Escape from New York

For other uses, see Escape from New York (disambiguation).

Escape from New York
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJohn Carpenter
Written by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyDean Cundey
Edited byTodd Ramsay
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed byAVCO Embassy Pictures[1]
Release date
  • July 10, 1981 (1981-07-10) (United States)
Running time
99 minutes
CountryUnited States[1][2]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$6 million[3]
Box office$50 million[4]

Escape from New York is a 1981 American independent 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)[5] 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), he had enough influence to begin production and filmed it mainly in St. Louis, Missouri, on an estimated budget of $6 million.[3][6] Debra Hill and Larry J. Franco served as the producers. The film was co-written by Nick Castle, who played 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.[3] The film was nominated for four Saturn Awards, including Best Science Fiction Film and Best Direction. The film became a cult classic and was followed by a sequel, Escape from L.A. (1996), which was also directed and written by Carpenter and starred Russell.

  1. ^ a b "Escape from New York". American Film Institute. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  2. ^ "Escape From New York". Monthly Film Bulletin. Vol. 48, no. 564. 1981. p. 174. ISSN 0027-0407.
  3. ^ a b c "Escape from New York". The Numbers. May 4, 2007. Retrieved May 4, 2007.
  4. ^ Muir, John Kenneth (2005). The Films of John Carpenter. McFarland & Company. p. 22. ISBN 9780786422692.
  5. ^ "John Carpenter's 1980s: A Double Bill". MUBI.
  6. ^ Phantom of the Movies (December 11, 2003). "Escape From New York rushes into a DVD world". The Washington Times. pp. M24.