Escape from New York (Collector’s Edition): Blu-Ray Review
Arriving this week on Collector’s Edition Blu-ray is John Carpenter’s 1981 cult classic “Escape from New York” in beautiful 2K High Definition. There have been many imitators over the past few decades but none of them have topped the original. Although the 1996 sequel “Escape from L.A. had its fun moments, “Escape from New York” is could never be. Talks have been going on for years about remaking “Escape from New York” but in my mind, Kurt Russell is the only Snake Plissken. Thanks to Scream Factory, we now get a worthy release for our collections.
For those of you who haven’t seen “Escape from New York”, it follows a former Special Forces war hero turned outlaw (Russell) who has been granted a pull pardon if he can rescue the President of the United States (Donald Pleasence) from The Duke (Isaac Hayes). To do that, Snake must enter the New York City which is now a prison island and locate the hostage. Snake only has 22 hours to complete the mission or these micro bombs that were injected into him will burst, killing him.
Those of you who have been waiting for a proper “Escape from New York” Blu-Ray, this is a huge improvement over the 2010 release and it comes packed with tons of bonus features. Fans, this is a must-buy.
Bonus Features
• NEW 2K High Definition Scan Of The Inter-Positive, Struck From The Original Negative
• NEW Audio Commentary With Actress Adrienne Barbeau And Director Of Photography Dean Cundey
• Audio Commentary With Director John Carpenter And Actor Kurt Russell
• Audio Commentary With Producer Debra Hill And Production Designer Joe Alves
• NEW Big Challenges In Little Manhattan: The Visual Effects Of ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK
• NEW Scoring The Escape: A Discussion With Composer Alan Howarth
• NEW On Set With John Carpenter: The Images Of ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK With Photographer Kim Gottlieb-Walker
• NEW I Am Taylor: An Interview With Actor Joe Unger
• NEW My Night On The Set: An Interview With Filmmaker David DeCoteau
• Deleted Scene: The Original Opening Bank Robbery Sequence
• Return To Escape From New York Featurette
• Theatrical Trailers
• Photo Galleries – Behind-The-Scenes, Posters And Lobby Cards
By: Marc Ferman