WTF Happened to ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK (1981)? 

Kurt Russel's hair deserves it own acting credit for the film. It was magnificent.

Saying ''WTF happen'' implies something went wrong with this movie, and there not a damn thing wrong with this classic.

I saw this movie by complete accident back in 2019 and was mesmerized. The whole look of the film was so dark. Everyone in the movie including the U.S. President is corrupt. The fact that it was written in the 70's is a testament to Carpenter. The films set pieces are amazing. A+

I saw this in '81 in a Chicago movie theater that was about 50-60 years old with crumbling plaster, exposed beams, peeling paint, musty red carpet, and dim lobby lights. It was the perfect immersive setting to see this movie in. It resembled the theater in the musical scene where we see Cabby.

Snake Plissken the very image of the anti-hero. I remember watching this movie when it first came out. And it's one of the first movies we watch when we got cable.

The Kurt Russell/John Carpenter trilogy of The Thing, Escape from New York, and Big Trouble in Little China are some of my favorite movies of all time. Each different, each revolutionary, each perfect in their own way.

Like many of his movies, Carpenter was always ahead of his time when it comes to stories and dystopian worlds Not to mention the incredible soundtracks that he adds and makes the whole thing so good

“What the f*ck happened to this movie?"... it’s a totally fantastic classic, that’s what! Hate that I never saw it on big screen, but it still blew my mind on video in the late 80s. A high bar achievement in realistic “world building” - amazing production design, memorable characters, tight story, and a GREAT ending!

There'll never be such awesome movies like this made again.

Kurt Russell was something of a muse for John Carpenter. Many collaborations together which produced some really great films and characters. Needless to say, I have a soft spot for Big Trouble in Little China and the character of Jack Burton (who was a kind of dollar store version of Snake Plissken able to survive trouble more by accident than design).

HBO being 12 and seeing this movie has always been one of my best movie memories ever!

Saw this movie in the summer of 1981 in Detroit. How appropriate. I was 13 and it blew me away. My parents let me watch a lot of age-inappropriate movies like "Dawn of the Dead", "Alien" and "The Shining". It reminded me of "The Omega Man" and "Dawn of the Dead". Loved it and it's still one of my favorites 42 years later.

As others have pointed out, you can't remake Escape from New York, as that version of New York no longer exists.

My absolute favorite movie as a kid. Me and my friends used to watch this movie over and over again. A cinematic masterpiece.

Saw in the theater with my wife, huge fan , this and The Thing , Heavy Metal, Conan the Barbarian , Porkys, American Werewolf in London etc the early 80s were a magical time to go to the movies, something for everyone, thanks again

Great classic 80's movie that is STILL unmatched today.

No!!! -- Do not let current-day Hollywood remake and ruin this film!

What always really struck me about John Carpenter's movies has always been the soundtracks. Escape from New York was great as was Vampires and even Ghosts of Mars.

This movie is a national treasure!!

As a native New Yorker I loved this movie and remember seeing it in the theatre as a kid. Loved it

Nothing ''happened'' to this AMAZING movie. I will never forget seeing it in the Cinema. Loong time ago!

More New World memories. I didn't get to work with Cameron's crew on this one but they did invite me to the premiere at the El Capitan in Hollywood when it was called The Paramount theater. I remember John and Adrienne retiring to the lounge near the projection booth. It was amazing what they did with the innovative and clever effects work but that's why New World rocked considering what we had to work with.

Snake Pliskin! The definition of badass!

I think you should definitely do all the other collaborations of John Carpenter & Kurt Russell 👌

This, 1978 Halloween and the 82 thing likely my 3 favorite John carpenter flicks. So much classic filmmaking style to them with legit thrills and character development 😎🤘🏼

This movie was probably my most favorite movie of all time! It came out when I was in junior high school. And I watched it over and over on HBO. Great memories.

This and The Road Warrior were 2 of my early 80s favorites. Great video!

I first saw Escape from New York when I was 8 years old and it debuted on HBO in 1982. My older brother and I watched, amazed, at how slick and cool Snake Plisskin was. I have been a fan of Kurt Russell ever since. I remember growing up and longing for sequel. In 1994, my dreams had come true. I got my hands on the first draft of John Carpenter's Escape From LA. It was genius. A wonderful sequel, ever bit as fun and exciting as the first film. I couldn't wait for them to make it. Then I heard it would cost 80 million to film and the studio would only give John 50. That's when Kurt Russell & Debra Hill came in to rewrite it and bring down the budget, but by doing that they also ended up destroying what would have been one of the best sequels ever made. They changed the tone, eliminated subplots and made Snake Plisskin less of a character, more of a caricature. It was depressing. It still is. Whenever I see that film, I am reminded of what could of been. If you ever get the chance to read Carpenter's FIRST DRAFT, read it! You won't be sorry!

Oh boy, the memories. I was in high school when me and my group went to the state capital and ended in the theater watching this movie. It was an incredible trip.

It's unimaginable that anyone could make such a cool movie. It could never be done today.

back in the days when my dad watched the movie, i just joined him and i was almost instantly grabbed by the strange feel and atmosphere of it. i cant really remember THAT much of it but what i remember is, that it was strange and good!

