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:

The year is 2022. In the prison of the future escape is impossible. Survival isn't much easier.

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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 USA:

$15,340,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, 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 bares similarities with another science fiction action movie - Soldier (1998).

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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

Ralph: [Licks knife, uses it to smash a statute, then screams threatening] AAAAHHHHH!
Robbins: [Hurls knife into 'Ralph's' chest, killing him instantly. The mob is shocked into silence for several seconds]
Marek: That's extraordinary. It's not EXACTLY what we had in mind, but...
[laughs]
Marek: Extraordinary!
Marek: I could use a man like you! A position on my staff, perhaps?
[gestures at Ralph's body]
Marek: we appear to have an opening! Think about it! Your own room, full run of the place, free meals: anyone you can catch, kill and eat!
Robbins: [...]

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Alternate Versions

The chief villain bloodily landing on the spike at the end is missing two shots of his actual impalement in the UK version.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: When a Man Loves a Woman/PCU/With Honors/No Escape/The Favor (1994)

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Soundtracks

SON OF A PREACHER MAN
Written by John Hurley and Ronnie Wilkins
Performed by Dusty Springfield

User Reviews

strange coincidence?

decent flick. Definitely better than i thought it would be. however there is one moment in the film that supremely creeped me out. There's a moment where the prison warden is reading the rap sheet of capt. Robbins (Ray Liotta), that includes some of his special forces history. He reads off saying something like "oh so you were in Libya Behngazi, in 2011?" Very creepy for a movie made in 94, given whats gone in in Libya, Behngazi and that its happened in 2011. Also the fact that like Capt. Robbins, in in the American special forces, recently 6 soldiers working for British special forces were captured and deported in Behngazi Libya.

That was the biggest WTF moment in the movie for me lol.

Overall though not a bad flick. Would have been disappointed if I dropped a few bucks on it in theatres, but i saw it cheaply in netflix and it was worth it. check it out!