When George gave that slight look as Snake was introduced......yes, Solid Snake was based on Snake Pliskin and Kojima wanted Kurt Russel to voice him in MGS
The girl in Chock Full O' Nuts was played by Season Hubley, who was Kurt Russell's wife at the time, and Maggie was played by Adrienne Barbeau, who was married to John Carpenter. The matte painting of New York from the opening scene was painted by a young James Cameron, who was on loan from Roger Corman. He said working on this movie is why it took him so long to make films in 2.35:1 Anamorphic, because lens distortion made compositing so difficult. That's why Aliens is the only movie in the series that's in 16:9. Funny that Kurt based his performance on Clint Eastwood, because his nemesis, Hauk, was played by Lee Van Cleef, who co-starred with Eastwood in For a Few Dollars More and The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.
And all of Season Hubley’s best movies she plays a prostitute/sex worker: this film, HARDCORE (1979) and VICE SQUAD (1982). All awesome movies (I don’t know if Simone & George would like the last two as much as EFNY though).
Yeah, I didn't realize that was the same guy from Good Bad Ugly etc until this time around. Not sure why I never noticed that. Then when they read the thing about him doing an Eastwood impersonation, I thought, well, there's a connection to him.
I always loved Maggie's delivery when she knows Brain is dead, but still says his name with no emotion as though a part of herself died in that moment with him.
I still remember maybe 30yrs ago not being able to sleep one night and I found my dad watching this in the livingroom. Sat down next to him and thus my love of dystopia was born, which we both shared. Rip old man. ✌
Kurt Russell and John Carpenter had a really good discussion about this on the Big Trouble in Little China commentary. Kurt said that it was Backdraft that pushed him as a box office star. They talked a lot about their frustrations of box office hits during the 80s. Carpenter was told to cast someone bigger but Carpenter said if he had to do it again he would go with his boy Kurt. Glad Carpenter never changed. I can't see these movies not having Kurt Russell
Metal Gear Solid is indeed a massive homage to this film and Snake/Big Boss in particular, so you are bang in the money there. Hideo Kojima loves this film. Also, the voice of the woman in the opening credits narration is Jamie Lee Curtis in an uncredited voiceover role. She also does the voice of the Liberty Island Security Control announcer when Snake is entering the debarkation area.
Donald Pleasence spent some time in a German POW prison camp in WWII, where he was imprisoned and tortured by the Nazis. He said he drew on some of those experiences for his portrayal of the captured President.
Prior to this movie, Kurt Russell was primarily known for being the fresh-faced bright-eyed small-town boy Dexter Riley in a slew of forgettable Disney movies. Seeing him as the one-eyed biker bandit Snake Plissken came as a shock to a lot of us 70's kids.
Cabbie was played by Ernest Borgnine a great character actor who had a long career in Hollywood. He won an Oscar for starring in the film Marty a classic movie about an underdog type guy. When I was a kid, he was on Airwolf and reruns of his 60's tv show McHale's Navy and to guys of your generation him and his McHale's Navy co-star Tim Conway were the original Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy on Sponge Bob. He died in 2012 at the age 95 when asked once when he was in his 90's how he stayed so active and alert he whispered in the tv host ear "I Masturbate a lot". Man was a Gem.
In Tarantino's Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, DeCaprio and Pitt play Hollywood star and his long-time stuntman. This idea came to Quentin while shooting Death Proof in 2005. In-between camera set ups, he observed Kurt Russell sitting with his long-time stunt guy and friend Warlock. Quentin said Russell asked him before filming began if they could find anything stunt wise Warlock could do and Quentin said absolutely and obliged. But, clearly the unspoken thing being communicated was that Warlock was now years long down the road barely a physical resemblance proxy to Russell anymore and the end was near if not already on borrowed time and their decades old working relationship had just about reached its final curtain call. And Quentin instantly saw all the inherent melancholy and mining of old Hollywood lore potential in basing a whole movie on just two Hollywood arch types like them. When you watch Once Up on A Time, you see a lot of what inspired Tarantino from that first initial eureka moment of creative spark observing Russell and Warlock.