I saw it in the theatre and was blown away. Still holds up. Thanks!

I love this film, saw it when I was very young and was creeped out by its futuristic settings. It's one of those films that I've owned on several home video editions from VHS, DVD, Blu-ray and I've just pre-ordered the 4K disc.

I saw this movie at the drive in back in 84 and have loved it ever since. We used to call the toughest Kid in school "The Duke" because of this... Brother, I have been waiting for this. Thanks

This is one of the all time great, dystopian science fiction films.

I love the carpenter style. Makes me feel nostalgic for an era I never lived in lol. They would 100% ruin it if they remake it though. Also damn I had no idea that was Kurt Russell’s son 😂

Damnit, I love that movie! I'm also old enough to remember going to the theater to see it when I was a kid

I’m not gonna lie, set designer really seems like a hard job, but so satisfying. I’m gonna rewatch this just it examine the sets. I love this film.

Saw this in a U.A. movie theater in North Hollywood, CA. when I was 10 years old and loved it.

I wish I can see a John Carpenter version of The Philadelphia Experiment.

one of my favourite movies ever , i seen 4 times in one month , then in 1981...

Terrific video, as always! One correction is in order: EYES OF LAURA MARS was not a TV-movie. The Irvin Kershner-directed thriller was released in theaters via Columbia Pictures in August, 1978 under an R rating.

This was my first R movie. My older sister took me. We were supposed to go see The Fox and the Hound (I was 10) but my sister asked me if I wanted to see something wild and mind-blowing and I said OK. It was a mind-blowing experience for a kid whose most intense experiences to that point came from Roadrunner cartoons. It was a double feature with Kill and Kill Again. My sister told me not to tell our mom and dad what we did so I kept quiet and then told my mom decades later and she said she already knew! Anyway I was never the same after.

I saw the movie for the first time as a teen in Italy, where the name Snake was changed to "Iena" (hyena). Why I never knew.

One of my favourite films John Carpenter was on fire in the early eighties.

"You gonna kill me now Snake?" "Im... too tired. Maybe later."

This movie rocks !

I have seen this classic many times why? Because Kurt Russell is a heart throb!

I had a grainy overused VHS as a kid, watching it on DVD blew me away

just this movie and The Thing are enough to count John Carpenter amongst my favorite directors and Kurt Russell amongst my favorite actors(though i love them both in many more movies) i was 9 when i first saw this movie in 94 and by then NYC had been cleaned up significantly compared to the 70s and 80s so at first i had a hard time buying that Manhattan would ever be turned into a prison but when i think back to how bad NYC was back then suddenly it doesn't seem so farfetched.. I guess i can count myself lucky to come up in a better NYC.. everything about this movie is amazing ..from the music to the sets to the actors it mos definitely deserves it's place as a classic in film history

This was excellent - thanks for putting it together.

"Call me 'Snake!"" One if the great intro lines.

The eye patch was perfect. Everybody in the movie instantly recognized Snake.

Great Movie, loved it back then. I think it even aged pretty well!

This movie is so badass...even when I watch it today I always think how cool everything was executed....all the little details are just masterful.... I hope they don't do a sequel.... Escape From LA was Good enough.

As someone from St Louis, not much has changed. They could still film this movie in parts of the city and still look just as, if not more decrepid. The summer heat is also nothing to mess with.

Just watched this for Kurt Russell’s 71st birthday!

Never noticed Maggie's fingernails.

Wait wtf i want that cut that shit is awesome a bank heist as the intro would of been badass lol

One of my alltime favorite films. There is some cheese-factor in there, but it all works. As a 13-14 year old at the time this movie was released, I wanted to be as badass and look like Snake. To this day, at my somewhat advancing age, I still have a Plissken t-shirt. The instrumental theme song is legendary (use it as my ringtone).

I was born and raised in Saint Louis and was 13 when they started filming right before my 14th birthday and the start of my freshman year in high school. Somehow I was the only person in the area who did not know that my favorite director was filming what would become my favorite of all his movies in my hometown. I found out the following summer when an issue of "Starlog" magazine chronicled the filming. I also got some bad info from that magazine about filming locations. All my life I kept my eyes open for familiar backgrounds, but nothing ever caught my eye even after spending over a decade working as a courier and driving the streets of Saint Louis every day. Of course there was the Fox theater and Union Station, but those go without saying. Then in 2014 or 2015 a friend linked an article on Facebook concerning the anniversary of the release of the movie and it gave some new info. With that I got out my DVD of the movie and brought up Googlemaps and started looking. I could neither confirm nor deny any of the info in this new article due to construction and beautification projects during the intervening 30+ years. But I looked at the scene of the choppers landing, and Hauk and the troopers finding the presidential escape pod and Romero making his approach and speech telling them the president was captured and they had to get out or he would be killed. I thought the building that Romero was concealed at was familiar and kind of strange looking. I watched the scene over and over. And then it hit me... I knew where that building was!!! I'd switched to days from dedicated graveyard shift in February of 2013 and I'd made dozens of deliveries there without ever recognizing it. It was the Mulligan Printing building at 18th and Washington. Then the building we see Snake walking past when we first see him on the ground in the city looked familiar. BAM!!!! I suddenly recognized that as well. Again, I'd made deliveries to that building and to the building just south of it parking my car just about where the camera would have started it's tracking shot several dozen times and had simply NEVER RECOGNIZED the area. Very quickly a lot of the locations just started coming up for me. Once I posted this to Facebook... A bunch of people linked articles they'd found via Google that listed the major filming locations. If only I had known. But I took my camera with me and photographed everything I could to document it that week when passing through. It was fun. Great vid... but the title doesn't suit it. "WTF Happened to ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK?". Nothing ever happened to it. It's always there. Waiting. Like an old friend. Boots... gun... jacket... take out the guards first... the glider is on the roof.

