The Grittiest R-Rated Sci-Fi Classic Of The 1980s Gets Awesome New Release
Shout Factory has previously announced that John Carpenter’s iconic Escape from New York is getting an updated 4K release. The film’s re-release date is drawing close, and the movie, packaged in a limited edition Steelbook along with an exclusive poster for the film, is not only available for pre-order, but currently being sold for $39.99. Pre-orders will ship out starting November 5, 2024.
Escape From New York’s New Look
The new 4K release of Escape from New York will feature a special steel book edition pack that also includes artwork by Matthew Skiff and several bonus features, all spread across three discs.
Disc one will contain the 4K restoration done by StudioCanal, with Dolby Atmos and the restored original stereo track, along with audio commentary from director John Carpenter and actor Kurt Russell.
Additional commentary will be provided by producer Debra Hill and production designer Joe Alves, as well as actress Adrienne Barbeau and Dean Cundey, director of photography.
Jam-Packed With Special Features
An additional Blu-ray disc will also contain Trailers from Hell—filmmaker Neil Marshall’s take on Escape from New York—as well as Purgatory: Entering John Carpenter’s Escape from New York, a radio spot, and many other digital goodies.
The same applies to disc three, which offers more material, including theatrical trailers, photo galleries, behind-the-scenes footage, posters, an Escape from New York featurette, and an original opening bank robbery sequence that was removed from the movie. Several interviews with actors and the crew, detailing their work on set, are also included in the re-issue.
Pre-Orders Shipping Out Before You Know It
This actually isn’t the first time Shout Factory has released Escape from New York in 4K; the company has previously released the film in similar packaging in 2022 at a much steeper price. However, it would seem that the movie managed to garner enough interest to warrant a re-release of a re-release. The current batch is available for pre-order at one-third of the original price (currently selling for $39.99) and should ship out by November 5, 2024 for those who had pre-ordered their copy of the movie.
Not The First Re-Release, But The Best One
Escape from New York has had several releases in high-definition formats over the past decade, which isn’t all that surprising considering that it fared exceptionally well with the critics and the audiences, and it did reasonably well at the box office. The film managed to earn $25.2 million, which doesn’t even put it in the top 10 highest-grossing titles of 1981, but considering that it managed to earn that much against a budget of a mere $6 million is a feat in its own right.
Snake Plissken’s Legacy Lives On
Escape from New York is one of John Carpenter’s most iconic works. It follows the story of Kurt Russell’s Snake Plissken, a federal prisoner who has been sent into a dystopian colony that was once New York City.
The movie was released in 1981, during the height of the Cold War, and takes place in a setting in which the tensions between the US, Soviet Russia, and Communist China have resulted in the complete annihilation of American Society following the in-universe death of the US president.
Source: Shout Factory
