<ref name="thenumbers"/> The film was nominated for four [[Saturn Awards]], including [[Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film|Best Science Fiction Film]] and [[Saturn Award for Best Direction|Best Direction]]. The film became a [[Cult film|cult classic]] and was followed by a sequel, ''[[Escape from L.A.]]'' (1996), which was also directed and written by Carpenter and starred Russell.

==Plot==
<!-- PER WP:FILMPLOT, PLOT SUMMARIES FOR FEATURE FILMS SHOULD BE BETWEEN 400 AND 700 WORDS. -->

In 1988, amidst war between the United States and an alliance of [[China]] and the [[Soviet Union]], [[Manhattan]] has been converted into a [[maximum security prison]] to address a 400% increase in crime. The island is walled off from the outside world and under heavy police surveillance.

In 1997, while flying [[President of the United States|President]] John Harker to a peace summit in [[Hartford, Connecticut|Hartford]], [[Air Force One]] is hijacked by a terrorist. The President is handcuffed with a briefcase and put into an [[escape pod]] that drops into Manhattan as the aircraft crashes.

Police are dispatched to rescue the President. Romero, a subordinate of the [[Duke]] of New York (a powerful [[crime boss]]), warns the President has been captured and will be killed if any further rescue attempts are made. Meanwhile, former [[United States Special Operations Forces|Special Forces]] soldier Snake Plissken is about to be imprisoned in Manhattan after being convicted of robbing the [[Federal Reserve]]. Snake accepts a deal from Police Commissioner Bob Hauk in which he will be [[presidential pardon|pardoned]] in exchange for rescuing the President in time for the summit. To ensure his cooperation, Hauk has Snake [[Jet injector|injected]] with micro-explosives that will sever his [[Common carotid artery|carotid arterie]]s in 22 hours. If Snake is successful, Hauk will neutralize the explosives.

Snake uses a [[Stealth aircraft|stealth glider]] to land atop the [[World Trade Center (1973-2001)|World Trade Center]], then follows the signal of the President's tracking device to a [[vaudeville]] theater, only to find the tracker on the arm of a deluded vagrant. Snake is convinced the President is dead, but Hauk warns him he will be killed if he returns without the President. Inspecting the escape pod, Snake is ambushed by dozens of starving "crazies" and his radio is destroyed. He is rescued by "Cabbie", a jovial character who drives a taxi.

Cabbie takes Snake to Harold "Brain" Hellman, an adviser to the Duke and a former associate of Snake's. An engineer, Brain has established a small gasoline refinery fueling the city's remaining cars; he tells Snake the Duke plans to lead a mass escape across the 69th Street Bridge, using the President as a human shield. Snake forces Brain and his girlfriend Maggie to lead him to the Duke's hideout at [[Grand Central Terminal]]. Snake finds the President but gets shot in the leg with a [[crossbow]] bolt and is overpowered by the Duke's men.

While Snake is forced to fight against Duke's champion Slag in a deathmatch, Brain and Maggie kill Romero and flee with the President. Snake kills Slag and finds the trio trying to escape in the glider. Inmates drop the glider off the roof, forcing the group back down to street level where they are confronted by the Duke and his followers. Cabbie arrives and offers to take them across the bridge. Cabbie reveals he bartered with Romero for a [[Compact Cassette|cassette tape]] that contains information about [[Fusion power|nuclear fusion]], intended to be an international peace offering. The President demands the cassette, but Snake retains it.

The Duke gives chase, setting off mines as he tries to catch up. Brain guides Snake, but they hit a mine and Cabbie is killed. As they continue on foot, Brain accidentally stumbles onto another mine. A distraught Maggie sacrifices herself to slow down the Duke. Snake and the President reach the containment wall and guards hoist the President up. The Duke opens fire, killing the guards before Snake subdues him. As Snake is being lifted up by the rope, the Duke attempts to shoot him, but the President takes up a dead guard's rifle and kills the Duke. Snake is hoisted to safety and Hauk's doctor removes the explosives in his neck with seconds to spare.

As the President prepares for a televised speech to the leaders at the summit meeting, he thanks Snake for saving him but offers only half-hearted regret for the deaths of his colleagues; Snake walks away in disgust. Hauk offers Snake a job as his deputy but he keeps walking. The President's speech commences and he plays the cassette. To his embarrassment, it only plays Cabbie's favorite song, "[[Bandstand Boogie]]". As Snake walks away a free man, he pulls the real cassette from his pocket and destroys it.

==Cast==
<!--- Cast per closing credits order and roles as credited, top billed up to gypsy #x and #x indian --->
{{Cast listing|
* [[Kurt Russell]] as [[Snake Plissken|Lieutenant S.D. Bob "Snake" Plissken]]
* [[Lee Van Cleef]] as Police Commissioner Bob Hauk
* [[Ernest Borgnine]] as "Cabbie"
* [[Donald Pleasence]] as President John Harker
* [[Isaac Hayes]] as "The Duke"
* [[Season Hubley]] as Maureen, Girl In [[Chock Full o' Nuts]]
* [[Harry Dean Stanton]] as Harold "Brain" Hellman
* [[Adrienne Barbeau]] as Maggie
* [[Tom Atkins (actor)|Tom Atkins]] as Captain Rehme
* [[Charles Cyphers]] as Secretary of State York
* [[Frank Doubleday (actor)|Frank Doubleday]] as Romero
* Arden Young as Dr. Cronenberg
}}

