Escape from L.A. (1996)

Director:

John Carpenter

Writers (WGA):

John Carpenter (characters) and
Nick Castle (characters) ...

Release Date:

9 August 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Plan your escape this Summer

Plot:

Snake Plissken is once again called in by the United States government to recover a potential doomsday device from Los Angeles, now an autonomous island where undesirables are deported.

Plot Keywords:

Earthquake | Prison | 2000s | EMP | Sequel

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Kurt Russell	...	Snake Plissken
A.J. Langer	...	Utopia
Steve Buscemi	...	Map to the Stars Eddie
Georges Corraface	...	Cuervo Jones (as George Corraface)
Stacy Keach	...	Cmdr. Malloy
Michelle Forbes	...	Brazen
Pam Grier	...	Hershe Las Palmas
Jeff Imada	...	Saigon Shadow
Cliff Robertson	...	President
Valeria Golino	...	Taslima
Peter Fonda	...	Pipeline
Ina Romeo	...	Hooker
Peter Jason	...	Duty Sergeant
Jordan Baker	...	Police Anchor
Caroleen Feeney	...	Woman on Freeway

Also Known As:

John Carpenter's Escape from L.A. (USA) (complete title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and some language.

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #34442) | Iceland:16 | Sweden:15 | France:-12 | South Korea:15 | Philippines:PG-13 | Denmark:15 | Brazil:14 | New Zealand:M | Australia:M | Canada:14A | Finland:K-16 (video premiere) | Germany:16 (w) | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:18 | UK:15 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Escape From LA was caught in development hell for over ten years. A script for the film was first commissioned in 1985 but John Carpenter thought it "too light, too campy". It remained dormant until Carpenter and Kurt Russell got together with frequent collaborator Debra Hill. It was Russell's persistence that got the film made. Snake Plissken was his favourite character, a character he loved and wanted to play again.

Goofs:

Factual errors: No matter what the technology, an electromagnetic pulse will not damage a battery, as is claimed in the film.

Quotes:

Snake Plissken: Let's say I come back and I have your black box. Who'll give me the antidote to the virus?
Malloy: A medical team will be standing by.
Snake Plissken: Neither one of you will be there?
Malloy: No.
Snake Plissken: Good!
[Snake opens fire on them with his machine gun, but to no effect]
Malloy: Ha! Figured you might try that, hotshot. That's why the first clip is loaded with blanks. Bye bye, Snake. Good luck!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001) (VG)

Soundtrack:

10 Seconds Down

Entertaining Follow Up

Escape from LA follows almost exactly the same plotline as Escape from New York; A city has become a colony for criminals, something gets lost in the city, the government don't have anyone but Snake Plissken that is able to get it back, so he goes in, has a few misadventures with the locals and eventually brings it back.

This film very much lacks in originality, mostly due to it completely ripping off its predecessor. In fact; it could be said that this film is a remake of the first. However, what it lacks in originality is made up for with a great cast of support characters, which includes Steve Buscemi, Pam Grier, Peter Fonda and a great little turn from the god of B-Movie, Bruce Campbell himself. Kurt Russell returns of course, as the film's anti-hero; Snake Plissken, complete with a very cool new look; courtesy of a long black leather coat and leather trousers. Kurt Russell's performance in this film is pretty much the same as in the first movie, whereby he is only required to look cool for the duration; and that is something he does well. The support characters, however, are this film's main asset. Obviously Kurt Russell is the star of the show, but it's the colourful characters around that really make the film interesting.

The effects in Escape From LA, considering it was made in 1996, are awful. Whether or not the effects are bad on purpose as a tribute Escape From New York, I don't know; but I really felt that they could have done more regarding the effects. Escape from LA is a very silly film that many people will find hard to take seriously, however if all you want is to enjoy yourself for 100 minutes or so, and not use your brain too much; Escape From LA is your movie. Originality aside, I would say that this film is on par with Escape From New York.