ALL SCI-FI

[Bogmeister]

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__________________ Escape From New York


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_________ John Carpenter's ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK
___________________ starring KURT RUSSELL
LEE VAN CLEEF * ERNEST BORGNINE * DONALD PLEASENCE * ISAAC HAYES * HARRY DEAN STANTON * TOM ATKINS * CHARLES CYPHERS * FRANK DOUBLEDAY and ADRIENNE BARBEAU as Maggie * Directed by JOHN CARPENTER

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In 1981, John Carpenter presented his vision of the future: 1997, to be exact. Was he premature? Alarmist? Out of his mind?

According to Carpenter, the crime rate would rise 400% in 1988 (it didn't turn out to be quite as bad in our reality, but close). As a response to this problem in the world of this film, those in charge decided to convert the island of Manhatten (New York City, yes) into the one-and-ultimate maximum security prison in the USA.

The U.S. police force surrounds the island, which has a huge new wall, and all bridges are mined. Yes, this is a somewhat pessimistic view of our society (and Carpenter's logical follow-up to his Assault on Precinct 13-1976, which also dealt with the escalation of violent crime) and is, therefore, a dystopian view of the future.

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Enter: Snake Plissken (Russell), ex-army, now outlaw, captured during a robbery attempt. But, fortune smiles on some anarchists in this world; at the point when Snake would normally be sent into the city-prison for life, Air Force One goes down in the center of the prison, the President of the USA (Pleasence) taken captive by the convicts.

[Bud Brewster]

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I've been avoiding this movie for years because I just didn't think it was my kind of story. That's actually hypocritical, because two of my favorite movie are Big Trouble in Little China and Soldier — both of which are wonderful action movies starring Kurt Russell, one of which is a comedy / fantasy movie, and the other is a gritty drama / science fiction film.

But after reading Bogmeiser's well-crafted review, I decided to watch it as soon as possible. Unfortunately, that won't be as soon as I'd hoped, because Netflix has apparently lost all there DVDs of it. My attempt to put it in my DVD queue failed, and it ended up on the SAVED list, meaning it might be available in the future.

However, they did have Escape from L.A., so I added it to the Netflix queue and I'll get it in a few days.

Meanwhile, I'll see what Bogmeister has to say about it so I'll that I'll know what to expect.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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IMDB has 210 trivia items for this movie. Here’s a few of the ones I found the most interesting, in the blue text.
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~ John Carpenter purchased the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge in St. Louis for one dollar from the government, and then returned it to them for the same amount, after filming was completed.

Note from me: I guess John was short of cash and couldn't afford to buy the Brooklyn Bridge . . . even though it's often sold to newcomers in New York.

~ In an interview, John Carpenter said the story was inspired by the science fiction novel "Planet of the Damned" by Harry Harrison, which was about a man with no choice, but to do a job for the government.

Note from me: Despite being a Harry Harrison fan, I'm not familiar with that book. It's only 99¢ on Kindle. Gee, cheaper than that bridge in St. Louis!

~ The Secret Service agent attempting to break into the cockpit of Air Force One at the beginning of the movie is Steven Ford, son of President Gerald Ford.

Note from me: That is plum bizarre!

~ One night, while shooting on location in St Louis, Kurt Russell (in costume) encountered some local toughs. He had unwittingly strayed into their territory but they were suitably intimidated by his appearance not to give him any trouble.

Note from me: I wonder what those guys thought when they saw and movie and realized who Kurt was!

~ Ox Baker struck Kurt Russell very heavily with some of his blows during the boxing ring fight scene. Russell had finally had enough and asked Baker to take it easy, tapping him in the groin to let him know he was serious. Baker then calmed down.

Note from me: Nice diplomacy. Funny how a tap on the balls gets a man's attention.

~ Kurt Russell kept all his costumes from the film and was very pleased 17 years later when "Escape from L.A. (1996)" was being made that he still managed to fit into them. (Although ultimately both he and John Carpenter decided to change the costume for the sequel.)