==Production==

===Development and writing===
Carpenter originally wrote the screenplay for ''Escape from New York'' in 1976, in the aftermath of [[Richard Nixon]]'s Watergate scandal. Carpenter said, "The whole feeling of the nation was one of real cynicism about the president."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dawson |first1=Dylan |title=Double Future 1997: 'Escape From New York' vs. 'The Fifth Element' |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/double-future-1997-escape-from-new-york-vs-the-fifth-element/ |website=Vice |access-date=21 May 2020 |date=9 July 2017}}</ref> He wrote the screenplay, but no studio wanted to make it because, according to Carpenter, "[i]t was too violent, too scary, [and] too weird".<ref>{{cite news|last=Yakir |first=Dan |title='Escape' Gives Us Liberty |newspaper=The New York Times |date=October 4, 1980 |url=http://www.theofficialjohncarpenter.com/pages/press/nypost801014.html |access-date=March 10, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070317210916/http://www.theofficialjohncarpenter.com/pages/press/nypost801014.html |archive-date=March 17, 2007 }}</ref> He had been inspired by the film ''[[Death Wish (1974 film)|Death Wish]]'', which was very popular at the time. He did not agree with this film's philosophy, but liked how it conveyed "the sense of New York as a kind of jungle, and I wanted to make a science-fiction film along these lines".<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Maronie |first=Samuel J. |title=On the Set with ''Escape from New York'' |magazine=[[Starlog]] |number=45 |date=April 1981 |url=<!-- Keeping dead link for ref, no archive version: http://www.sphosting.com/theefnypage/pressontheset.htm -->}}</ref>

International Film Investors agreed to provide 50% of the budget, and [[Goldcrest Films]] signed a co-financing deal with them. They ended up providing £720,000 of the budget and making a profit of £672,000 from their investment after earning £1,392,000.<ref>{{Cite book|pages=[https://archive.org/details/myindecisionisfi00eber/page/59 59], 655|title=My indecision is final|url=https://archive.org/details/myindecisionisfi00eber|url-access=registration|first1=Jake|last1= Eberts |first2=Terry|last2=Illott|year=1990 |publisher=Faber and Faber|isbn=9780571148882 }}</ref>

===Casting===
[[Embassy Pictures|AVCO Embassy Pictures]], the film's financial backer, preferred [[Charles Bronson]], [[Tommy Lee Jones]] or [[Chuck Norris]] to play the role of Snake Plissken to Carpenter's choice of Kurt Russell, who was trying to overcome the "lightweight" screen image conveyed by his roles in several [[Walt Disney Pictures|Disney]] comedies. Carpenter refused to cast Bronson on the grounds that he was too old, and because he worried that he could lose directorial control over the film with an experienced actor. At the time, Russell described his character as "a mercenary, and his style of fighting is a combination of [[Bruce Lee]], [[The Exterminator]], and [[Darth Vader]], with [[Clint Eastwood|Eastwood]]'s vocal-ness."<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Hogan |first=Richard |title=Kurt Russell Rides a New Wave in ''Escape'' Film |magazine=[[Circus (magazine)|Circus]] |year=1980 |url=http://www.theofficialjohncarpenter.com/pages/press/circus1980.html |access-date=March 10, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070317172535/http://www.theofficialjohncarpenter.com/pages/press/circus1980.html |archive-date=March 17, 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cinephiliabeyond.org/escape-new-york-john-carpenters-thrilling-pumped-ride-streets-dystopian-new-york-city/|title='Escape from New York': John Carpenter's Thrilling, Pumped-Up Ride through the Streets of a Dystopian New York City • Cinephilia & Beyond|date=August 8, 2016}}</ref> Russell suggested that the character should wear an eyepatch.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/interviews/a39140/kurt-russell-bone-tomahawk/|title=Kurt Russell on the American Tough Guy and His New Cannibal Western|date=October 25, 2015|website=Esquire}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a26660038/kurt-russell-best-movies-interview/ | title=Kurt Russell Reveals the Bizarre Injury That Pushed Him into Acting Full-Time | date=March 5, 2019 }}</ref> All that matters to Snake, according to the actor, is "the next 60 seconds. Living for exactly that next minute is all there is." Russell used a rigorous diet and exercise program to develop a lean and muscular build. He also endeavored to stay in character between takes and throughout the shooting, as he welcomed the opportunity to get away from the Disney comedies he had done previously. He did find it necessary to remove the [[eyepatch]] between takes, as wearing it constantly seriously affected his [[depth perception]].<ref name="Goldberg, Lee">{{cite magazine|last=Goldberg |first=Lee |title=Kurt Russell&nbsp;— Two-Fisted Hero |magazine=[[Starlog]] |number=108 |date=July 1986 }}</ref>