My heart leaps whenever I see the great Issac Hayes onscreen (The Duke) and then sinks when I realize none of young people have any idea who he is. He's a multi nominated and Grammy Award Winner - even Lifetime Achievement in music. The father of Hot Buttered Soul is probably best known as the voice of Chef from South Park.
FINALLY. This is only one of the best dystopian future action movies ever. I’ve been watching this movie since I was a kid in the 80s. After watching a crappy VHS copy for years, DVD and hi-def were a blessing.
If you play Metal Gear Solid 2, the Snake connection is pretty much spelt out when Solid Snake assumes the alias Plissken. But it's obvious even from MGS1. Not just because of his name, appearance and demeanor but also the story of a one man drop into enemy territory where the agent is being played by his own superiors.
I came here to say the same thing. So many video games take references from great movies like this. Also, this was a failure at the box office because of all the other big movies that came out at the same time. When it came out on VHS it became a cult classic.
The dude Snake fights toward the end was played by professional wrestler Douglas "Ox" Baker. He was an upper mid-card heel for the NWA & AWA back in the 70s & 80s. The list of guys he worked in the 70s is basically a who's who of legendary pro wrestlers. Guys like Dusty Rhodes, Andre the Giant, Terry Funk, Pedro Morales, Verne Gagne, Bob Backlund, Larry Hennig & the Von Erich brothers. He even worked a few tours for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) where he wrestled the absolute legend that was Antonio Inoki. Also George, I think you'd be surprised how many gaming archetypes you know & love actually come from pro wrestling characters/gimmicks.
Snake Plissken is one of the all-time best anti-heroes. Mysterious, grizzled, and totally badass. Kurt Russell was largely known for doing squeaky-clean Disney films as a child actor, and the role of Snake Plissken really reintroduced him to the world as a serious actor who could do edgy mature roles. There is a sequel called Escape from L.A., but unfortunately it feels very formulaic and same-y with a lot of similar plot beats. But it is good to see Russell as Snake again, and the movie has some pointed social commentary to it.
One thing to keep in mind when watching this movie is to remember how high the crime rate in America, and especially NY, had risen during the 70s up until when this movie was made, 1981, that turning NYC into a prison colony wasn't completely implausible (not very likely, but to most Americans Manhattan already seemed like a city full of murderers). To get an idea what NYC was like at that time (or the mood of that time), think JOKER, and watch TAXI DRIVER, DEATH WISH, MS. 45, or THE WARRIORS (but watch the theatrical version of THE WARRIORS, director cut sucks).
I am just happy you watched this, even though it didn’t win the poll. Such a great John Carpenter film, and it shows that Kurt Russell loved it, it remains an iconic work.
Theres a set story where apparently Kurt russell needed to take a leak in full costume. He went down a nearby alleyway where he scared two local homeless people who saw his patch, saw the guns he was carrying and backed off up the alley lol.
Originally there was another, opening scene that showed the events that sent Snake to prison -- it's the aftermath of a heist set in a station of a coast-to-coast subway, with Snake, Brain, and another guy. The other guy is injured so Snake goes back to help him and gets captured, whereas Brain runs and escapes. The idea was to show Snake's good side. After it had been filmed, though, Carpenter rightly left it on the cutting room floor because, "Snake doesn't have a good side."
@@StMichael7 Search here on youtube for: Escape From New York Deleted Original Opening "Remastered" (Plus Alternate Takes) I kinda wish they'd kept it in the movie but I understand why leaving it out made Snake seem more cool and mysterious.