Note from me: "Hey, look John! My old costume still fits!"

"That's real nice, Kurt. Now head for the wardrobe department. We've changed your outfit."
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[scotpens]

If the location for the "Air Traffic Control Center" looks familiar it's because it's the Sepulveda Dam, which has been used in numerous movies and TV shows. I grew up almost literally in the shadow of that dam.

[Pow]

From Youtube:

The iconic movie poster scene for this film has the image of the head of the Statue of Liberty laying in a street with Kurt Russell and others in front of it and running forward away from the head.

The scene never appears in the film at all.

Sidebar: In the long history of great looking movie posters I wonder just how many convey exciting or intriguing scenes that never actually show up in the film?

The name of the lead character, Snake Pliskin, was after a tough guy that John Carpenter knew in high school. And that guy had a snake tattoo.

Considered for the role of Snake Pliskin were: Charles Bronson, Chuck Norris, Tommy Lee Jones, Nick Nolte, and Jeff Bridges.

Carpenter wanted Kurt Russell all along. Carpenter had met and directed Kurt in the TV-biopic "Elvis." He and Kurt hit it off and Carpenter wanted to work with Russell again.

For his part, Kurt Russell desperately desired the role of Snake. He wanted to play an anti-hero after years of playing wholesome, squeaky clean characters on television and in Disney movies.

The part of "cabbie" that was played by Ernest Borgnine was originally written with Mickey Rooney in mind.

Jamie Lee Curtis provides the opening narration for the film as well as being heard at other times.

John Carpenter first wrote the script when the Watergate Scandal was taking place in 1974. It was meant to convey how the public had become cynical about politicians and no longer trusted in the government.

Snake Pliskin was not written as having an eye patch. That was Kurt Russell's idea to make the character more mysterious and menacing.

Edited from the opening of the film was a Colorado bank robbery performed by Snake in order to show how he came to be in prison. Carpenter felt that it would only be confusing for the audience as related to the rest of the movie.

The Computer Light Modulator used in the film was created by the movie's cinematographer, Dean Cundy, and Joy Brown.
The CLM is able to mimic the light patterns of fire without having to have real fire.

Saint Louis, Missouri was chosen for the film's location, standing in for a dystopian N.Y.C. A section of the city had experienced a devastating fire in 1976 that left a number of blocks destroyed.

To make the area look even worse, Carpenter had his crew fill up trucks with junk from several nearby landfills and then transported to the filming location where the trash was distributed.

The city let Carpenter turn off electricity for ten blocks during his 9:00 P.M.-to-6:00 A.M. shooting schedule.

Carpenter didn't think that it was clearly established when shooting the film that Maggie (Adriene Barbeau) had died at the end of it. It was too expensive to return to St. Louis to do any additional filming. So the the scene with Maggie seen laying dead under Duke's car was actually shot in Carpenter's garage in L.A. with Adriene (Carpenter's wife at the time) laying under their own car.

Future noted director James Cameron was a matte painter on the movie.

First film to be shot on Liberty Island.

Carpenter originally had the explosive charges that are implanted into Snake's neck in order to ensure he carried out his mission to save the POTUS merely be a ruse to secure Pliskin's cooperation. He later changed it making the deadly implants real.

The elaborate model of NYC created for the film would later be modified and reused as L.A. by Ridley Scott in his SF movie Blade Runner.

The film's score was composed by John Carpenter.

The editing, scoring, mixing, ongoing special effects were completed at filmmaker Roger Corman's Venice, California studio.

The budget was a tight 6-to-7 million dollars.

Escape From New York was a hit at the box office and with critics.

[Gord Green]

Kurt Russel was just so damn cool in this film!
His Santa in THE CHRISTMAS CHRONICALS is also an iconic presentation! Love this guy!
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There comes a time, thief, when gold loses its lustre, and the gems cease to sparkle, and the throne room becomes a prison; and all that is left is a father's love for his child.