===Pre-production===
Carpenter had just made ''[[Dark Star (film)|Dark Star]]'', but no one wanted to hire him as a director, so he assumed he would make it in Hollywood as a screenwriter. The filmmaker went on to do other films with the intention of making ''Escape'' later. After the success of ''[[Halloween (1978 film)|Halloween]]'', Avco-Embassy signed producer Debra Hill and him to a two-picture deal. The first film from this contract was ''[[The Fog]]''. Initially, the second film he was going to make to finish the contract was ''[[The Philadelphia Experiment (movie)|The Philadelphia Experiment]]'', but because of script-writing problems, Carpenter rejected it in favor of this project. However, Carpenter felt something was missing and recalls, "This was basically a straight [[action film]]. And at one point, I realized it really doesn't have this kind of crazy humor that people from New York would expect to see."<ref name="Swires, Steve">{{cite magazine|last=Swires |first=Steve |title=John Carpenter |magazine=[[Starlog]] |date=July 1981 |number=48 }}</ref> He brought in Nick Castle, a friend from his film-school days at [[University of Southern California]], who played "[[Michael Myers (Halloween)|The Shape]]" in ''Halloween''. Castle invented the Cabbie character and came up with the film's ending.<ref>{{cite news|title=Launch of a giddy fantasy a director reaches for the stars with computer aid |last=Ryan |first=Desmond |newspaper=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]] |date=July 14, 1984 |page=D01}}</ref>

The film's setting proved to be a potential problem for Carpenter, who needed to create a decaying, semi-destroyed version of New York City on a shoestring budget. The film's production designer [[Joe Alves]] and he rejected shooting on location in New York City because it would be too hard to make it look like a destroyed city. Carpenter suggested shooting on a movie back lot, but Alves nixed that idea "because the texture of a real street is not like a back lot."<ref name="Beeler, Michael">{{cite news | last = Beeler
 | first = Michael | title = ''Escape from N.Y.'': Filming the Original | publisher = [[Cinefantastique]]
 }}</ref> They sent Barry Bernardi, their location manager (and associate producer), "on a sort of all-expense-paid trip across the country looking for the worst city in America," producer Debra Hill remembers.<ref name="Beeler, Michael"/>

Bernardi suggested [[East St. Louis, Illinois]], because it was filled with old buildings "that exist in New York now, and [that] have that seedy run-down quality" that the team was looking for.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Maronie |first=Samuel J. |title=From ''Forbidden Planet'' to ''Escape from New York'': A candid conversation with SFX & production designer Joe Alves |magazine=[[Starlog]] |number=46 |date=May 1981 |url=http://www.theofficialjohncarpenter.com/pages/press/starlog8105.html |access-date=March 10, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070317172834/http://www.theofficialjohncarpenter.com/pages/press/starlog8105.html |archive-date=March 17, 2007 }}</ref> East St. Louis, sitting across the Mississippi River from the more prosperous [[St. Louis, Missouri]], had entire neighborhoods burned out in 1976 during a massive urban fire. Hill said in an interview, "block after block was burnt-out rubble. In some places, there was absolutely nothing, so that you could see three and four blocks away."<ref name="Beeler, Michael"/> Also, Alves found an old bridge to serve as the "69th St. Bridge". The filmmaker purchased the [[Chain of Rocks Bridge|Old Chain of Rocks Bridge]] for one dollar from the government and then gave it back to them, for the same amount, once production was completed, "so that they wouldn't have any liability," Hill remembers.<ref name="Beeler, Michael"/> Locations across the river in St. Louis were used, including [[Union Station (St. Louis)|Union Station]] and the [[Fox Theatre (St. Louis)|Fox Theatre]], both of which have since been renovated,<ref>{{cite news|title=Show Me the movies|work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|date=April 17, 2005|author=Williams, Joe|page=C1}}</ref> as well as the building that would eventually become the [[Saint Louis Brewery#Downtown|Schlafly Tap Room microbrewery]].

===Filming===
Carpenter and his crew persuaded the city to shut off the electricity to 10 blocks at a time at night. The film was shot from August to November 1980. It was a tough and demanding shoot for the filmmaker as he recalls. "We'd finish shooting at about 6 am and I'd just be going to sleep at 7 when the sun would be coming up. I'd wake up around 5 or 6 pm, depending on whether or not we had dailies, and by the time I got going, the sun would be setting. So for about two and a half months I never saw daylight, which was really strange."<ref name="Swires, Steve"/> The [[gladiatorial]] fight to the death scene between Snake and Slag (played by professional wrestler Ox Baker) was filmed in the Grand Hall at [[St. Louis Union Station]]. Russell has stated, "That day was a nightmare. All I did was swing a [spiked] bat at that guy and get swung at in return. He threw a trash can in my face about five times ... I could have wound up in pretty bad shape."<ref>[https://collider.com/kurt-russell-escape-from-new-york-capetown-film-fest-recap/ Kurt Russell Talks About Shooting ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK at the EW CapeTown Film Fest; Plus His Thoughts on the Remake|Collider]</ref> In addition to shooting on location in St. Louis, Carpenter shot parts of the film in [[Los Angeles]]. Various interior scenes were shot on a [[sound stage]]; the final scenes were shot at the [[Sepulveda Dam]] in [[Sherman Oaks]]. New York served as a location, as did [[Atlanta]], to use their [[Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority|futuristic-looking rapid-transit system]] (the latter scenes were cut from the final film).<ref>{{cite news|title=St. Louis Q&A|work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|author=Berger, Jerry|date=February 5, 1995|page=17}}</ref> In New York City, Carpenter persuaded federal officials to grant access to [[Liberty Island]]. "We were the first film company in history allowed to shoot on Liberty Island at the [[Statue of Liberty]] at night. They let us have the whole island to ourselves. We were lucky. It wasn't easy to get that initial permission. They'd had a bombing three months earlier and were worried about trouble".<ref name="Osborne, Robert">{{cite news|last=Osborne |first=Robert |title=On Location |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |date=October 24, 1980 |url=http://www.theofficialjohncarpenter.com/pages/press/reporter801024.html |access-date=March 10, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070317172451/http://www.theofficialjohncarpenter.com/pages/press/reporter801024.html |archive-date=March 17, 2007 }}</ref>

