Escape from New York
Short description
In a near-future United States, crime has risen so far that the island of Manhattan has been sealed off and turned into a maximum-security prison, its streets given over to inmates left to fend for themselves. When the president's plane goes down inside the walled city, the authorities turn to Snake Plissken, a former war hero now facing a criminal sentence, and offer him his freedom if he brings the president out. He is sent in with a limited window of time and a lethal injection as insurance: the antidote is his only if he returns with his target.
John Carpenter directed and co-wrote the screenplay with Nick Castle, with Debra Hill and Larry J. Franco producing. It was Carpenter's seventh feature in a career that had already produced The Fog a year earlier and would continue with The Thing the following year. Kurt Russell leads as Plissken, supported by Lee Van Cleef as Commissioner Bob Hauk, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasence as the president, and Isaac Hayes.
The film was made for about 6 million dollars and took roughly 50 million worldwide. On IMDb it holds 7.1 out of 10 from around 172,000 votes, and on TMDB 7 out of 10 from far fewer votes, suggesting a widely seen film with a settled reputation. A critics' rating of 7.5 out of 10 from 71 reviews places it somewhat above the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- Carpenter and the film crew agreed with the city government of East St. Louis that the electricity would be turned off during nighttime filming. Filming took place from August to November 1980. Carpenter recalled that for about two and a half months he didn't see daylight at all, because the crew finished filming at 6 a.m., and he went to sleep at 7 a.m. and woke up around 6 p.m.
- The end credits state that Joe Anger played Taylor. However, this character does not appear in the film itself. His scenes (the bank robbery) were cut from the film, but his name remained in the closing credits.
- Before meeting Plissken, almost every character in the film believed him to be dead. The same joke was used in "Big Jack" (1971).
- The studio wanted Tommy Lee Jones to play Snake Plissken.
- John Carpenter has an acquaintance who knew a guy in Cleveland named Snake Plissken, who everyone believed was dead. Carpenter borrowed the name and also added comments from the characters to the film about the supposedly deceased Snake.
- The computer model of New York that Snake sees on the monitor in the glider is actually not computer graphics. At the time of filming, such computer effects were too expensive. Therefore, to create the illusion of a computer model, the special effects team built a model of the city, painted it black, attached a strip of white color to the miniature buildings, and filmed the result of their work with a film camera.
- Donald Pleasence came up with a backstory for his character explaining why the President speaks with a British accent. However, Carpenter did not use his idea.
- When Snake first meets Cabbie, "Everyone's Coming To New York" is playing.
- The scenes on the streets of New York were filmed in St. Louis after a devastating fire that occurred in the city.
- The Duke of New York’s car is a 1977 Cadillac Fleetwood.
- The studio also considered Charles Bronson for the role of Plissken. However, John Carpenter was against this choice, as he believed Bronson was too old for the part.
- The only scene filmed in New York is one of the characters walking with the Statue of Liberty in the background.
- John Carpenter wrote the screenplay for "Escape from New York" in 1976, following the Watergate scandal. According to the director, the screenplay he wrote was "brutal, scary, and unusual," and therefore no studio wanted to undertake its adaptation. Carpenter was inspired by the popular film "Death Wish" at the time. He liked the depiction of New York as a kind of jungle and wanted to create his own science fiction film based on a similar principle.
- Kurt Russell followed a strict diet and exercise regimen to build muscle mass. Even between takes, Russell tried not to break character, but he preferred to remove the eye patch at those times, as prolonged wear negatively affected his vision.
- Clint Eastwood, Nick Nolte, Jeff Bridges, and Chuck Norris also auditioned for the role of Snake Plissken.
- Jamie Lee Curtis reads the voice-over at the beginning of the film, but her name is not mentioned in the credits.
- Recreating the setting – a semi-destroyed New York – became a problem for Carpenter, as the film's budget was low. The director and production designer Joe Alves decided not to film in real New York, because depicting it as a ruined city was too difficult. Carpenter suggested filming on a studio lot, but Alves wanted to film on real streets and rejected the director's idea. Assistant producer Barry Bernardi, at the behest of Carpenter and Alves, went on a trip across the country to find "the worst city in America." Bernardi suggested filming in East St. Louis.
- The name of the main character, Snake Plissken, was changed to Hyena when the film was shown in Italy; in Korea, the character played by Kurt Russell is called Cobra.
- The shot of the helicopter flying over Central Park was filmed in San Fernando. The building models in the background were made by future filmmaker James Cameron.
- Some music from 'Escape from...' was borrowed for 'Planet Terror' (2007).
- The main character of the “Metal Gear Solid” computer game series, Solid Snake, was created based on Snake Plissken. Hideo Kojima, the creator of “MGS,” personally confirmed that “Escape from New York” is one of his favorite films, and Solid Snake was created based on Plissken.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
