In 1997, when the U.S. president crashes into Manhattan, now a giant maximum security prison, a convicted bank robber is sent in to rescue him.In 1997, when the U.S. president crashes into Manhattan, now a giant maximum security prison, a convicted bank robber is sent in to rescue him.In 1997, when the U.S. president crashes into Manhattan, now a giant maximum security prison, a convicted bank robber is sent in to rescue him.
- Awards
- 6 nominations
John Cothran
- Gypsy #1
- (as John Cothran Jr.)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaKurt Russell has stated that this is his favorite of all his films, and Snake Plissken is his favorite of his characters.
- GoofsDuring the sequence where Snake is being chased by the Crazies (and is about to shoot an oval pattern in a wall so he can break through), his eye patch shifts enough to reveal a perfectly good eye. This is commonly regarded as a mistake, but it is not; the novelization of the movie explains that Snake still has his left eye, but he wears the patch due to a paralyzed iris, making it extremely sensitive to light.
- Quotes
Bob Hauk: You going to kill me, Snake?
Snake Plissken: Not now, I'm too tired.
[pause]
Snake Plissken: Maybe later.
- Crazy creditsThe Avco Embassy logo does not appear in this movie.
- Alternate versionsCollector's edition laserdisc (during director commentary) shows cut scenes of high-tech bank robbery which led to Snake's conviction and eventual prison sentencing to New York.
- ConnectionsEdited into The Needle (1988)
Featured review
"The name's Plissken."
First things first, Kurt Russel is just plain cool. That said, on to the review. Escape From New York is a classic action movie with a great horror cast, including Donald Pleasence, Tom Atkins, Charles Cyphers, and who could forget Buck Flower. Buck, who has one of the best scenes in the movie ("Sure, I'm the president!"), is hilarious. John Carpenter proves that he is a versatile director and can make a hell of a film outside the horror genre. In Carpenter's classic, Kurt Russell plays the immortal Snake Plissken, New York has become a prison state, and the president has just crash landed there. Enter Snake Plissken. Freshly captured and about to be incarcerated in New York, he must save the President (Pleasence, who isn't even American but pulls it off well) from the clutches of Isaac Hayes in order to regain his freedom. It's all great stuff and you can't stop watching as Snake fights his way from one famous landmark to another (he even has to wrestle Ox Baker). But it leaves me with one unanswered question: What did happen to Fresno Bob?
Note: A couple of the Duke's cronies are credited as Romero and Cronenberg. Also, Jamie Lee Curtis does the opening computer dialogue.
Note: A couple of the Duke's cronies are credited as Romero and Cronenberg. Also, Jamie Lee Curtis does the opening computer dialogue.
helpful•5317
- Backlash007
- Jan 13, 2002
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Escape from New York City
- Filming locations
- Fox Theater - 527 N. Grand Boulevard, St. Louis, Missouri, USA(Broadway theatre relics)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $6,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $25,244,626
- Gross worldwide
- $25,275,806
- Runtime1 hour 39 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
![Adrienne Barbeau, Donald Pleasence, and Kurt Russell in Escape from New York (1981)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTUzMTY0Nzg0MV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMDU3MzQxMDE@._V1_QL75_UX90_CR0,2,90,133_.jpg)