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Escape from New York
Escape from New York
7.4
/10
4,794 Ratings

ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK

Directed by John Carpenter
United States, 1981
Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller, Adventure

Synopsis

In the not-so-distant future of 1997, crime levels have exploded and Manhattan has been transformed into an anarchic maximum-security prison. When an Air Force One is hijacked and the president is stranded on the island, only special-forces soldier turned mercenary Snake Plissken can save him.

Synopsis

In the not-so-distant future of 1997, crime levels have exploded and Manhattan has been transformed into an anarchic maximum-security prison. When an Air Force One is hijacked and the president is stranded on the island, only special-forces soldier turned mercenary Snake Plissken can save him.

Our take

John Carpenter’s cult classic epic plunges his muse Kurt Russell into an expressionist New York seemingly stuck in eternal night. The iconic presences of Lee Van Cleef and Ernest Borgnine, combined with peerless widescreen camerawork, shape this into a neo-western with an anti-authoritarian edge.