[Bud Brewster]

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Soldier is my favorite "serious" Kurt Russell movie, but Big Trouble in Little China is the polar opposite, story wise, so Kurt's character is (of course) drastically different as well.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Gord Green]

SOLDIER is also my fave Kurt Russel film. It falls into the STARSHIP TROOPERS / FOREVER WAR mode of military Sci-Fi and did so magnificently!
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There comes a time, thief, when gold loses its lustre, and the gems cease to sparkle, and the throne room becomes a prison; and all that is left is a father's love for his child.

[Pow]

Mental Floss:

British actor Donald Pleasence who portrayed the POTUS wrote a backstory for his character. Part of it addressed the question of why would an American president speak with a British accent? This was explained that the US was reverting back to being a British colony. Director John Carpenter did not use this backstory in his film.

John Carpenter shot an elaborate heist scene in the opening of the movie to explain why Snake Plissken was in prison. Snake and an accomplice had robbed a bank and were fleeing on a hot-wired train for their getaway. The audience found the scene confusing, so Carpenter edited it out.
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Sidebar: The bank robbery scene seems pretty straight forward to me as to establishing as to why Snake is in prison. It also sounds exciting and it's a shame we didn't get to see it. I wonder what about it confused the audience?

Did Carpenter shoot it in some unusual manner? Could not any confusion be cleared up by writing narration about it? Or was this a test audience that just wasn't that astute?

[tmlindsey]

I'm from St Louis and I worked with a guy who was an extra in the wrestling scene of EFNY, along with a friend of his. Most of the STL filming was in a bad part of town long before the '76 fire and we all knew to avoid it.

_________ Cinema St Louis
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I took some photos of Union Station (where the scene was filmed) when I was a teen to use as background reference for a neo-noir comic book I wanted to do and told several people I thought it would be cool to renovate it and make it a shopping mall. A year later, someone did just that!
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"Have you never wondered what it would be like to walk between the ticks and tocks of Time?"

[Bud Brewster]

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Wow, I heard they called it Lindsey Mall, just to rub your nose in the fact that they overheard your comment and STOLE your idea!

Geez, I HATE it when that happens!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[tmlindsey]

Yes, I'm sure that's exactly what happened
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"Have you never wondered what it would be like to walk between the ticks and tocks of Time?"

[Bud Brewster]

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Don't take this lying down, Tim! Here's the phone number of my personal lawyer. I'm sure he'll put the fear of God into these crooks!

555-0189
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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Well, gosh . . . I finally watched this movie for the first time tonight. I was pretty sure I wouldn't like it.

Geez, I get so tired of being right all the time . . .

This dim-witted mess is a wonderful example of how NOT to make a good movie. All you have to do is take a depressing premise, fill it with unlikable characters, give it a "hero" who doesn't care about anybody but himself, send him on a rescue mission to save a President nobody gives a shit about, and then be sure he meets nobody along the way whose any better than he is!

The only positive thing I can say about this cinematic mess is that it's filled with moments when the audience can go to the snack bar or the restroom without missing anything worth seeing.

But hey, to be fair, this movie does have ONE admirable character — the man played by Earnest Borgnine. He's the real hero, a sidekick with more guts and integrity than the alleged "good guy".

This movie is a bit like a remake of The Magnificent Seven, in which the gunfighters go to the Mexican village, kill all the bandits, then rob the peasant and ride away laughing.

Ah, well . . . I guess I'm just a cockeyed optimist.

Hey, why else would I spend 17 years struggling to keep All Sci-Fi alive and well — even after multiple crashes, despite the fact that it cost me $1,788 a year to pay for a "dedicated server" on Dreamhost so that we're safe from hackers and we're allowed to keep the board exactly the same as it was when I started it in 2006?

Well . . . hang in there, guys! We're the last holdouts from the Baby Boomer generation who remember the Good Old Days!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)