John Carpenter and Kurt Russell have worked together five times, and you forgot to list one of the ones you've already seen. They first worked together on a movie you mentioned in the trivia section, Elvis, in which Russell plays Elvis. They then reteamed for this in 1981, before making their most famous collaboration, The Thing, in 1982. The one you forgot is their fourth film together, Big Trouble in Little China. Finally, as you learned, they reteamed for the Escape from New York sequel Escape From L.A. in 1996. Personally, while I think it would be fun to see Escape from L.A. on the channel, it should be noted in advance that it is definitely not as cool as this one. Carpenter and Russell had vague ideas about making a third and final film, Escape From Earth, but it never happened. Funny story about that: in 2001, Carpenter was developing his last big-budget theatrical film, Ghosts of Mars, which was panned by critics and unsuccessful at the box office. In it, a group of police officers arrive at a mining colony on Mars expecting to give testimony but find it deserted, and one of the only people they can turn to for answers is an escaped felon. In the finished movie, the role is played by Ice Cube, but there was a rumor that the character was initially going to be Snake, and the studio forced them to change it. Also, in 2012, the sci-fi action movie Lockout, starring Guy Pearce, featured a story very similar to this unmade third movie, which many people noted when the trailer dropped. Carpenter agreed, suing screenwriter Luc Besson and his production company for plagiarism, a case which he won in 2016. The current layout of IMDb is quite annoying. It prioritizes the department in which the person has the most recent credit. Since John Carpenter worked on the music for a streaming television show recently, it lists that first. It also only shows a few departments before hiding the rest, so when you go to his page, it says (Music Department) (Writer) (Composer) in ovals and then there is a grouped oval that says (Director | Actor | Producer | Editor...). You have to click on Director in that group bubble to open that, and then you still have to click at the bottom of that list of credits to "expand all." Anyway, Carpenter's first film was actually Dark Star in 1974 (a dry run for the concept that would become Alien in 1979, by the same writers), followed by Assault on Precinct 13 in 1976 before directing Halloween in 1979. Of his remaining major films (a list which includes Precinct 13), I agree with the Patrons that They Live, Prince of Darkness, and In the Mouth of Madness are the three most exciting possibilities. If you thought Escape From New York had a great concept, They Live has another winner (and, much like Snake Plissken inspired Solid Snake and the three guys from Big Trouble in Little China inspired character designs for Mortal Kombat, there's a line of dialogue that made it into another video game in They Live). I would also consider The Fog, Precinct 13, Christine, and Starman for the channel.
The three guys from Big Trouble in Little China are a direct lift of three assassin characters from an early seventies Japanese Lone Wolf & Cub movie. Footage from that and another movie in the series were re-edited and dubbed into English, and released in theaters by Roger Corman's company under the title Shogun Assassin in the early eighties. It's probably the Shogun Assassin version that John Carpenter saw, and he put the very similar character designs in Big Trouble.. All just a long-winded way of saying, he probably can't lay claim to inspiring Mortal Kombat.
21:45 - CABBIE OF NEW YORK - Portrayed by veteran American actor Ernest Borgnine whose career spanned over six decades. [RIP 2012 at 95]. In 1955 he won the Academy Award for Best Actor for portraying Marty Piletti in the film Marty. For his contributions to the film industry, he received a ‘motion pictures’ star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960.
This is Kurt Russell's feature-length Clint Eastwood impression. Kurt Russell's feature-length John Wayne impression can be found in "Big Trouble In Little China."
Kurt Russel wasn't the only bad ass cast in this film. Lee Van Cleef ( who actually played in a number of Clint Eastwood movies) and Adrienne Barbeau (THE 80s scream queen) also fit the bill.
Green lines... a lot of early mono CRT displays were green (and black) because green phosphor was cheap and showed better than white. Even on early colour monitors it often showed brighter than other colours. So it was used a lot in early wireframe graphics for games and other applications.
Fun fact... The green lines in this movie were not computer generated. They created a large block model of New York, painted it black, taped the block outlines with green UV reactive tape, lit the scene with only a blacklight, then moved the camera on a crane above the model to capture the footage. It cost them next to nothing to shoot it.
