Title: DWB MC: Escape from New York
Description: Carpenter, 1981.
Description: Carpenter, 1981.
Metrodome - July 28, 2008 09:01 PM (GMT)
Kicking this off slightly early. Hopefully everyone can find this, get this watched, and start the discussion.
Links:
Escape from New York on IMDB.
Escape from New York on Wikipedia.
Escape from New York on Rotten Tomatoes.
Discuss!
Links:
Escape from New York on IMDB.
Escape from New York on Wikipedia.
Escape from New York on Rotten Tomatoes.
Discuss!
The Last Free Voice - July 29, 2008 02:57 AM (GMT)
I'll do my best to track down a copy. Shouldn't be too hard.
dynamite kido - July 29, 2008 02:28 PM (GMT)
Great movie, good choice.
whitemilesdavis - July 29, 2008 05:54 PM (GMT)
It's on Netflix instant watch if you have an account. Haven't seen it, but I've been looking forward to it.
dynamite kido - July 30, 2008 07:46 PM (GMT)
Also, anyone with Comcast can check this out for free on their OnDemand.
These Are All Gay! - July 31, 2008 02:57 AM (GMT)
Picked it up at Blockbuster for free thanks to Blockbuster Online
dave - July 31, 2008 04:22 AM (GMT)
i'm gonna try and track it down but if you wanna push it back a week, it comes on amc on the 8th
These Are All Gay! - July 31, 2008 11:28 AM (GMT)
It was also on the day after this thread was started
Metrodome - July 31, 2008 10:42 PM (GMT)
| QUOTE (dave @ Jul 30 2008, 11:22 PM) |
| i'm gonna try and track it down but if you wanna push it back a week, it comes on amc on the 8th |
This "officially" runs from the 1-8, but if you wanna discuss it after that, it's no biggy.
Metrodome - August 1, 2008 09:32 PM (GMT)
Planning on watching this on Sunday...
SamoaRowe - August 1, 2008 09:35 PM (GMT)
I'll try to rent this or borrow it from a friend sometime this week, it'll depend on my work schedule and if I can get my car back from the shop on time.
Metrodome - August 3, 2008 03:15 AM (GMT)
| QUOTE (SamoaRowe @ Aug 1 2008, 04:35 PM) |
| I'll try to rent this or borrow it from a friend sometime this week, it'll depend on my work schedule and if I can get my car back from the shop on time. |
Nice to know you made it back from your vacation safely...I think I'm gonna pop this disc in tonight since I work at 5 am tomorrow and therefore don't feel like doing much other than watching a movie.
I sent Swiggy a PM for his choice, and he's yet to respond, but I'm eagerly awaiting his pick too, but when I find out I'm keeping it a surprise until I make a thread for it... :rolleyes:
SamoaRowe - August 3, 2008 02:57 PM (GMT)
| QUOTE (Metrodome @ Aug 2 2008, 09:15 PM) | ||
Nice to know you made it back from your vacation safely...I think I'm gonna pop this disc in tonight since I work at 5 am tomorrow and therefore don't feel like doing much other than watching a movie. I sent Swiggy a PM for his choice, and he's yet to respond, but I'm eagerly awaiting his pick too, but when I find out I'm keeping it a surprise until I make a thread for it... :rolleyes: |
Thanks, dude. It was a photo finish, my car was showing signs of being fucked about 15 minutes before I got home and was kind enough not to break down until I made it to my building's parking lot.
And now it's fixed and I'll be renting Escape from New York this week, hopefully tomorrow :D
Jillie - August 4, 2008 02:41 AM (GMT)
I was a little skeptical of this choice, but upon reading the synopsizes (I really don't think that's the right word, but spell check allows it!!) I decided it wouldn't be so bad. Haha. I'm in the process of obtaining it via the interwebs right now.
The Swigg Lebowski - August 4, 2008 12:15 PM (GMT)
| QUOTE (Metrodome @ Aug 2 2008, 11:15 PM) | ||
Nice to know you made it back from your vacation safely...I think I'm gonna pop this disc in tonight since I work at 5 am tomorrow and therefore don't feel like doing much other than watching a movie. I sent Swiggy a PM for his choice, and he's yet to respond, but I'm eagerly awaiting his pick too, but when I find out I'm keeping it a surprise until I make a thread for it... :rolleyes: |
I've been working all weekend, and haven't been online. I'll try and PM something by day's end
SamoaRowe - August 4, 2008 08:41 PM (GMT)
Just watched it. It wasn't the chaotic action flick that I was expecting, but instead it was a suspenseful romp through a city gone to hell. I'll wait a few days to say more, just to avoid spoiling anything for those of you who haven't seen it yet.