[[File:Escape From New York Wireframe.jpg|thumb|The simulated wire-frame effect]]
Carpenter was interested in creating two distinct looks for the movie. "One is the police state, high tech, lots of neon, a United States dominated by underground computers. That was easy to shoot compared to the Manhattan Island prison sequences, which had few lights, mainly torch lights, like feudal England".<ref name="Osborne, Robert"/> Certain [[Matte (filmmaking)|matte paintings]] were rendered by [[James Cameron]], who was at the time a special-effects artist with [[Roger Corman]]'s [[New World Pictures]]. Cameron was also one of the directors of photography on the film. As Snake pilots the glider into the city, three screens on his control panel display [[wire-frame model|wireframe]] animations of the landing target on the World Trade Center and surrounding buildings. Carpenter initially wanted high-tech computer graphics, which were very expensive, even for such a simple animation. The effects crew filmed the miniature model set of New York City they used for other scenes under [[black light]], with reflective tape placed along every edge of the model buildings. Only the tape is visible and appears to be a three-dimensional [[Wire frame model|wireframe animation]].<ref>{{cite video|title=Escape from New York (Special Edition)|date=2003|people=Atkins, Tom; Barbeau, Adrienne}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cracked.com/article_19140_8-movie-special-effects-you-wont-believe-arent-cgi.html|title=8 Movie Special Effects You Didn't Know Weren't CGI: Classic|website=Cracked.com|date=April 18, 2011 |access-date=July 19, 2017}}</ref>

==Music==
===Soundtrack===
{{main|Escape from New York (soundtrack)}}

==Release==
===Home media===

====LaserDisc releases====
''Escape from New York'' was released on [[LaserDisc]] 10 times between 1983 and 1998.<ref>{{cite web|title=LaserDisc Database - Search - Advanced Search|url=https://www.lddb.com/search.php?adv_search=Escape+from+New+York&adv_reference=|website=LaserDisc Database|access-date=24 April 2018}}</ref> A 1994 Collector's Edition includes a [[commentary track]] by John Carpenter and Kurt Russell that is still included on more recent DVD releases of the film.<ref>{{cite web|title=LaserDisc Database - Escape from New York: Collector's Edition [ID2330SU]|url=https://www.lddb.com/laserdisc/05738/ID2330SU/Escape-from-New-York:-Collector's-Edition|website=LaserDisc Database|access-date=24 April 2018}}</ref>

====DVD releases====
''Escape from New York'' was released on DVD twice by [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer|MGM]] (USA), and once by Momentum Pictures (UK). One MGM release is a barebones edition containing just the theatrical trailer. Another version is the Collector's Edition, a two-disc set featuring a high definition remastered transfer with a 5.1 stereo audio track, two commentaries (one by John Carpenter and Kurt Russell, another by producer Debra Hill and Joe Alves), a making-of featurette, the first issue of a comic book series titled ''John Carpenter's Snake Plissken Chronicles'', and the 10-minute Colorado bank robbery deleted opening sequence.<ref name="Netherby">{{cite magazine| last = Netherby| first = Jennifer| title = Escape to a special edition| magazine = Video Business| volume = 23| issue = 34| page = 8| date = August 25, 2003}}</ref>

MGM's special edition of the 1981 film was not released until 2003 because the original negative had gone missing. The workprint containing deleted scenes finally turned up in the [[Hutchinson, Kansas]], salt-mine film depository.  The excised scenes feature Snake Plissken robbing a bank, introducing the character of Plissken and establishing a [[backstory]]. Director John Carpenter decided to add the original scenes into the special edition release as an extra only: "After we screened the rough cut, we realized that the movie didn't really start until Snake got to New York. It wasn't necessary to show what sent him there."<ref name="Hulse">{{cite magazine| last = Hulse| first = Ed| title = A newfound ''Escape''| magazine = Video Business| volume = 23| issue = 47| page = 33| date = November 24, 2003| issn=0279-571X}}</ref> The film has been released on the UMD format for Sony's PlayStation Portable.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=August 28, 2008|url=http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4592016|title= Escape From New York (UMD Video For PSP)  |publisher=Wal-Mart }}</ref>

====Blu-ray release====
On August 3, 2010, MGM Home Entertainment released ''Escape From New York'' as a bare-bones Blu-ray.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=January 10, 2015|url=http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=15783|title=Escape From New York Collector's Edition Blu-ray|publisher=Blu-ray.com}}</ref> [[Scream Factory]], in association with [[Shout! Factory]], released the film on a special edition Blu-ray on April 21, 2015.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=January 10, 2015|url=http://www.fangoria.com/new/complete-specs-released-for-scream-factorys-escape-from-new-york-blu-ray/|title=Escape From New York Collector's Edition Blu-ray|publisher=Blu-ray.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150219221640/http://www.fangoria.com/new/complete-specs-released-for-scream-factorys-escape-from-new-york-blu-ray/|archive-date=February 19, 2015|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