Such a great movie. You can imagine how impressed a 13 year old me was in 1980. Prior to this, Kurt Russel was known as a Disney child actor. This was obviously a big departure for him.
I know everyone brings up John Carpenter's other films like They Live! and Prince of Darkness for viewing, but a film of his that I love that a lot of people didn't realize was John Carpenter is Starman (1984) with Jeff Bridges and Karen Allen. Bridges was nominated for Best Actor but that was the year of Amadeus ruling the Oscars. Loved that movie!
I completely forgot about Starman! And that instantly made me think of The Last Starfighter! Pretty sure they came out about the same time. Nice, have a couple movies i can watch this weekend. If i can find them.
The first vector computer animation on film was Vertigo (1958), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) used vector lines on monitors, Alien (1979) used them for landscapes on monitors.
Ernest Borgnine who played Cabbie, is probably new on your radar, but a beloved actor for six decades, as well as, it seems, a genuinely good dude in real life! A few years before he died, at the age of 91 he was asked on TV what the secret to his longevity was, and he replied, "I masturbate a lot!" He's in a lot of classic movies, and played a variety of characters, but in real life, seemed to be a very friendly and lovable character with a sense of humor, that was very fun loving and easy to get along with, and always had a big smile on his face, and was always open for a laugh and a good time. Ernie was a real one!
This has been a favorite for YEARS. Just an excellent, dystopian adventure. Some amazing stars in this. My favorite part - everyone thinks Snake is dead. :D 'Chock-full-o-Nuts' was a NY coffee shop chain that then also became a brand you could buy in stores.
I remember reading Kojima was inspired by this film and a number of other films (including The Terminator) when creating the Metal Gear series. Solid Snake was undoubtedly inspired by the Snake character in this movie.
The Terminator is probably the major inspiration for his “Snatcher” game, where robots kill and replace humans. Hell one of the earliest Metal Gear games has Micheal Bean on the cover as Snake like the art is just a traced frame from the Terminator.
I agree, simple idea, high concept, gets straight into it. 3 Legends in this Donald Pleasence as the President, Ernest Borgnine as the Cabby and Harry Dean Stanton as Brain. Its an incredible cast of great character actors.
Chock Full O' Nuts was a nut shop thst so!d shelled nuts, but when the Great Depression hit it started serving coffee and sandwiches (cream cheese and chopped nuts on raisin bread). They still sell the coffee brand today, especially in America. In fact, I'd argue it's one of the better home coffee brands when it comes to flavor.
Glad you saw how influential this film has been. As for green graphics, that's not a style thing, it's a technology limitation. Before color, we had only green phosphor, which is why the theme for "The Matrix" was green.
The President stopped Snakes ascension up the wall so the Duke would stand still to take a shot at Snake, making him a sitting duck for the President on the mounted gun.
Yes, Chock Full o' Nuts is a real coffee brand that had luuncheonettes in various cities. Not sure how many are left these days. But you can still buy the coffee.
just so we have a complete list Jamie Lee Curtis (narration): main character in Halloween, Halloween II, Halloween H20, Halloween Resurrection, Halloween (2018), Halloween Kills, Halloween Ends Donald Pleasence (President): main character in Halloween, Halloween II, Halloween 4, Halloween 5, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers Tom Atkins (Rehm): main character in Halloween III
Escape from New York was actually Escape from St, Louis, as the majority of the film was made in my hometown. As a kid, I remember when they were filming and I lived about 2 miles from where the Brooklyn Bridge scenes were filmed (it's actually called the Chain of Rocks Bridge). The majority of the exterior shots were filmed in East St. Louis, which had been devastated by a fire which made it a perfect filming location (sadly, it still looks like it did in the movie). Whenever I have friends from out of town, I take them on a tour of all the filming locations, most of which are in much better shape than they were in this movie, although at the time they made this movie most were as they appear in the film.
