Snake Plissken is back for his last adventure with a superb 4k transfer. Be sure to read in-depth for possibility of a disc-replacement program offered by Paramount for an early batch of discs.
“Snake Plissken is back in the high-octane West Coast sequel to ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK that returns Kurt Russell to the iconic role and filmmakers John Carpenter and Debra Hill for post-apocalyptic action. After a 9.6 quake levels most of Los Angeles, Snake is called to wade through the ruins to retrieve a doomsday device. Now, more explosive than ever on 4k Ultra HD, this outrageous thriller finds Snake surfing Wilshire Blvd., shooting hoops at the Coliseum, dive-bombing the Happy Kingdom theme park, and mixing it up with a wild assortment of friends, fiends and foes from a supporting cast that includes Steve Buscemi, Peter Fonda, Pam Grier, Stacy Keach, Cliff Robertson and Bruce Campbell.”
The long awaited sequel of Escape From New York from John Carpenter unfortunately didn’t bring in much of an audience during its initial release in 1996, but it’s always been a guilty pleasure of mine, despite the well-known bad special effects, just to see Snake Plissken in action one more time. One of Carpenter’s last few films he directed, Escape From L.A. certainly has its flaws, but this 4k UHD release will certainly please those who are fans of this insane journey through the post-apocalyptic world of Los Angeles!
Snake Plissken isn’t just one of Kurt Russell’s favorite characters he’s played, he’s mine as well. This leather/camo/eyepatch wearing anti-hero never says much, but his perfect deadpan delivery of insults against oppressive government authorities always seems to fill me with delight. He’s a character that doesn’t really seem to change through his experiences, but becomes further solidified in his loner mentality to fight against everything the world now stands for. The character doesn’t have much of a backstory, save for a few stories told by characters Snake meets along the way. In a lot of ways, he’s more of a myth, as everyone he encounters either thought he was dead, or that he’d be a lot taller. Whether it’s this mythical backstory that makes the character so enjoyable, I don’t know, but the combination of the character, the story, and even the character music that John Carpenter created, has a very Western-like feel that fits perfectly into this dystopian society that Snake navigates. For those who, like me, wish there was more Snake Plissken content, there are comic book adaptations of the character on various adventures, one released by Marvel, The Adventures of Snake Plissken, and the other released by CrossGen and Hurricane Entertainment called John Carpenter’s Snake Plissken Chronicles. We may never see Kurt Russel don the eyepatch again, but these give us some more of the character.
The film itself is no where near as good as Escape From New York, still, I can’t help but forgive a lot of its shortcomings because of the silliness of the adventure. If Snake isn’t surfing a tsunami, playing a game of basketball, dodging the surgeon general of Beverly Hills or handcuffed to a treadmill, you may think the film is getting dull. It is honestly a lot of random events and adventures mashed together while Snake has to search for a doomsday device stolen by the President’s daughter in time for him to receive the cure to a virus that he’s been infected with as incentive. While it’s very much like the first film in terms of him being coerced into service of the government, the overall story lacks in a lot of substance that the first had, despite the superb cast that really offers little to the story. What the film is most infamous for, however, is the bad special effects that are associated with a lot of the destroyed Los Angeles, and especially the giant wave Snake eventually surfs on. While this never bothered me that much, it’s an unfortunate cost of having a company handle the effects who had never done this type of CGI before. Although a super-blockbuster helmed by Steven Spielberg was able to make dinosaurs look real three short years earlier, lower budget films were still years and years away from being able to make things look as good as that, using this relatively new technology in conjunction with filmmaking.
Video
Escape From L.A. is presented in 2160p 4k Ultra High Definition Widescreen 2.35:1 featuring HDR10 and Dolby Vision. Now, this entire film takes place, and was shot during the night. One of the issues that plagued the original Blu-ray release of the film was brightness issues, that turned up the contrast in order to make everything lighter, going against the cinematography of the film and its intended look as a relatively dark film, both thematically and physically. The new 4k scan released by Scream Factory two years ago had corrected a lot of these issues, with this 4k UHD release going even further to make these dark sequences look as good as possible, with the Dolby Vision consistently providing the dynamic meta-data that ensures each sequence look as intended. Grain is consistent throughout, giving it a natural look, which is extremely detailed given the UHD. Colors especially are particularly vibrant against the dark backgrounds. This is a definite improvement over the original Blu-ray release, and if you’re a big enough fan of the film, you may even consider pairing with the Scream Factory release for the loads of extras that provides. The transfer is that good.
Audio
The audio is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. This is also an upgrade from the Dolby 5.1 track included on the original Blu-ray. This track is well done, with a nice balance between the surrounds and center channel for the action sequences. The score, composed by Carpenter like many of his films, sounds especially good, including the Snake Plissken theme that exudes that Western feel. One issue I have with the track is the fact that in many sequences dialogue can be heard throughout the surrounds as well as the center channel. Upon a bit of investigation this appears to be an error with the production of some of the early discs that were sent out and may have been distributed by some vendors. A disc replacement program has already been initiated, and a statement from Paramount has been issued that states:
“It has come to our attention that there is an English audio encoding error on the new 4K Ultra HD Disc of John Carpenter’s Escape from L.A. Paramount Home Entertainment has corrected the issue and is immediately creating new discs, however the initial shipment of discs has reached some retail outlets. Fans who purchase a disc with a white UPC barcode on the package and would like a replacement should email PHE_CustomerService@Paramount.com for instructions. The corrected product will be shipped free of charge. If your disc package has a yellow UPC barcode, then it is the corrected version and you do not need a replacement.
It is always our intention to distribute the highest quality product and we apologize for any inconvenience this error has caused.”
Due to high volume of inquiries my email has yet to be answered by Paramount regarding the issue, but I imagine this to be a relatively simple procedure in order to receive a replacement if you’ve ended up with one of the problematic discs.
Special Features
Unfortunately, there are no extras on the disc. For those who purchased the Scream Factory version of the film and want to upgrade, be sure to hold on to that disc for all the extras. The only downside to an otherwise great release.
Escape From L.A. may not have the following of the original, but for me it’s just a crazy, insane guilty pleasure watching Snake Plissken go on his last adventure. The video transfer on this 4k UHD is stunning, and well worth the price of an upgrade for fans of the film. Check this one out today!