SamoaRowe - August 5, 2008 12:30 AM (GMT)
Trivia on the film from IMDB. I'm not including the trivia marked as a spoiler, but there might still be some giveaways, so be cautious.
| QUOTE |
| The studio wanted Tommy Lee Jones for the role of Snake Plissken. They didn't think Kurt Russell was right for the role because of his prior work. The wire-frame computer graphics on the display screens in the glider were not actually computer graphics. (Computers capable of 3D wire-frame imaging were way too expensive when this was made.) To generate the "wire-frame" images, they built a model of the city, painted it black, attached bright white tape to the model buildings in an orderly grid, and moved a camera through the model city! A scene in the beginning of the film where Snake and another criminal are robbing a high-security bank, which leads to his arrest and sentence to New York, was in the original script but was cut from the film before release. The name "Snake Plissken" was changed to "Hyena" for the Italian release. The name Snake Plissken was changed to "Cobra" Plissken in the Korean video version. Director Trademark: [John Carpenter] [names] Cronenberg, Romero, Taylor (Don). The 'city at night' scenes were filmed in St. Louis after a recent devastating fire. The only scene actually filmed in New York was the opening dolly shot, which follows a character pass the Statue of Liberty. The shot where the helicopter glides over Central Park were actually filmed in San Fernando. The buildings in the background were matte-paintings by future director James Cameron. The fight scene in the wrestling ring was filmed in the grand hall of St. Louis' Union Station. This was filmed a few years before renovation when the building was abandoned. While the hall was extremely dilapidated, one can make out the stained glass window representing New York, St. Louis, and San Francisco in the background. This window is still above the front entry into the grand hall from Market Street. The original negative was considered lost, but later found by the current owner of the film: MGM. It was subsequently used to create new elements for the special edition DVD. Donald Pleasence came up with a backstory to explain how he became President with his British accent but Carpenter didn't use it. Ox Baker during the fight sequence really laid into Kurt Russell with some of his blows. Russell finally had enough and walked over to Baker and asked him to take it easy and gently tapped him in the groin to let him know he was serious. Baker calmed down then. Bill Bartell was the pilot in the glider sequence at the start of the movie. He sold the glider to the production company, and then flew it. The glider used had the designation N2927B and was a Romanian made IS28-B2. The skeletal weapons being carried by the police guards in the beginning of the movie are M16A1 rifles with the ventilated hand-guards and gas tubes removed. Though the rifles can fire without the handguards, they are unable to fire with the gas tube removed (at least in real life) Actually, the M16 can fire single shots, cocking manually, even with the gas tube removed, but would not work in semi-auto, full auto or burst (M16A2) mode. Joe Unger is listed in the end credits as playing the character of Taylor. In the film as it is, his character is not in it. His scenes, (the bank robbery/escape prologue) were deleted but his name remains at the end. Kurt Russell's then wife Season Hubley who played the girl in the Chock Full O' Nuts had just given birth to their son Boston prior to doing this film. It was her first role after Boston's birth. Isaac Hayes's '77 Cadillac Fleetwood sedan with the fender-mounted chandeliers is the first art car in a feature film. The running gag used in the film about everybody thinking Snake Plissken was dead was also used in the western, Big Jake (1971). "Everyone's Coming To New York" is the song sung by the men in drag at the stage show scene where Snake first meets Cabbie. The lyrics are as follows: Shoot a cop With a gun The Big Apple is plenty of fun Stab a priest With a fork And you'll spend your vacation in New York Rob a bank Take a truck You can get here by stealing a buck This is bliss It's a lark Honey, everyone's coming to New York! No more Yankees Strike the word from your ears Play the roulette There's no more opera at the Met This is hell This is fate But now this is your home and it's great So rejoice Pop a cork Honey, everyone's coming to New York! John Carpenter had a friend who knew a guy in Cleveland named Snake Plissken that everyone thought was dead. This is where Carpenter got the name from and explains why everyone in the movie heard Snake was dead. The final credit is a reference to a strip club and the dancers across the river from St Louis. The studio also wanted Charles Bronson for the role of Snake Plissken but John Carpenter refused on the grounds that he was too old. The main character of the Metal Gear series, Solid Snake, is inspired by Snake Plissken. In the game Metal Gear Solid 2 and MGS2:Substance Solid Snake lies about his name when speaking to Raiden, calling himself "Iroquois Pliskin". Hideo Kojima himself has volunteered the information that Escape From New York is one of his favourite films, and that Solid Snake is based on Plissken. The opening narration is provided by an uncredited Jamie Lee Curtis. The original German one-sheet poster prominently misspells Snake's last name as "Plessken". |
Metrodome - August 5, 2008 04:25 AM (GMT)
Still haven't got around to watching this...wish I wasn't addicted to Soul Caliber IV.
Metrodome - August 6, 2008 12:13 AM (GMT)
Watched it this afternoon. First time in about 5 years. My single disc DVD holds up pretty well, and looked alot better on my PS3 than I ever remember it looking on my DVD Player, that's for sure.
It's a bit dated, but not as bad as some movies from the early 80's. The effects weren't as cheesy as I thought they might be, luckily. Surprised me. I mean, you can tell it was made in the 80's, but the effects are better than some movies I've seen from 1989, and this was made in '81. Gotta love the 80's techno beats too.
Snake is bad ass. Can definately see all the similarities in Solid Snake from Metal Gear. Glad the creator of Metal Gear was such a fan, it worked out well.