classic Kurt Russel! Love this movie, I think I still have it on VHS lol

Call Me Snake...No wait the names Plissken..👍😎🐍

Good to hear Carpenter's *"Dark Star"* student made movie mentioned. Funny low budget piece, alien pet is a beach ball, jet pack is a refrigerator coil, but it worked.

The President's downed plane was an old Convair 580 bought from an airplane graveyard in Tucson, Arizona. The plane was carved up into three separate pieces, and trucked into the film's St. Louis locations in the dead of night, as they didn't have the requisite paperwork. DC-8 sounded wrong, so I researched. Great video... thanks!

I remember seeing this like it was yesterday. Even then i knew it was destined to be a classic. They couldn't make this today.

Classic movie, one of my favourites

That theme … Brilliant. Bought EfNY on BluRay - this is a classic I wanted in my physical collection

I love movies from the 80s n 90s this movie definitely is one of those you never get tired of watching it""!.. they should make a show great comic stories

The pacing for me keeps me from saying I ever watched it in one sitting but it is a favorite

Wait...JJ Abrams gave a flying fuck about continuity?

One of my favorite movies. Me in 1981: “It seems reasonable that Manhattan will be a giant prison by 1997.” Me in 1997: “No, it looks like Manhattan will never be a giant prison. “ Me in 2020/21: “Well waddya know.”

Lol, I was driving around listening to the soundtrack this morning!

As time pass by since first watch it like 20 years ago on TV, this movie just goes higher for my rank. It's really aged well.

Great movie! Great video! Not exactly a " WTF Happened to ..." video, but certainly enjoyable.

I loved this movie, still do today!

What do you mean? This film is a masterpiece and a classic.

What happened to Escape from New York? we are living it. it came true

Loved the back-round music under the voice over, but 'Escape for New York' was just ...magic.

Good breakdown.....still 1 of my fave. Films...carpenter can do no wrong.....

Still one of my favorite movies!

It was a rainy Monday in upstate NY and a day trip to Lake George was rained out. I found myself in a theater watching this flick. Such an awesome film. Andrienne Barbeau, am I right?

I like the thought of those Street toughs going and seeing Escape from New York later and being impressed that they rented a Snake Plissken on the street

One of my favorite movies, absolutely fascinating on how they make movies. I hope they don't remake it.

One of my all-time favourite movies.

Escape From New York, The Warriors and The Terminator were all amazing to watch when I was about 8 years old. USA UP ALL NIGHT.

I love this movie, and the cheese that comes with it. I love the sequel. If Russel made a 3rd, I would so be there!!!

Masterpiece. Period.

Damn, some of the actors affectation choices MADE this an amazing movie... the henchman Romero? I still think that's one of the best cyberpunk scenes in film history.

Great video, Love all of the unknown facts regarding the filming locations. Gonna have to re-watch the movies now

Great film. Saw it in Australia at 19 when it first came out. Thanks mate

If they're going to make another one (and for the record, they probably shouldn't), they have to get an actor who has Kurt Russell's ability to deliver the craziest dialogue with the utmost seriousness. His combination of humour and coolness is what makes Snake Plissken (and Jack Burton) work so well. They never wink at the audience, and thats so important to the feel of this movie.

Eyes of Laura Mars was a theatrical release, not a TV movie.

“It conquered the world”…..Saturday afternoon horror movies…the good old days!

Saw this back in the day in the UK, Manchester Tatton cinema. Was in a double bill with Visiting hours. Had seen the UK quad poster for the film so was pretty giddy about seeing it. It didnt dissapoint, loved it an its still one of my go to comfort blanket films to this day.

Nothing beats the electronic droning soundtrack with Alan Howarth and Carpenter. It gives the plot the added sense of urgency to keep the audience "on the edge of their seats" so to speak.

One of the best movies ever, Russell and Carpenter rule!! -Big Trouble in Little China is da bomb though

I have a cat named Snake Plissken, his colors match the outfit Russell wears. He ran away one time and I got to make some really funny signs. He came back.

One of my favorite bits is the Air Force One escape pod, one of those rare movie props (the "Thunderball" rebreather is my favorite) that influenced other films and even real life. Even though it's nonsense, the makers of AIR FORCE ONE included their own presidential escape pod because they knew audiences would buy it due to this movie.

the 3D city model they used was so good that Ridley Scott used it in Blade Runner.