==Reception==

===Box office===
''Escape from New York'' opened in New York and Los Angeles July 10, 1981.<ref name="afi" /> The film grossed $26 million in American theaters in summer 1981.<ref name="thenumbers"/> Worldwide it grossed over $50 million.<ref name="Muir"/>

===Critical response===
The film received generally positive reviews. ''[[Newsweek]]'' magazine wrote of Carpenter: "[He has a] deeply ingrained B-movie sensibility&nbsp;– which is both his strength and limitation. He does clean work, but settles for too little. He uses Russell well, however".<ref>{{cite magazine|title=A Helluva Town |magazine=[[Newsweek]] |date=July 27, 1981 |url=http://www.theofficialjohncarpenter.com/pages/press/newsweek810727.html |access-date=May 30, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070319005440/http://www.theofficialjohncarpenter.com/pages/press/newsweek810727.html |archive-date=March 19, 2007 }}</ref> In ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine, [[Richard Corliss]] wrote, "John Carpenter is offering this summer's moviegoers a rare opportunity: to escape from the air-conditioned torpor of ordinary entertainment into the hothouse humidity of their own paranoia. It's a trip worth taking".<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Corliss |first=Richard |title=Bad Apples |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=July 13, 1981 |url=http://www.theofficialjohncarpenter.com/pages/press/time810713.html |access-date=May 30, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070807232107/http://www.theofficialjohncarpenter.com/pages/press/time810713.html |archive-date=August 7, 2007 }}</ref> [[Vincent Canby]], in his review for ''[[The New York Times]]'', wrote, "[The film] is not to be analyzed too solemnly, though. It's a toughly told, very tall tale, one of the best escape (and escapist) movies of the season".<ref>{{cite news|last=Canby |first=Vincent |title=''Escape from New York'' |newspaper=The New York Times |date=July 10, 1981 |url=http://www.theofficialjohncarpenter.com/pages/press/nytimes810710.html |access-date=May 30, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070319004937/http://www.theofficialjohncarpenter.com/pages/press/nytimes810710.html |archive-date=March 19, 2007 }}</ref> On the other hand, in his negative review for the ''[[Chicago Reader]]'', critic [[Dave Kehr]], wrote "it fails to satisfy – it gives us too little of too much".<ref>{{cite news | last = Kehr | first = Dave | title = ''Escape from New York'' | newspaper = [[Chicago Reader]] | url = http://onfilm.chicagoreader.com/movies/capsules/3169_ESCAPE_FROM_NEW_YORK | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110806212356/http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/escape-from-new-york/Film?oid=1067393 | archive-date = August 6, 2011 | access-date = January 1, 2021 }}</ref>

Christopher John reviewed ''Escape from New York'' in ''[[Ares (magazine)|Ares Magazine]]'' #10 and commented that "It is solid summer entertainment of unusually high caliber. By not pretending to be more than it is, but by also not settling for any ''less'' than it could be, ''Escape'' becomes an exciting, fast-moving drama, the likes of which we haven't seen in years."<ref name="Ares">{{cite magazine | last=John | first=Christopher | title=Film & Television | magazine=[[Ares (magazine)|Ares Magazine]] | date=September 1981 | issue=10 | pages=12–13}}</ref>

On the [[review aggregator]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], 86% of 72 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.3/10. The website's consensus reads: "Featuring an atmospherically grimy futuristic metropolis, Escape from New York is a strange, entertaining jumble of thrilling action and oddball weirdness."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1006717_escape_from_new_york |title=Escape from New York |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] }}</ref> {{Metacritic film prose|76|12}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Escape from New York |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/escape-from-new-york |website=[[Metacritic]]}}</ref>

===Legacy===
[[Cyberpunk]] pioneer [[William Gibson]] credits the film as an influence on his 1984 science fiction novel ''[[Neuromancer]]''. "I was intrigued by the exchange in one of the opening scenes where the Warden says to Snake 'You flew the Gullfire over Leningrad, didn't you?' It turns out to be just a throwaway line, but for a moment it worked like the best SF where a casual reference can imply a lot".<ref name="McCaffery, Larry">{{cite news |last=McCaffery |first=Larry |title=Storming the Reality Studio: A Casebook of Cyberpunk and Postmodern Science Fiction |publisher=[[Duke University]] Press |year=1992 |url=http://project.cyberpunk.ru/idb/gibson_interview.html |access-date=January 11, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125090151/http://project.cyberpunk.ru/idb/gibson_interview.html |archive-date=January 25, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Popular video game director [[Hideo Kojima]] copied aspects of the film for his ''[[Metal Gear]]'' series. [[Solid Snake]] heavily resembles the character Snake Plissken. In ''[[Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty]]'', Snake even uses the alias "Pliskin" to hide his real identity during most of the game.<ref>'''SEAL''': I'm not an enemy. Calm down. My name is S... My name is Pliskin. Iroquois Pliskin, Lieutenant Junior Grade. (''Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty'', Konami, 2001).</ref> [[J. J. Abrams]], producer of the 2008 film ''[[Cloverfield]]'', mentioned that a scene in his film, which shows the head of the [[Statue of Liberty]] crashing into a New York street, was inspired by the poster for ''Escape from New York''.<ref>{{cite news|title=Commentary: Filmmakers enjoy laying waste to New York|work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|author=Eberson, Sharon|date=January 4, 2008}}</ref> ''[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]]'' magazine ranked Snake Plissken number 29 in their "The 100 Greatest Movie Characters" poll.<ref>{{cite magazine | title = The 100 Greatest Movie Characters | magazine = [[Empire (magazine)|Empire]] | url = https://www.empireonline.com/100-greatest-movie-characters/default.asp?c=71 | access-date = December 2, 2008 | archive-date = November 7, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111107044417/http://www.empireonline.com/100-greatest-movie-characters/default.asp?c=71 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

==Other media==
===Sequels===
{{main|Escape from L.A.}}
A sequel, ''Escape from L.A.'', was released in 1996, with Carpenter returning along with Russell, now also a producer and co-writer.

