No Escape (1994)

A soldier convicted for murdering his commanding officer is dumped and left to die on a prison island inhabited by two camps of convicts.

Director:

Martin Campbell

Writers:

Richard Herley (novel), Michael Gaylin (screenplay)

Stars:

Ray Liotta, Lance Henriksen, Stuart Wilson

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ray Liotta	...	Capt. J.T. Robbins
Lance Henriksen	...	The Father
Stuart Wilson	...	Walter Marek
Kevin Dillon	...	Casey
Kevin J. O'Connor	...	Stephano
Don Henderson	...	Killian
Ian McNeice	...	King
Jack Shepherd	...	Dysart
Michael Lerner	...	The Warden
Ernie Hudson	...	Hawkins
Russell Kiefel	...	Iceman
Brian M. Logan	...	Scab
Cheuk-Fai Chan	...	Skull
Machs Colombani	...	Ratman
David Argue	...	Cellmate

Storyline

Robbins is sentenced to prison for the assassination of his general officer, a prison you leave only when you die. Since nobody ever leaves the prison, nobody knows what the prison is like. The prison manager realizes this and buys himself an island playground called "Absolom," where the worst prisoners are free to create an isolated barbaric society, and where the strongest men rule...a living hell. Robbins is sent to Absolom after he almost kills the prison manager.

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Plot Keywords:

prison | island | convict | prisoner | escape | 

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Taglines:

Welcome to the future at it's most primitive. This is a prison with just one rule: Survival of the Fittest.

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for a considerable amount of strong violence, and for some language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 April 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Penal Colony

Filming Locations:

New South Wales, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

£592,233 (UK) (17 June 1994)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Pacific Western, Platinum Pictures (III)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film foreshadows Ian McNiece starring in the TV series "Doc Martin" as the father of actor Joe Absolom's character.

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Goofs

When Dysart hands Robbins a pair of Molotov Cocktails, he says they were invented by a man named "Sergei Molotov". This is, in fact, incorrect. The Molotov Cocktail was first used in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) before actually gaining this name in the Winter War (1939) between Finland and the Soviet Union. The Finns used this incendiary weapon to great affect against the Soviets and gave it the name the "Molotov Cocktail" as an insult directed towards the Soviet foreign minister, Vyacheslav Molotov. No one named Sergei was involved in the making of the weapon.

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Quotes

Marek: I have removed all the heads of state...
[Dumps out sack full of decapitated remains]
Marek: ...I really want to be in charge!

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Connections

Featured in Siskel & Ebert: When a Man Loves a Woman/PCU/With Honors/No Escape/The Favor (1994)

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Soundtracks

BOOGIE SHOES
Written by Harry Wayne Casey & Richard Finch
Performed by KC & The Sunshine Band

User Reviews

A forgotten movie

I totally agree with the comment given by Slurpee 7. I first saw it as a young teen and thought it was OK, but every time I saw it afterwards it just kept getting better and better. I don't know why. The story is very simple, but Campbell's movies just make you forget about that(e.g. Vertical limit- with a rather stupid story). This is the first movie I ever saw Ray Liotta and the man just has such powerful and "vicious" eyes.Great for the part. And the villain(excellently portrayed by Wilson), referring to his "habitat" as a first class hotel and making constant jokes - gotta love it. A movie about survival, and what a man is actually prepared to do for it. 9/10