Movie · 1981 · Action, Thriller, Science Fiction · 1h 39m · R · English
Curator score: 7.5/10 (174.4K ratings)
1997. New York City is a walled, maximum security prison. Breaking out is impossible. Breaking in is insane.
Overview
In a world ravaged by crime, the entire island of Manhattan has been converted into a walled prison where brutal prisoners roam free. After the US president crash-lands inside, war hero Snake Plissken has 24 hours to bring him back.
Ratings
Curator score: 7.5/10
IMDb: 7.1/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 85%
Metacritic: 76
TMDB: 7.0/10
Director
John Carpenter
Production
AVCO Embassy Pictures, Goldcrest, International Film Investors, City Films, Taurus Film
Cast
Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasence, Isaac Hayes, Season Hubley, Harry Dean Stanton, Adrienne Barbeau, Tom Atkins, Charles Cyphers, Frank Doubleday, John Strobel, George Buck Flower, John Cothran, Nancy Stephens, Steven Ford, John Carpenter, Jamie Lee Curtis, Nick Castle, Debra Hill
Where to watch
Philo
Curator Review
Verdict
A lean, grimy, highly influential dystopian action movie with a killer synth mood and a memorable antihero. It’s more about atmosphere, attitude, and world-building than nonstop action, which is exactly why it endures.
Best for
fans of 1980s genre cinema
viewers who like antiheroes and deadpan one-liners
dystopian sci-fi fans
people who value synth scores and strong visual mood
audiences who enjoy pulpy, low-budget high-concept filmmaking
Skip if
you want polished modern action choreography
you need a fast-paced plot with lots of exposition
you dislike bleak, cynical worlds
you prefer character warmth over cool detachment
Overview
Escape from New York is pure genre invention: a future Manhattan turned prison island, a one-eyed antihero on a deadline, and a world that feels both trashy and mythic. John Carpenter builds the movie out of silhouettes, smoke, rain, and synth lines, letting the setting do as much work as the plot. It’s scrappy, iconic, and endlessly quotable without ever feeling slick.
Worth noting
What makes it last is the attitude. Snake Plissken is a perfect Carpenter creation: laconic, contemptuous, and weirdly magnetic. The movie treats institutions as jokes and survival as the only real currency, which gives it a nasty comic edge beneath the grim surface. Even when the mechanics are simple, the design of the world keeps pulling you forward.
Bottom line
It’s not the most kinetic action film of its era, and some viewers may find the pacing deliberately dry. But if you’re in the mood for a dystopian pulp nightmare with a legendary score and a deeply cool central performance, this is one of the essential ones.
Top Letterboxd reviews
SilentDawn (4★) · 3407 likes
78/100
Escape from New York is one of the few films that feels like it was written by a group of imaginative 8-year-olds:
Iconic city turned into a high-security prison?
Check.
The president of the US is kidnapped after crashing into the city?
Check.
Nuclear warfare imminent?
Check.
A stoic badass is the only one to save the day?
Check.
And his name?
Snake Plissken
Check, check, and check.
Moody and pulse-quickening 80s synth score?
Check.
Main antihero injected with deadly poison capsules that are timed?
Check.
A car with chandeliers on the sides?
Fuck yeah.
matt lynch (5★) · 2824 likes
"The president of what?"
fuck The Man.
russman (3★) · 2294 likes
I was hoping for a scene with Snake sneaking around in a cardboard box
sarah squirm (4★) · 1327 likes
the 9/11 movie we deserve!!!!!!!
Sean Fennessey (4.5★) · 1180 likes
The baby gazed upon Snake Plissken, and lo she was entranced.