John Carpenter returns with a R1 Special Edition DVD of his 1981 movie Escape from New York, which has previously only been available in a variety of poorly-produced DVDs and incorrect aspect ratios.

Looking back it’s hard to believe how many brilliant movies Carpenter made in under a decade, as there’s no-one today working with the same inventiveness or style. Kurt Russell stars as Snake Plissken, war hero and captured criminal, who is given 24 hours to save President Donald Pleasence from a walled-off New York City. The great concept is a bit undercut by the deliberate pacing and some unnecessary broad humour (although not as badly as in the sequel Escape from LA), but as with all Carpenter movies shot by Dean Cundey, it’s necessary to see it on a big wide 2.35:1 screen with surround sound.

There’s also a commentary track from 1995 (which explains why no-one remarks on the extensive use of the WTC twin towers), a recent 30-minute documentary, and in its entirety, the famous missing first reel where Snake is captured during a bank raid. This last item is a bit of a damp squib, but anyone who’s heard Carpenter and Russell on their other commentary tracks will need no encouragement to get this DVD. And you get a free comic and a nice embossed box.

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• What’s So Great About Escape From New York? [John Carpenter] (kotaku.com)
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