Escape from New York

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Escape from New York ★★½ 1981 (R)

The ultimate urban nightmare: a ruined, future Manhattan is an anarchic prison for America's worst felons. When convicts hold the President hostage, a disgraced war hero unwillingly attempts an impossible rescue mission. Cynical but largely unexceptional sci-fi action, putting a good cast through tight-lipped peril. 99m/ C VHS, DVD, UMD . Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasence, Isaac Hayes, Adrienne Barbeau, Harry Dean Stanton, Season Hubley, Tom Atkins, Charles Cyphers, George “Buck” Flower; D: John Carpenter; W: John Carpenter, Nick Castle; C: Dean Cundey; M: John Carpenter; V: Jamie Lee Curtis.