A remake for ''Escape from New York'' began development in 2007, when [[New Line Cinema]] won the rights to remake in a bidding war. [[Gerard Butler]] was attached to play Snake Plissken, [[Neal H. Moritz]] would produce through his [[Original Film]] company, and [[Ken Nolan]] would be in charge of the screenplay.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://variety.com/2007/film/features/new-line-plotting-butler-escape-1117961252/|title= New Line plotting Butler 'Escape'|date= March 15, 2007|access-date= March 25, 2022|first= Dave|last= McNary|work= Variety|url-status= live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071105212559/http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117961252.html?categoryId=1959&cs=1|archive-date= November 5, 2007}}</ref> [[Len Wiseman]] was announced to direct, but was later replaced by [[Brett Ratner]], who also stepped down from the project.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://movieweb.com/len-wiseman-to-remake-escape-from-new-york/|title= Len Wiseman to Remake Escape from New York|access-date= March 25, 2022|date= August 14, 2007|work= Movieweb}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.iesb.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3418&Itemid=99|title= Confirmed: Ratner Replaces Wiseman on New York Plus an Update on Gears of War!|date= October 4, 2007|access-date= March 25, 2022|work= IESB|first= Robert|last= Sanchez|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071008080709/http://www.iesb.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3418&Itemid=99|archive-date= October 8, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://movies.ign.com/articles/830/830972p1.html|title= Ratner Escapes From Remake?|date= October 29, 2007|access-date= March 25, 2022|work= IGN|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071031075243/http://movies.ign.com/articles/830/830972p1.html|archive-date= October 31, 2007}}</ref> In April 2010, ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' reported that [[Breck Eisner]] was being looked at to direct a remake of ''Escape from New York'', with [[David Kajganich]] and [[Allan Loeb]] providing revisions to the script.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://variety.com/2010/film/news/new-line-plans-escape-with-breck-eisner-1118018171/|title= New Line plans 'Escape' with Breck Eisner|date= April 22, 2010|access-date= March 25, 2022|first= Dave|last= McNary|work= Variety}}</ref> It was later announced in 2011 that New Line had dropped the remake completely.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://deadline.com/2011/07/new-line-dropping-escape-from-new-york-148544/|title= New Line Dropping 'Escape From New York'|date= July 20, 2011|access-date= March 25, 2022|work= Deadline|first= Mike Jr.|last= Fleming}}</ref> In January 2015, [[20th Century Studios|20th Century Fox]] purchased the remake rights, with [[The Picture Company]] producing.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2015/01/escape-from-new-york-remake-fox-john-carpenter-1201349382/|title='Escape From New York' Remake Rights Deal Won By Fox|date= January 13, 2015|access-date=March 25, 2022|first=Mike Jr.|last=Fleming|work=[[Deadline Hollywood]]}}</ref> In March 2017, it was announced that [[Robert Rodriguez]] would direct a remake of the film with Carpenter producing it.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2017/03/robert-rodriguez-escape-from-new-york-director-1202051424/|title=Robert Rodriguez To Direct 'Escape From New York'|first=Mike Jr.|last=Fleming|date=March 24, 2017|work=[[Deadline Hollywood]]}}</ref> In February 2019, it was reported that [[Leigh Whannell]] would be writing the script after ''[[Luther (TV series)|Luther]]'' creator [[Neil Cross]] completed a recent iteration of the project.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/leigh-whannell-tackle-escape-new-york-remake-1181620|title=Leigh Whannell to Tackle 'Escape From New York' Remake for Fox (Exclusive)|first=Borys|last=Kit|website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |date=February 1, 2019}}</ref> [[Wyatt Russell]], son of Kurt, was considered to portray Snake Plissken, but he expressed no interest in playing the role, considering it "career suicide."<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.joblo.com/escape-from-new-york-reboot-wyatt-russell/|title= Escape from New York reboot: Wyatt Russell isn't interested in playing Snake|first= Kevin|last= Fraser|date= April 19, 2021|access-date= March 25, 2022|work= JoBlo}}</ref> In November 2022, it was revealed that [[Radio Silence (collective)|Radio Silence]] would be directing the film, with Andrew Rona, Alex Heineman, and Radio Silence producing, and Carpenter serving as an executive producer. They are currently searching for a writer.<ref>{{cite web |first=Justin |last=Kroll |title=Radio Silence To Direct New 'Escape From New York' Movie For 20th Century Studios |url=https://deadline.com/2022/11/radio-silence-escape-from-new-york-pic-1235175637/ |date=November 17, 2022 |website=[[Deadline Hollywood]] |access-date=November 17, 2022}}</ref> The next month, the film was confirmed to be a sequel, rather than a remake.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thewrap.com/escape-from-new-york-remake-status-update-radio-silence/ |title=New 'Escape From New York' Will Be a Continuation of John Carpenter Original, Not a Remake |website=[[TheWrap]] |first=Tyler |last=Gillett |date=December 15, 2022 |access-date=December 15, 2022}}</ref>