The Fox Theater (where the burlesque show is being performed) and Union Station (where the gladiator fight was held) were both renovated in the 80's and are both really nice places to visit.
31:14 - THE DUKE OF NEW YORK - Portrayed by Isaac Hayes [RIP 2008 at 65]. He was known mainly for ‘The Theme from Shaft’. However, in 1997, he became known to many as the character ‘Chef’, when he joined the founding cast of the TV series, South Park, In 1999, the song ‘’Chocolate Salty Balls’ performed by Chef from the series, reached no.1 on the UK singles chart.
@@bobbombar6711 checked IMDb, the (as I call him)"Klaus Kinski lookalike" is one Frank Doubleday. Biehn was not in this movie. Strangely enough, for a long time I thought the "Chock Full O'Nuts" girl was Linda Hamilton/Sarah Connor. Maybe SciFi writers are right, logging on internet moves us across neighboring universes, causing Mandela Effect,🤨😉.
For the green lines in the computer simulation, it was what computers used at the time, so they used it for the movies (not the other way around.) Old tank, helicopter and mecha games were first person view that just had green lines on the black screen to silhouette everything.
The head on the Statue of Liberty on the poster is just something the advertising company made up. It's not in the film. However, it inspired the Statue of Liberty's head which did appear in the movie Cloverfield!
It's a .45. With a silencer and a ridiculous and pointless scope.😂 The MAC 10 was a staple of 80s action movies. In real life it was a pretty niche weapon. High cyclic rate ( with practice you could get three quick bursts and you're empty), lousy ergonomics, and accuracy that earned it the nickname of the "phone boorh gun". It's main practical use was to "take out a room full of surprised Colonels". The Gun That Made The 80s Roar
The tops of both of the Twin Towers were covered in all kinds of things including a giant antenna, piping, equipment and an observation area. It was not flat at all and would be impossible to land on.
Hollywood really thought mankind wouldn't make it past 1997. - Demolition Man (L.A. in ruins) - Escape from New York (N.Y. in ruins) - and Skynet was activated
@@dabreal82 sure... if you knew anything about computers back then... which many didn't and the media did what the media has always done and whipped it up to be more than it was... but my point was more that there were a lot of movies from before the turn of the millennium that predicted that the world would collapse around 2000... and therefore it was easy for people to fear Y2K....
Adrienne Barbeau who played Maggie was married to John Carpenter and was in several of his movies. She was also the voice for the chess computer in The Thing.
John Carpenter's influence on modern media cannot be understated. From _Halloween_ to _Escape from New York_ to _The Thing_ - the dude has created some of the coolest movies ever. Absolutely loved growing up with his stuff. Heck, _Prince of Darkness_ nearly inspired to go into studying quantum physics. Although some people complain about the sequel to this, I think it's just so gonzo that it works... and is the perfect middle finger to Hollywood XD
My favourite (non Solid Snake) fact about this film: At 6:18 that's not a computer generated model, they didn't have the tech for that at the SF studio at the time: it's an actual physical model with lines drawn on and a black-light. I think that’s so neat! EDIT: glad that got into the trivia at the end of the video. Great vid, 10/10
So glad you guys enjoyed this movie! It's one of those films that makes you wonder how so much could be done with so little, when now we do so little with so much.
8:40 - BUM WITH POTUS'S BRACELET - Portrayed by George Buck Flower [RIP June 2004 at 66]. Often played a homeless street bum because of his gruff appearance. Director John Carpenter gave Flower a cameo role in several films he made throughout the 1980s including 'The Fog', (1980) 'Starman' (1984), and 'They Live' (1988). Flower also portrayed 'Red', the bum awoken from sleeping on the public bench in 'Back To The Future' (1985).
