“ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK”

Now on 4K Ultra HD for the first time, director John Carpenter’s inventive 1981 fantasy gave Kurt Russell – with whom Carpenter had made the TV movie “Elvis” – a career-redefining role as Snake Plissken, a convict of the then-near future who’s

given a shot at amnesty if he rescues the

U.S. president (Donald Pleasence) from Manhattan, which has been turned into a walled-off prison. Not only is the clock ticking, set to 24 hours, but Plissken is carrying a small explosive implanted in his system that may be triggered if he doesn’t

succeed. Lee Van Cleef plays the lawman who gives the rebel-spirited Plissken his marching orders; the great cast also includes Isaac Hayes, Adrienne Barbeau, Ernest Borgnine, Season Hubley and Harry Dean Stanton. Carpenter also co-composed the minimalist music score. (R: AS, P,

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