Director John Carpenter has had quite the interesting career. His films include cult classics (“Halloween”, “Assault of Precinct 13”, “The Thing”) as well as huge flops (“Ghosts of Mars”, “In the Mouth of Madness”), but his fan base has never wavered. There is a certain style to Carpenter’s work, and I can generally find something to like about most of his films. But of course, I do have my favorites. High on that list is 1981’s “Escape from New York.” The premise is fairly simple. Kurt Russell is Snake Plissken, an ex-Special Forces Officer turned criminal who is ‘enlisted’ (re: blackmailed) into taking on a mission to save the President. It seems the President’s plane has gone down in the New York area and has gone missing.

Normally you might think this would be a simple operation, but the year is 1997 and the entire city of New York has become a Federal Prison which houses all of the countries worst criminals. You can’t just wak in and walk out. (Oddly enough, I remember visiting New York in 1997 and somehow missed the check points.)

I can’t tell you how much I loved this flick when it first came out. First there was Carpenter’s driving score (he generally does the music for his films) which had this great bass beat. Then there was Kurt Russell. “Escape from New York” marked a major turning point in his career. Prior to this movie, audiences were familiar with the squeaky clean image that he exhibited through years and years of work in Disney films. Remembering him from “The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes” and “The Barefoot Executive”, Russell was almost unrecognizable as the tough-talking, long-haired, eye-patch wearing Snake Plissken. With this character, he crossed the line into cult icon status and by continuing his affiliation with Carpenter in two more films cemented his status as a box-office draw.

Over the past couple of years, more and more of Carpenter’s films have been given the Special Edition treatment, among them “The Thing”, The Fog, and “Big Trouble in Little China” (the last one being a commercial flop, but a fan’s guilty pleasure). I am beyond thankful to see the release of a Special Edition release for “Escape from New York.”

MGM spared no expense in turning out a terrific 2-disc DVD set. It is housed in a colorfully designed fold-out disc holder that fits into an equally handsome slipcase. This fold-out includes a full size pocket that holds a miniature copy of the 1st issue of “John Carpenter’s Snake Plissken Chronicles”, a new comic book being put out by Cross Gen. I read this issue a few months back when it wax included in an issue of “Cinescape” magazine and loved it. Though I don’t read comics much anymore, I am tempted to find the other issues.

The DVDs themselves hold quite a few little treasures for Plissken fans. First is the transfer of he film itself, which is awesome. I’ve seen a couple of the earlier releases and this is the best-looking version yet. Due to the original low-budget nature of the film, it is not perfect but I doubt a better looking transfer could ever be made.

The extras include 2 commentaries, the first one done by Carpenter and Russell. It was originally done for the Laserdisc release and it is one of the better commentaries you’ll find anywhere. Listening to the two talk about the film is just like listening to old buddies talk about an old camping trip. The banter between them is priceless. The second commentary is by producer Debra Hill and production designer Joe Alves. From an informational standpoint, there is a lot to be learned but their conversation is less animated.

The documentary “Return to Escape from New York” is a must watch, and offers up several new interviews with Carpenter and Russell, as well as several members of the cast and crew. Among them are actress Adrienne Barbeau (Carpenter’s ex-wife), Isaac Hayes (more familiar to younger audiences as “South Park’s” Chef) and Harry Dean Stanton. The only drawback to this otherwise great documentary is the length. It runs just under a half hour. It definitely needed to be longer.

The last of the big extras is the inclusion of the original opening of the film. Fans of “Escape from New York” have often heard of this scene, which sets up the character of Plissken, but few have seen it. It is a very welcome addition to this set.

Though “Escape from New York” is not everyone’s cup of tea, with its ultra-violent approach and anti-hero Plissken, it definitely sits high on the list of cult classics and even spawned a (less than stellar) sequel. As the year comes to a close this MGM release becomes one of the final entries on my 2003 list of ‘must-haves’ for any DVD collection.

Directed by: John Carpenter
Starring: Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasence, Isaac Hayes, Season Hubley, Harry Dean Stanton, Adrienne Barbeau
Extras: Deleted Scene, Original Opening Bank Robbery Sequence, “Return to Escape from New York” Featurette, 2 Feature-Length Audio Commentaries, Liner notes by John Carpenter, “Making of John Carpenter’s Snake Plissken Chronicles” Gallery, Exclusive Comic Book, Photo Gallery, Trailers
Specifications: Widescreen (2.35:1) Enhanced for 16X9 Televisions, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Studio: MGM
Release Date: 12/16/2003
Region 1
MPAA Rating: R
Website

We'll give Escape From New York: Special Edition an A.