A lot of the streets were filmed in st. Louis' warehouse district where they had massive fires a few years before. The ring combatant was portrayed by wrestler Ox Baker who was in reality a very nice man
The actor who plays the part of " BRAIN " , was also in : ALIEN - Red Dawn - Pretty In Pink. And other movies. And Brains Squeeze Maggy was in a Stephen King film : CREEPSHOW
"Mister, I wanted a vanilla twist." Assault on Precinct 13 is also straight forward and AWESOME. I believe the Peter Pan boy was also one of the head gang leaders.
Kurt Russell was a Disney studios child actor/teen actor. This was his first job as an action hero and completely changed the course of his career. The “I thought you were dead,” line may come from the John Wayne movie ‘Big Jake.’ All through that movie people are saying to Big Jake/John Wayne: “I thought you were dead.”
My all-time favorite Kurt Russell film. Saw it several times on the big screen. Like a rollercoaster ride where you are paranoid throughout. I was gripping the arm rest tightly, on the edge of my seat. I did not relax until after the end credits. The tension and fear was so well done, my brain shut down and forgot that I’ve seen the movie many times before. I jumped each time that guy ran across the doorway behind him! I yelled F@$k! every time he dropped his radio! The legendary Ernest Borgnine as Cabbie. The leader of a bunch of misfits in the comedy series McHale’s Navy. He played memorable heavies in earlier films. In Demetrius and the Gladiators, Borgnine was terrifying as the Gladiator overseer. Hey George, he was probably a role model for ‘Gladiator 2’.
Kurt playing Snake as Clint. Based on the fact that the police commisioner on Liberty Island station is Lee Van Cleef. Who starred with Clint Eastwood in his westerns such as The ood The Bad and The Ugly. It was fun.
I was so thrilled when i saw this. I watched some other reactors reacting to this before and was wishing for more reactors to find this gem. The game heavily inspired "Metal Gear (Solid)". Essentially the aspect of a "one man infiltration with equipment / on site procurement" and the dark looks. Also, Snake. Solid Snake (David) calls himself "Iroquois Plisskin" in one point in his later life. Iroquois in its "current" form has the most notable meaning "snake", and Plisskin is an obvious nod to "Plissken". So the code name that SS picks in MGS 2 is literally "Snake Plisskin". Other than that, I love this movie. It's a bit all over the place, its a bit confusing and a bit weird at times, especially with the effects, but the whole package makes this movie so whacky and that makes it so good. Glad you reacted to this.
I was 17 when this came out. The perfect age for it! The Summer of 1981 gave me the 2 Coolest movie heroes of all time! Snake Plissken & Indiana Jones. In fact the night I saw Escape From New York I also went to see Raiders for my 3rd time in a 70MM print on a screen that wrapped around you. You had to turn your head from side to side to see the whole movie. This was in Canada. For the rest of the 80s & 90s Kurt Russell & Harrison Ford would make all my of favorite movies of all time. Mel Gibson was my 3rd for making my favorite movies of all time from the 80s & 90s.
this has one of the best ensemble casts ever (if you looked at all the names on their own), but they are just players working together and amazing acting off each other
This was filmed in the St. Louis area. Union Station, the area they used for the arena was renovated shortly after this was filmed. For the street locations they simply went across the river to east St. Louis. It was so run down they had to do very little set dressing.
What a great movie! The 80s were such a strange time for movies. To those of us who were born before the 1970s, Kurt Russel was a Disney child star. Seeing him make his escape through action films was hilarious!
The woman in the 'Chock Full of Nuts" store is Kurt Russell's first wife: Season Hubley. She played Priscilla Presley and Kurt played Elvis in 1979's TV movie "Elvis".
The old cab driver is Ernest Borgnine, who won an Oscar in the 50's for a movie called "Marty.," which also won the Oscar for Best Picture that year. That movie is *so* well-regarded it's one of only three movies that have won both Best Picture and the Palm D'Or. It's a movie you guys should consider watching, although maybe not on the channel. I'd bet good money it would have Simone bawling.
