(Yes, there was a sequel - Escape from L.A. Good but not great.)
Side note: This movie takes place in 1997, and back when I saw it 1997 was still the future. That's how old I am.
John Carpenter’s cult classic Escape from New York (1981) is set in the future dystopia that is 1997 and America and the Soviets are still entrenched in battle. The president of the United States (Donald Pleasance) is traveling aboard Air Force one to a meeting between the US, Russia and China to hopefully end the conflict. Before he can reach his destination, Air Force one must travel over Manhattan, which has been turned into a prison-island surrounded by military on all sides. As this occurs, the plane is hijacked and is directed into the prison and all radio connection between the plane and the nearby military base is lost. Eventually the army goes in looking for the president to discover an escape pod and to be told that the president is being held captive by the Duke (Isaac Hayes) and his cronies. It is at this point that military leader Bob Hauk (Lee Van Cleef) sends in the onetime war hero and now captured criminal Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) to save the president along with a briefcase containing secret nuclear formulas. If he succeeds, Snake will be given a full pardon and his life will be spared. So it is now that Snake ventures into this hellhole and must complete his mission before it is too late.
This scene at 29 minutes and 18 seconds in the film, Snake Plissken has flown a small plane onto the top of the World Trade Center to infiltrate the city and is now walking down a hallway of the WTC on his way onto the city streets. Cinematography wise this moment uses a full body and eye level shot to show the audience that Snake may be part of something bigger than just himself. It is also somewhat eyelevel to insinuate the true height and length of the buildings hallways. This shot is in a short depth of field to allow the audience to focus on the closest area to make the audience believe the hallway is longer than it may be, possibly to reference the bridge scene towards the end of the film as well as to possibly symbolize the difficult struggle that this mission will entail.
Mise-en-scene wise, this shot has the workings of brilliance. First of all, the way Kurt Russell plays Snake is perfect. The way Kurt is walking with such a cocky attitude makes his character even better. Rather than trying to sneak by and be stealthy, Snake just walks down the hall almost daring anyone or thing to just try to jump him.
Along with acting comes the set design. Along with the long hallways theory presented earlier, it can be seen by the doorway of the closest room that there are rain clouds. This is just an even less subtle reminder that this job is no sunny walk in the park.
Even further down we see an orange crucifix. This has really no religious connotations, but rather is a symbol for Snake’s redemption (and later on that of Brain’s). By being a war hero, Snake had honor. He then became a criminal and has lost the respect he had earned. This “suicide-mission” is the way Snake can return to his former standing in the eye of the government, the eyes of other humans and in his own mind.
The prop design of this shot mainly consists of strewn about papers on the floor along with the occasional chair or other item of debris. This allows the scene to be all the more believable as one would expect a rundown building where basically “hobo-prisoners” are the only occupants to be the epitome of a dilapidated home. Each paper is placed with a purpose, to seem as if abandoned in a hurry by the decent civilians who lived there ten years before.
The lighting is also a key aspect of making this scene perfect. Even though it is an office building, the fluorescent lights are not on. The only lighting comes from places that are either off camera, giving the air of eeriness and a lonesome quality to the setting and to Snake. Having no true light source shown also allows the audience to further believe the story by having the notion that since Manhattan is a prison, it could be dangerous to leave electricity on for these violent human beings.
In conclusion, I have several questions to ask:
- From this scene do you feel if Snake was completely or partly successful in his mission?
- Does anything of the scene (mise-en-scene wise) make you believe the scene, if so which part? If not, why is it not believable?
- Why you cry?
