Why 'Escape from New York' Is an Amazing Film

Escape From New York is one of those great cult films that only certain people can really appreciate. I’m going to try and change that. Most people who don’t like it/don’t want to see it have the same complaints. It’s too old, it’s really cheesy, I don’t get the premise. While some of that may be true, like most cult films that’s part of what makes it so great. The film also falls into the category of: if one thing had been different, the movie could have been a complete disaster.

The premise is a bit strange, but the basic background info you need is provided before the movie even starts. The crime rate shot up 400 percent in one year. Shortly thereafter, Manhattan Island was turned into a maximum security prison for the entire country. There’s only one rule: once you go in, you never come out.

The film starts at the main post of the police force around the island. All seems normal until a plane enters restricted air space over the island. It begins to crash, turns out it was Air Force One. After a failed rescue on the part of the police, it’s decided they only have one option left. Send in Snake Plissken, a recently captured war hero turned criminal.

The rest of the plot unfolds as a race against time, for Snake and the President. The President is expected at a peace summit to share information on nuclear fusion. The summit ends in less than 24 hours. Snake has to make his way through the city, find the President and get him out before time runs out.

Part of what makes the plot so interesting is that like most sci-fi, it examines mankind in a way that other genres don’t. It puts us in a terrible set of circumstances and looks at where we might go from there. In the case of this film, turning a city into a prison and exiling all criminals to it. It even puts us into the perspective of the criminals to make us take a hard look at the extremes that people in power will go to in order to solve their problems.

This clip perfectly captures who Snake Plissken is in under two minutes. He’s been through a lot, and now he’s here. He doesn’t want to go to prison, but he hates the system enough that he actually pauses when given a full pardon. This adds to the feeling of mistrust and hatred the audience has started to develop towards the government. Snake was in the army, fought for the system before becoming a criminal. This makes you ask the question: why? He was obviously on their side at one point, what changed his mind? What happened that could turn a war hero into a criminal? Those questions asked, and suddenly we’re on his side of things.

Another great thing about Snake’s character is that he’s not entirely selfish. He very easily could have been, but he isn’t. He has selfish moments throughout the film, but overall he does care about other people. He cares for the people he meets on his journey trying to escape the city, and he cares for humanity as a whole. It may not always come off that way, but he does. Looking at the government, they have a very clear ‘us’ versus ‘them’ mentality. That’s how they see the world and how they choose to deal with it. Snake on the other hand considers people to be equal. He treats everyone the same, regardless of who they might be. In the end, he makes a decision that is best for everyone.