===Novelization===
In 1981, [[Bantam Books]] published a movie tie-in [[novelization]] written by [[Mike McQuay]] that adopts a lean, humorous style reminiscent of the film. The novel includes significant scenes that were cut from the film, such as the Federal Reserve Depository robbery that results in Snake's incarceration. The novel provides background on the relationship between Snake and Hauk—presenting the characters as disillusioned war veterans, and deepening the relationship that was only hinted in the film. The novel also explains how Snake lost his eye during the Battle for [[Leningrad]] in [[World War III]], how Hauk became warden of New York, and Hauk's quest to find his crazed son, who lives somewhere in the prison. The novel gives greater detail on the world in which these characters live, at times presenting a future even bleaker than the one depicted in the film. It explains that the [[West Coast of the United States|West Coast]] is a no-man's land, and the nation's population is gradually being driven insane by nerve gas as a result of World War III. The novel also clarifies that the president's plan for the cassette tape is not benevolent. Rather than presenting to the world a new energy source in the form of nuclear fusion (as claimed in the film), the tape actually reveals the successful development of a "[[Nuclear fallout|fallout]]-free [[thermonuclear weapon]], which would grant the US supremacy in the global conflict.<ref name="McQuay">{{cite book |last=McQuay |first=Mike |title=Escape from New York |publisher=Bantam Books |date=May 1981 |isbn=0-553-25375-1}}</ref><ref name="roberts">{{cite web |last1=Roberts |first1=K.E. |title="A Little Human Compassion": John Carpenter's 'Escape from New York' as Anti-Fascist Satire |url=https://wearethemutants.com/2016/09/12/a-little-human-compassion/ |website=wearethemutants.com |publisher=We Are the Mutants |access-date=29 April 2020 |date=12 September 2016}}</ref><ref name="barr">{{cite web |last1=Barr |first1=Clayton |title=The Snake Plissken Chronicles |url=http://snake.popapostle.com/html/episodes/Escape-from-New-York.htm |website=popapostle.com |publisher=Pop Apostle |access-date=29 April 2020}}</ref>

===Comic books===
[[Marvel Comics]] released the one-shot ''The Adventures of Snake Plissken'' in January 1997. The story takes place sometime between ''Escape from New York'' and before his famous Cleveland escape mentioned in ''Escape from L.A.'' Snake has robbed [[Atlanta]]'s [[Centers for Disease Control]] of some engineered [[metavirus]]es and is looking for buyers in [[Chicago]]. Finding himself in a deal that is really a set-up, he makes his getaway and exacts revenge on the buyer for ratting him out to the United States Police Force. In the meantime, a government lab has built a robot called ATACS (Autonomous Tracking And Combat System) that can catch criminals by imprinting their personalities upon its program to predict and anticipate a specific criminal's every move. The robot's first test subject is America's public enemy number one, Snake Plissken. After a brief battle, the tide turns when ATACS copies Snake to the point of fully becoming his personality. Now recognizing the government as the enemy, ATACS sides with Snake. Unamused, Snake sucker punches the machine and destroys it. As ATACS shuts down, it can only ask him, "Why?" Snake just walks off, answering, "I don't need the competition".

In 2003, [[CrossGen]] and [[Hurricane Entertainment]] published ''[[John Carpenter's Snake Plissken Chronicles (comics)|John Carpenter's Snake Plissken Chronicles]]'', a four-part [[comic book]] miniseries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=2168 |title=Snake Strikes Early! 'John Carpenter's Snake Plissken Chronicles' #1 Hits The Streets One Month Early! |website=Comic Book Resources |date=May 22, 2003 |access-date=June 30, 2010}}</ref> The story takes place a day or so after the events of ''Escape from New York''. Snake has been given a military [[Humvee]] after his presidential pardon and makes his way to [[Atlantic City, New Jersey|Atlantic City]]. Although the director's cut of ''Escape from New York'' shows Snake was caught after a bank job, this story has Snake finishing up a second heist that was planned before his capture. The job entails stealing the car in which [[John F. Kennedy]] was [[assassination of John F. Kennedy|assassinated]] from a casino before delivering it to a buyer in the [[Gulf of Mexico]]. Snake partners with a man named Marrs who ends up double-crossing him. Left for dead in a sinking crab cage, Snake escapes and is saved by a passing fisherman named Captain Ron (an in-joke referring to Kurt Russell's 1992 comedy, ''[[Captain Ron]]''). When Ron denies Snake's request to use his boat to beat Marrs to the robbery, Snake decides to kill him. When Snake ends up saving Ron from the Russian mob, who wants money, Ron changes his mind and helps Snake. Once at the casino, Snake comes face-to-face with Marrs and his men, who arrive at the same time, ending in a high-speed [[shootout]]. Snake gets away with the car and its actress portraying [[Jackie Kennedy]], leaving Marrs to be caught by the casino owner, who cuts him a deal to bring his car back and live. After some trouble, Snake manages to finally get the car to the buyer's yacht, using Ron's boat, and is then attacked by Marrs. Following the firefight, the yacht and car are destroyed, Marrs and Captain Ron are dead, and Snake makes his escape in a helicopter with the 30 million credits owed to him for the job. The series was written by William O'Neill and penciled by [[Tone Rodriguez]] with [[Jan Utstein]] as editor.

