While all of us probably have lengthy cult-movie Blu-ray Disc "wish lists", one must admit that the film's of John Carpenter have been fairly well-represented on Blu-ray, and several of them are available as impressive special editions. But, there are still plenty of his movies yet to go hi-def and, as a fan, I cherish those that go Blu, especially his earlier work. With Escape from New York, we get an HD transfer of a Carpenter classic, but where are the great extras?

Escape from New York is set in 1997, where the United States Police Force has been created to combat crime and Manhattan Island is now a maximum security prison. A plane carrying the President of the United States (Donald Pleasence) crashes inside walls of the prison. Newly arrested felon and ex-solider Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell), who is about to be incarcerated inside the prison, is recruited by warden, Hauk (Lee Van Cleef) to rescue the President. Snake is given 22 hours to complete this mission, or he will die. Snake flies a glider into the prison and soon finds himself amongst the strange denizens of New York. With assistance from an old accomplice, Brain (Harry Dean Stanton), Brain's "woman", Maggie (Adrienne Barbeau), and an old cab driver (Ernest Borgnine), Snake tracks down the President and realizes that he must snatch him from the hands of the evil Duke of New York (Isaac Hayes).

As John Carpenter's Halloween kicked off a series of knock-off slasher films, so Escape from New York influenced many (mostly Italian) "New York City in ruins" movies, but it not only remains the best example of this odd sub-genre, but one of the best sci-fi/action films of the 80s. Escape from New York works because the film is a successful sum of all of its parts. First of all, the idea of a future in which New York City is a prison is sheer genius. I've read reviews which called this idea unoriginal (?), but even today, I find this concept to be very clever, as it creates a setting which is at once very familiar and quite alien. Secondly, Snake Plissken is simply a great character. Kurt Russell does a fine-job playing this outlaw bad-ass. And while we shouldn't like Snake, as he's a criminal, one can't help but admire his tenacity. (And I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking, "I'd like to be like that.") Snake is supported by an interesting group of characters, with The Duke of New York and The President both being quite memorable. The story may be a bit simplistic towards the end (get the President and get out) and some of the special-effects do look very dated today, but Escape from New York has definitely stood the test of time and continues to be a great action film.

There have been talks recently of remaking Escape from New York, and I can see why someone would want to re-visit the film, as, again, some of the special effects look dated. However, this would most likely be a mistake. While the movie is set in the future, it's very much a product of its time, and a certain maverick (not in the Sarah Palin sense) inhabits both the story and the Snake Plissken character. The movie's low-budget aesthetic actually works in its favor and it's amazing the mileage that Carpenter's crew was able to get out of the locations. While it's not perfect, Escape from New York manages to deftly blend a clever story, good action, a touch of humor and a great look. While it may only be remembered by some as the movie which re-launched Kurt Russell's career, the movie should be looked upon as a classic.

Escape from New York proves that it is not dead on Blu-ray Disc courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. The film has been letterboxed at 2.35:1 and the Disc contains an AVC 1080p HD transfer which runs at an average of 35 Mbps. For a 30 year old movie, this looks pretty good. The image is very sharp and clear, showing only a trace of grain in the brighter scenes. Being a Carpenter film, the movie is dark and, for the most part, this transfer handles that darkness well, although a few scenes are a bit too dark. The colors look fine and the level of detail and depth is impressive. The Disc carries a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which runs at 48 kHz and an average of 4.0 Mbps. The track provides clear dialogue and sound effects. The stereo effects are good and show nice separation. The bass effects are nicely done and complement the action scenes. I was disappointed with the surround sound, which shows up intermittently. Given the cars, helicopters and fights, surround should have been right at home here.

The only extra included with Escape from New York is the film's THEATRICAL TRAILER and it's found on the DVD which is included on this set. Well, I guess that I'll be holding onto my Special Edition DVD of this title. I can't believe that they didn't include the Carpenter-Russell commentary here. It's one of the best as it nicely demonstrates how scenes shot in separate locations can be seamlessly edited together.