Slightly gorier than I remembered. It's no Robocop, obviously, but watching this 5 years ago I was disappointed because I wanted this to be gorier. It actually has it's moments (Maggie getting ran over, Ox Baker getting a spiked bat stuck in the back of his skull)...not a whole lot of blood, but a decent amount if you're not expecting too much.
The ending. Always enjoyable to me. The whole tape thing seemed trivial to me the first time I watched this, and it playing a big part on how the film ends is greatness. So is Snake wanting to be called "Plisskin" instead of "Snake" at the end, the exact opposite of what he wanted at the beginning.
Snake switching the tapes shows that he knew the President was more concerned about the war than the people who died in getting him out of NY, even if they were criminals. Cabbie was a generally nice guy. Maggie sacrificing herself to slow down the Duke, and so on. If the President can't generally appreciate these efforts, how can he appreciate the people he should be trying to protect from nuclear war?
Gotta love Snake tearing up the real tape in front of the American flag as the film ends. I still think The Thing is Carpenter's masterpiece, but this is his second best, in my opinion. Great flick.
It's a bit dated, but not as bad as some movies from the early 80's. The effects weren't as cheesy as I thought they might be, luckily. Surprised me. I mean, you can tell it was made in the 80's, but the effects are better than some movies I've seen from 1989, and this was made in '81. Gotta love the 80's techno beats too.
Snake is bad ass. Can definately see all the similarities in Solid Snake from Metal Gear. Glad the creator of Metal Gear was such a fan, it worked out well.
Slightly gorier than I remembered. It's no Robocop, obviously, but watching this 5 years ago I was disappointed because I wanted this to be gorier. It actually has it's moments (Maggie getting ran over, Ox Baker getting a spiked bat stuck in the back of his skull)...not a whole lot of blood, but a decent amount if you're not expecting too much.
The ending. Always enjoyable to me. The whole tape thing seemed trivial to me the first time I watched this, and it playing a big part on how the film ends is greatness. So is Snake wanting to be called "Plisskin" instead of "Snake" at the end, the exact opposite of what he wanted at the beginning.
Snake switching the tapes shows that he knew the President was more concerned about the war than the people who died in getting him out of NY, even if they were criminals. Cabbie was a generally nice guy. Maggie sacrificing herself to slow down the Duke, and so on. If the President can't generally appreciate these efforts, how can he appreciate the people he should be trying to protect from nuclear war?
Gotta love Snake tearing up the real tape in front of the American flag as the film ends. I still think The Thing is Carpenter's masterpiece, but this is his second best, in my opinion. Great flick.
dynamite kido - August 6, 2008 12:54 PM (GMT)
I would say that Escape is probably his non-horror masterpiece.
This is also the same guy who made Halloween and The Fog too. Carpenter is insanely good.
This is also the same guy who made Halloween and The Fog too. Carpenter is insanely good.
Jillie - August 8, 2008 02:56 AM (GMT)
Just watched this and I must say it was a little blase to me.
I didn't really get the part about the tape. Was the president trying to scare China and Russia into being peaceful because the USA had a more powerful weapon? I don't really know much about nuclear chemistry.
I thought they could have gone further into depth about the reason why New York was a prison and the societal circumstances involved. If this movie had been based on a book I would like to read it to get the whole story.
I guess all in all it was entertaining and the concept is interesting, although I think they could have done a lot more with it. It would be nifty to see a remake done with today's technology and with a little more depth added.
I didn't really get the part about the tape. Was the president trying to scare China and Russia into being peaceful because the USA had a more powerful weapon? I don't really know much about nuclear chemistry.
I thought they could have gone further into depth about the reason why New York was a prison and the societal circumstances involved. If this movie had been based on a book I would like to read it to get the whole story.
I guess all in all it was entertaining and the concept is interesting, although I think they could have done a lot more with it. It would be nifty to see a remake done with today's technology and with a little more depth added.
Metrodome - August 8, 2008 03:02 AM (GMT)
| QUOTE (Jillie @ Aug 7 2008, 09:56 PM) |
| I guess all in all it was entertaining and the concept is interesting, although I think they could have done a lot more with it. It would be nifty to see a remake done with today's technology and with a little more depth added. |
Funny you should mention that, I think the idea's been thrown around a lot this year. I've actually heard rumors that both Gerard Butler (ugh) and Josh Brolin (slightly better) were going to play Snake.
Jillie - August 8, 2008 03:06 AM (GMT)
Sorry for the double post, but I just thought of something and was too lazy to hit edit. The version of the cover for this movie that looks like this:
was used as inspiration for Cloverfield.
was used as inspiration for Cloverfield.
whitemilesdavis - August 8, 2008 08:41 AM (GMT)
I wasn't as thrilled with this movie as I had hoped to be. Kinda with Jillie here...It seemed interesting, but in the end it was just kinda - flat, maybe? I found the primitive effects to be charming, and probably would be less likely to enjoy a modern blockbuster version. I'll probably watch this again, which says something for the movie, but I'm not sure what that is.
Metrodome - August 8, 2008 09:24 PM (GMT)
Have to agree that a summer blockbuster remake would lack the grit that the original has...can you imagine if Michael Bay got his hands on the remake?