In 2014, [[BOOM! Studios]] began publishing an ''Escape from New York'' comic book by writer, Christopher Sebela.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbr.com/sdcc-sebela-attempts-an-escape-from-new-york-at-boom/|title=SDCC: Sebela Attempts an "Escape From New York" at BOOM!|date=July 26, 2014|website=CBR}}</ref> The first issue of the series was released on December 3, 2014,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/reviews/3323200/comic-book-review-escape-new-york-1-sequel-deserve/|title=[Comic Book Review] "Escape From New York" #1 Is The Sequel We Deserve|first=Zac|last=Thompson|date=December 3, 2014}}</ref> and the story picks up moments after the end of the film.

BOOM! released a crossover comics miniseries between Snake and Jack Burton titled ''[[Big Trouble in Little China]]/Escape from New York'' in October 2016.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newsarama.com/30118-totally-awesome-hulk-writer-takes-on-totally-craaazy-big-trouble-in-little-china-escape-from-new-york-crossover.html|title=Two Iconic Cult Characters That Look Exactly Alike Cross Over in BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA / ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK|publisher=Newsrama|last=Arrant|first=Chris|date=July 13, 2016 |access-date=August 22, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160717133511/http://www.newsarama.com/30118-totally-awesome-hulk-writer-takes-on-totally-craaazy-big-trouble-in-little-china-escape-from-new-york-crossover.html |archive-date=July 17, 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Board games===
An ''[[Escape from New York (game)|Escape from New York]]'' board game was released in 1981 by [[TSR, Inc.]]<ref>{{cite web|work=[[BoardGameGeek]]|title=Escape from New York|url=http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/731/escape-from-new-york}}</ref>  Another board game was crowd-funded in 2022.<ref>{{citation |url=https://www.dicebreaker.com/games/escape-from-new-york/news/escape-from-new-york-board-game-announced |work=Dicebreaker |title=Escape from New York is getting a board game from Descent: Journeys in the Dark creator |author=Matt Jarvis |date=28 March 2022}}</ref>

===Cancelled anime===
In 2003, Carpenter was planning an anime spin-off of ''Escape from New York'', with ''[[Outlaw Star]]''{{'}}s [[Mitsuru Hongo]] slated to direct.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2003-02-11/production-ig-working-on-escape-from-new-york-anime |title=Production IG working on Escape from New York Anime |date=February 11, 2003 |website=[[Anime News Network]] |access-date=August 23, 2014}}</ref>

===Cancelled video game===
A video game adaptation was in development in 2004–2005.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://screencrush.com/escape-from-new-york-game/|title=Check Out the 'Escape From New York' Video Game That Never Was|first=Jacob|last=Hall|date=October 3, 2013|website=ScreenCrush}}</ref>

== Unauthorized remake ==
A 2015 ruling by the French [[Tribunal de Paris]] found that the French film [[Lockout (film)|''Lockout'']] (2012) had plagiarized both ''Escape from New York'' and its sequel ''Escape from L.A.'' John Carpenter was awarded €20,000,<ref name="yahoo.com">{{cite news|title=French filmmaker Besson guilty of plagiarising action classic|url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/french-filmmaker-besson-guilty-plagiarising-action-classic-141823009.html|access-date=29 July 2016|work=AFP|date=29 July 2016}}</ref> with co-writer Nick Castle getting €10,000, and €50,000 given to rights holder [[StudioCanal]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Jagernauth |first=Kevin |date=15 October 2015 |title=John Carpenter Wins Plagiarism Case Against Luc Besson Over 'Lockout' |url=http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/john-carpenter-wins-plagiarism-case-against-luc-besson-over-lockout-20151015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018120805/http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/john-carpenter-wins-plagiarism-case-against-luc-besson-over-lockout-20151015 |archive-date=18 October 2015 |access-date=16 October 2015}}</ref><ref name="Nick Vivarelli">{{cite web|author=Nick Vivarelli |url=https://variety.com/2016/film/global/john-carpenter-plagiarism-case-luc-besson-lockout-1201826597/ |title=Luc Besson Must Pay More Damages in 'Lockout' Plagiarism Case |website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=2016-07-29 |access-date=2016-10-16}}</ref> ''Lockout''<nowiki/>'s writer and producer [[Luc Besson]] appealed the ruling, which was rejected in July 2016.<ref name="yahoo.com" /><ref name="Nick Vivarelli" /> The claimant's total damages were increased to €450,000.<ref name="yahoo.com" /><ref name="Nick Vivarelli" /> 

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* [[John Walsh (filmmaker)|John Walsh]] (December 14, 2021). ''[[Escape from New York: The Official Story of the Film]]''. [[Titan Publishing Group|Titan Books]].

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
* {{IMDb title|82340}}
* {{TCMDb title|4549}}
* {{mojo title|escapefromnewyork}}
* [https://theofficialjohncarpenter.com/escape-from-new-york/ ''Escape from New York'' at John Carpenter's official website]

{{Escape from New York}}
{{John Carpenter}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Good article}}

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