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:

island | prison | prisoner | island prison | ex soldier | 

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Taglines:

No walls. No guards.

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

It rained a lot during production of the film.

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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: ...that's not funny
[he suddenly decapites his opponent]
Marek: HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA! Now, that's funny!

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Alternate Versions

German video retail version is cut for violence to secure a "Not under 16" rating.

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Connections

Referenced in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002)

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Soundtracks

Is Anybody Goin' to San Antone
Written by Dave Kirby and Glenn Martin
Published by Tree Publishing Co., Inc.
Performed by Doug Sahm
Courtesy of Atlantic Recording Corp.
By arrangement with Warner Special Products

User Reviews

Mad Max meets Fortress

When I first sat down, to see this movie, I wasn't expecting much; In fact, I was preparing myself mentally for a total flop... but it really took me by surprise. It's actually quite interesting, and has some good action sequences. The plot is pretty interesting, and moves along very nicely, quickly moving on, constantly developing. The acting was convincing enough, there wasn't really any scenes that were terrible, even though a lot of the scenes and lines were very corny; it fit perfectly in with the movie, and as such wasn't out of place. It's pretty much a B-movie, but if you like(or just enjoy mildly) B-movies, you'll probably be at least reasonably entertained by it. It's reminiscent of movies like Fortress, but just a little better in that it's very unpredictable; no matter what you think is gonna happen, you'll be surprised again and again by what happens. It's pretty interesting all the way through, it has some good, 80's style action, corny B-movie lines, a B-movie feel throughout the movie... so, if you can watch it for free, either borrow it from a friend, or watch it on TV... if not, only watch it if you're into movies like Fortress. 6/10

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)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,588,736, 1 May 1994

Gross USA:

$15,339,030

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$15,339,030

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, Pacific Western, Platinum Pictures (III)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1